Historical Fun

5 Fun Facts About Heirs and Spares It's always good for a royal to have more than one child. If something goes wrong, you don't just have an heir to the throne, you also have a spare. Prince Charles and Princess Diana had two kids, William and Harry. And now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, have just had their second child, securing both the heir and the spare. Generally the eldest survives and becomes King and the spare doesn't get used. However, there were times in history when the spare became the Monarch. Here are Five Monarchs who were not first born: 1. King Henry VIII, or as I like to call him on this blog, Henry-Of-The-Many-Numbers. He wasn't the first born of Henry VII, in fact he was third. His older brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales, should have succeeded to the throne when his father died. But Arthur died at the age of 15, passing the title of Prince of Wales and Heir-Apparent on to Henry, who became next in lin...

5 Fun Facts About Royal Babies 1. There is a new royal birth today. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, gave birth to daughter Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. She will automatically be titled "Princess", unlike her mother who isn't one, yet. The new baby will also be 4th in line to the throne. And, assuming the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William, and Prince George all die, she'll become Queen. Even if William and Kate have another boy. The primogeniture laws were changed to allow the eldest daughter to inherit the throne if no older male heirs are alive. 2. Traditionally, the Home Secretary is required to attend the birth of a royal baby. It's to make sure there are no illegitimate babies smuggled into the room. However, the current Home Secretary, Theresa May, was not at the birth of Prince William and Kate's baby today, as the tradition was abandoned in 1948 when the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, was born, as it's neithe...