The royal births that changed British history

Empress Matilda

Henry I (1068-1135) had more children than any other British monarch. He produced two acknowledged heirs with his first wife and sired more than 20 illegitimate sons and daughters with various other women.

His heir-apparent William of Adelin died in the White Ship tragedy of 1120, when the flagship of the royal fleet sank while crossing the English Channel.

That should have been the end of Henry I’s line, but his daughter Matilda (born in February 1102) had other ideas.

Known as the Empress after her marriage to the future Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, the formidable princess fought a vicious civil war rather than conceded her claim to the English throne.

A peace deal ensured that her son, Henry II, inherited the throne. He was the first of the 14 Plantagenet kings who would rule England until the death of Richard III in 1485.

John

Few royal-watchers would have predicted the birth of “bad king John” on Christmas Eve, 1166.

His mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was 44 years old at the time – well past the normal age of childbearing for the time. She remains the oldest mother of a British monarch.

John’s flaws as a ruler make him a pivotal figure in British history. A widespread rebellion by English barons forced him to sign the Magna Carta in 1215.

Characteristically, John failed to stick to the terms of the Great Charter, but it remains a key document in the development of democracy, limiting the power of the monarchy and establishing the principle that no free man could be punished except through the law of the land.

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Elizabeth I

The birth of Henry VIII’s seventh child – his first by second wife Anne Boleyn – on 7 September 1533 undoubtedly changed British history.

The odds were stacked against Elizabeth becoming queen. She had an older brother, Edward VI. He wanted the throne to pass to his cousin, Lady Jane Grey.

Then there was an older half-sister, “Bloody” Mary I.

And Elizabeth was declared illegitimate after Henry had his marriage to Anne Boleyn annulled following her execution.

But Edward died young, Lady Jane Grey’s reign lasted nine days before parliament turned against her, Mary died childless and Elizabeth’s supposed illegitimacy was overturned in the rush to establish a Protestant monarchy.

England might still be a Catholic country were it not for Elizabeth, and her long reign saw the establishment of Britain’s overseas empire.

James Stuart

The birth of James Francis Edward Stuart is one of the most remarkable scenes in royal history.

The royal bedchamber was packed with dozens (some accounts say hundreds) of witnesses including most government ministers while the queen, Mary of Modena, suffered the pangs of labour on 10 June 1688.

The elaborate precautions were designed to ensure that there were no questions about the child’s legitimacy at a crucial moment in British history.

James II and his queen had prayed for an heir to continue their Catholic dynasty, but their rule was so unpopular that it was rumoured they had faked the pregnancy.

The king was able to produce testimony from scores of prominent witnesses to the birth – but popular gossip had it that the “prince” was really an illegitimate baby smuggled into the bedchamber in a warming pan.

James II was deposed by his Protestant daughter Mary in the Glorious Revolution and his son would never be king despite declaring himself the rightful ruler of England, Scotland and Ireland.

James Stuart, the “Old Pretender”, attempted to invade Scotland in 1708 and 1715, with disastrous consequences, and died in exile in 1766.