‘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 TRAGIC BUT TE STORY OF ENGLAND’S GAY KG
• THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE GAY KGS AND QUEENS OF ENGLAND
• ‘THE KG AND HIS HBAND’: THE GAY HISTORY OF BRISH ROYALS
• QUEER KGS & QUEENS: WAS JAM I & VI GAY?
• WAS KG AETHELSTAN GAY REAL LIFE? THE LAST KGDOM HISTORY EXPLAED
• ENGLAND'S GAY KG
• THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE GAY KGS AND QUEENS OF ENGLAND
• MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE
• WATCH VIRAL FOOTAGE OF KG VON ADMTG TO BEG GAY TO THE POLICE
• [WATCH] UNSEEN FOOTAGE OF KG VON CLAIMG HE’S GAY TO BE PLACED PRISON PROTECTIVE CTODY
• WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE ROYAL WEDDG WERE GAY
• TAG ARCHIV: GAY KG OF ENGLAND

5 GAY BRISH KGS AND QUEENS OM HISTORY

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.

WAS KG AETHELSTAN GAY REAL LIFE?

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 fourth son of Henry II, he is also believed to have been homosexual spe marryg Berengaria of Navarre. An art historian disvered a 400-year-old portra of Gee Villiers, the former De of Buckgham who is thought to have been the gay lover of Kg Jam VI and I, the Brish ler om 1567 to 1625 who missned a btsellg book known as The Kg Jam Bible. Hovn’s bed ment may be more of a polil metaphor than a leral one — polics do make strange bedfellows, after all — but even still, Richard I has long been lnized as a gay in.

THE TRAGIC BUT TE STORY OF ENGLAND’S GAY KG

The plays of both possibly-gay English playwright Christopher Marlowe and totally-gay English playwright Derek Jarman both picted Edward II as gay. 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.

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. 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. “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 SECRET HISTORY OF THE GAY KGS AND QUEENS OF ENGLAND

This wasn’t the first time that he’d addrsed gay relatnships his work, but Edward II was the most explicly and sympathetilly gay character that Marlowe had tackled.

England’s ‘gay’ kgs and queens fied society – durg perhaps the most homophobic era of human history – to have same-sex lovers.

Of 41 monarchs sce William The Conqueror, we’ve intified seven who were likely lbian, gay or bisexual.

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

Further evince for his homosexualy om his squabble wh the lear of the English church – Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The bt evince for his homosexualy me om his youth, when he was still De of Aquae and open revolt agast his father, Henry II. Fally, is likely he admted his gay affairs as part of church ceremoni where he publicly ‘nfsed’ his ‘ss’.

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. For the past half-century, Richard the Lnheart - that buff, bronzed warrr who hardly saw his wife and had no children - has been somethg of a gay in. As a prence on the silver screen (most famoly the shape of the young Anthony Hopks The Ln Wter) his homosexualy has rarely been doubt.

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

English history isn't short of gay or bisexual monarchs - Edward II, Jam I, possibly William II - but the historil evince for untg Richard I among their number rts on one ntemporary document ncerng his relatnship wh Kg Philip II of France. 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.

The liph’s sexualy has been the source of some bate: Acrdg to the French medievalist Évariste Lévi-Provençal, the phrase “hubb al-walad, ” found 16th-century historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari’s pendium "Nafh at-Tib" reference to Al-Hakam II, translat as a “preference for boys, ” though other scholars mata refers to paternal Medieval Europe scholar Francis Prado-Vilar wrote that knowledge of Al-Hakam’s homosexualy the urt of Córdoba “enuraged the ambns of the factns gathered around his much younger brother, Prce al-Mughira.

”“In his youth his lov seem to have been entirely homosexual, ” queer studi scholar Louis Crompton wrote “Male Love and Islamic Law Arab Spa. )“To the shock of many urtiers, the pair were monstratively affectnate to each other public, spe Jam’ var proclamatns agast homosexualy, ” Daniel Smh wrote “Love Letters of Kgs and Queens.

WAS KG AETHELSTAN GAY REAL LIFE? THE LAST KGDOM HISTORY EXPLAED

Frerick the Great of Pssia (1712 - 1786)Even his lifetime, this Pssian royal was wily mored to be a homosexual, though that term wouldn’t be ed till nearly 90 years after his years after the kg’s ath, his physician Johann Ge Rter von Zimmermann published a book which he sperately tried to dispel gossip Frerick had a “Grecian taste love. And rather than let that secret out, Frerick pretend to be gay, “so that he would ntue to appear virile and pable of sexual terurse, albe wh men. But he did ltle to obscure his sexualy: Sanssouci, his palace Potsdam, was filled wh homoerotic art and, across Europe, “l Potsdamists” beme slang for kg allegedly pursued the Veian philosopher Franc Algarotti and even famed French philosopher Voltaire, who lived wh him at Sanssouci, though ’s not certa if eher relatnship was Voltaire’s ath 1778, a mancript of his memoir tailg Frerick’s homosexual tennci tail was stolen and published the Netherlands.

”The archde spent the rt of his life secln at Klsheim Palace near Salzburg, where he died at the age of 76 1919, three years after his brother’s ath and one year after the Atro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved after the end of World War II of Buganda (1868 - 1903)Discsn of Uganda’s treatment of homosexualy ually settl on Print Yoweri Meveni’s “Kill the Gays” bill, but this 19th century kabaka, or kg, of Buganda allegedly had sexual relatnships wh men along wh his 16 1886, Mwanga II orred the btal torture and aths of dozens of urtiers and pag, wh many burned alive. “I hear there was homosexualy Mwanga’s palace, ” Meveni told a crowd of thoands on Martyr Day 2010, the Atlantic reported.

