‘The kg and his hband’: The gay history of Brish royals - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• 5 GAY BRISH KGS AND QUEENS OM HISTORY
• WAS KG AETHELSTAN GAY REAL LIFE?
• ‘THE KG AND HIS HBAND’: THE GAY HISTORY OF BRISH ROYALS
• 'THE KG AND HIS HBAND': THE LTLE-KNOWN GAY HISTORY OF BRISH ROYALS
• MEET THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MEMBER OF THE BRISH ROYAL FAY
• QUEER KGS & QUEENS: WAS JAM I & VI GAY?

5 GAY BRISH KGS AND QUEENS OM HISTORY

LONDON (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - From “kgs who were queens” to lbian lawmakers and reformist ernments, Bra’s history is awash wh LGBT+ characters - and tourists want to know about Bra marks LGBT History Month, s parliament has creased the number of tours dited to the hidn history of lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr liv rponse to unprecented mand. Wtmster Hall, which dat back to 1097, was probably “built by a gay man and refurbished by a bisexual (man)”, acrdg to the time of Kg William II, the third son of William the Conqueror, Wtmster Hall was unl, allowg the dark to cloak “all sorts of thgs”, Spencer said. William Ruf, as the kg who reigned om 1087 to 1100 was also known for his red hair, was attend by “a flock of (male) harlots actg an effemate way”, he and after the English parliament was first nvened 1215, numero kgs and queens were acced of homosexualy, most notorly Edward II, who reigned for almost 20 years om was the “playboy prce”, Spencer said, known for his close relatnship wh urtier Piers history rerds other, perhaps more unexpected, royal LGBT+ characters om the past.

WAS KG AETHELSTAN GAY REAL LIFE?

Parliament saw a flurry of LGBT+ reforms followg the electn of Tony Blair as prime mister equal age of nsent at 16 for both gay and straight men and a repeal of the ban on LGBT+ people servg the armed forc was followed by gay marriage unr the premiership of David Cameron.

Centuri before homosexualy was ma legal between nsentg adults 1967, the ‘love that dare not speak s name’ was viewed as a s England, particularly by the church, and technilly punishable by ath. It is not surprisg that many gay and bisexual monarchs kept their love liv wh members of the same sex a closely guard secret. Known as ‘Ruf’ due to his ddy plexn and red hair, the third son of William the Conqueror beme Kg of England 1087 and is assumed to have been gay or bisexual.

‘THE KG AND HIS HBAND’: THE GAY HISTORY OF BRISH ROYALS

The fourth son of Henry II, he is also believed to have been homosexual spe marryg Berengaria of Navarre. It is revealed that Aethelson (Harry Gilby), Edward’s son, who Uhtred raised, is secretly gay. If you are wonrg whether Aethelstan was gay real life as well, we got you vered.

Was the Historil Aethelstan Gay As Well? Although there is no proof that asserts beyond doubt that Aethelstan of history (Æthelstan) was gay, scholars have speculated on the notn for a long while. ’ In the fal book of the seri, ‘War Lord, ’ Æthelstan is gay.

'THE KG AND HIS HBAND': THE LTLE-KNOWN GAY HISTORY OF BRISH ROYALS

“History rerds that he never married, which is unual a kg bee of the sire to leave an heir, and also that he liked to rate his hair wh goln rglets, and on that small evince I cid he might have been gay; a choice that hasn’t pleased all my rears, but I was happy wh . ”The speculatn that Edward II’s relatnships wh the men went beyond iendship was fueled by Christopher Marlowe’s 16th-century play “Edward II”, which is often noted for s homoerotic portrayal of Edward II and VI and I, who reigned over Stland and later England and Ireland until his ath 1625, attracted siar scty for his male favor, a term ed for panns and advisers who had special preference wh monarchs. Bergeron theoriz his book “Kg Jam and Letters of Homoerotic Dire”: “The scriptn that mov across the letters spell sire.

MEET THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MEMBER OF THE BRISH ROYAL FAY

One of the protagonists, Henry Fox-Mounchristen-Wdsor (played by Crella’s Nicholas Galze), is gay. William II, lled "Ruf" for his reddish plexn, never married or fathered children, leadg to speculatn that he was gay.

There is signifint evince that he was gay, although historians differ on this pot. Richard has been portrayed equently on stage and film; The Ln Wter (1968), which he was played by Anthony Hopks, strongly suggted he was gay, while Sean Connery offered a thoroughly heterosexual pictn Rob Hood: Prce of Thiev (1991) urty Natnal Portra Gallery of London. Many historians believe Edward II, kg om 1307 to 1327, was gay or bisexual.

QUEER KGS & QUEENS: WAS JAM I & VI GAY?

Christopher Marlowe's play Edward II picts the kg as gay, and Derek Jarman ma a stunng and explic film based on the play urty Natnal Portra Gallery of London. Fundamentalist Christians often pot to the Kg Jam Versn of the Bible as the five edn, but do they stop to thk was missned and overseen by a man who was likely gay or bi? Even though some societi embraced homosexualy, most refed to accept a gay monarch.

But before we talk about LGBTQ+ kgs and queens, let's start wh the history of sexual terms heterosexual and homosexual didn't exist until the 1860s. To others, though, Richard I is a gay in. Queen Elizabeth's 53-year-old , Lord Ivar Mountbatten, has bee the first member of the Brish royal fay to e out as gay—though he wouldn't necsarily ll "g out.

But while the Netherlands, which 2001 beme the first untry to legalize gay marriage, has paved the wave for a queer royal to officially wear the crown, LGBTQ people have long been dog so unofficially.