ENGLAND'S GAY KG

”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. This would seem to be evince enough that Jam uldn’t possibly have been volved homosexual relatns, but rts heavily on the assumptn that a relatnship between two men trsilly volved perative sex.

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE GAY KGS AND QUEENS OF ENGLAND

Regardls of whether you nsir Jam I & VI gay, bisexual, or anythg on the LGBTQ+ rabow, the double standard when lookg at his ncrete relatnships wh men vers a potential reference to Anne Murray is obv. Beware SPOILERS Last Kgdom season 5How history rmed Æthelstan on The Last Kgdom: Seven Kgs Mt DieThe big twist for Æthelstan’s motive is that we disver fairly early on the movie that he’s gay and havg an affair wh Ingilmundr, a Dane who is pretendg to be an ally orr to manipulate Æthelstan. The Last Kgdom has always been great at explorg the motivatns for historil figur, and the cisn to make Æthelstan gay is a perfect example.

History is wrten by those who survive, and Edward II hasn't fared too my md he is always "the Gay Kg", so I feel some sort of affectn for him jt on that basis, but the story is a ltle more plited than was born 1284, beme Kg of England 1307 (the sixth the Norman-French Plantage le) and reigned until he was posed and killed 1327 by his wife Isabella 1327. He was 43 at the time of his his homosexualy seems to be nfirmed by numero sourc, Edward did father at least five appear to have been two key male lovers his live - first Piers Gavton, a knight om Gasny; and later Hugh Dpenser, an English lord.

William II, lled "Ruf" for his reddish plexn, never married or fathered children, leadg to speculatn that he was gay. 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. 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.

MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

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? As of 2020, the most recent year for which there is data, more than 42, 000 gay upl England and Wal had tied the knot. ) Pollg June found that more than three-quarters of Brons now support gay marriage, up om jt over half 2012.

It end Sectn 28, which prevented schools and lol thori om “promotg homosexualy” and troduced civil partnerships. Gordon Brown, Mr Cameron’s precsor, opposed gay marriage office bee was “timately bound up wh qutns of relig eedom”.

But has led to a of eccliastil disrd as liberal members of the church argue for the right to perform or partake gay marriag. A group of mps led by Ben Bradshaw, a gay Anglin, is lookg at ways to amend the legislatn to allow willg prits and parish to take part, which they argue uld also help boost dwdlg numbers the aisl. He was famo for beg the ma target of the Gunpowr Plot, for his many views on polics, tobac, and wchcraft, for takg the untry to a relative peace, and for promotg the creatn of the first Anglin, bible, but also for beg the most homophobic monarch ever.

WATCH VIRAL FOOTAGE OF KG VON ADMTG TO BEG GAY TO THE POLICE

As Michael Young claims his book Kg Jam and the History of Homosexualy, one of the ma reasons why many historians liberately chose to avoid the matter had to do wh a fear of hurtg his image, but don’t ncealg make the story weaker? Our morn unrstandg of Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans inti are very recent, datg om the late 19th Century and ntug to velop up to the prent day.

Christopher Marlowe’s 1592 play Edward II, suggts that Edward uld be pleased by a ‘lovelie boye’, and queer filmmaker Derek Jarman adapted the play to ment on the liv of gay men 1980s Bra. Recent films, books and even the ntemporary opera Lsons Love and Vlence, have portrayed Edward II and Gavton as gay lovers, a label that did not exist when they lived.

[WATCH] UNSEEN FOOTAGE OF KG VON CLAIMG HE’S GAY TO BE PLACED PRISON PROTECTIVE CTODY

Perhaps this is why, as a teenager who had ternalized societal homophobia, I felt a certa amount of shame and self-loathg when I tected effemacy high school photos of myself, but felt no such embarrassment when lookg at photos of my equally fabulo and flamg fancy and childhood. The article, by Josh Jackman, reported how hundreds of social media ers had been sharg the image and llg the young prce a “gay in” for his adorably fey pose. One of the tweets featured the article proclaimed, “Prce Gee is already a bigger gay in to me than Boy Gee.

Northern Irish polician Jim Allister, lear of the Tradnal Unnist Voice (TUV) party, mand an apology after somehow (one wonrs) stumblg onto the gay news webse and fdg the article.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE ROYAL WEDDG WERE GAY

” Settg asi the premise that homosexuals somehow lead a life more fed by sex than heterosexuals, I never fail to be amazed by how the Jim Allisters of the world nnot see how all children are “sexualized” as heterosexual by flt. A few months later, a blog post went viral which Reverend Kelv Holdsworth of the Sttish Epispal Church lled for Christians to pray for Prce Gee to grow up to be gay. But let nsir this: the reactn to Holdsworth’s article would have been even more vilent had he outright assumed Prce Gee was gay, rather than simply enuraged Christians to pray for this oute.

This is why, as adults, the redisvery of the tellg childhood photos of our uncensored gay selv are a joyful act of reclamatn.

Thankfully Prce William has already ma clear that he and Kate would be lovg and acceptg if any of their children should e out as gay. If the first openly gay kg of Great Bra (though of urse: far om the first gay kg) married a man, this would be a landmark event the history of the monarchy. A te Kg Faggot would unrstand that the crown has actively buttrsed the heteropatriarchy for centuri, and through s lonial nqut, helped proselytize homophobia across the globe.

TAG ARCHIV: GAY KG OF ENGLAND

But while many speculate that the four-year-old Gee is a queen by lookg at this helipter photo, we also wonr whether he will only serve to fend and prolong the life of the monarchy while embodyg a wholly normative visn of acceptable homosexualy predited on whe, cisgenr male privilege.