WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT QUEEN MARY 2 AND QUEEN ANNE?

You think the current Royal Family has problems?  Well, British history shows a lot worse.  

Let me start with three King Charles.

• 

  Charles I was born in 1600 and king from 1625 to 1649...when he was executed.  The monarchy was also abolished.
• His son Charles II was born in 1630, became king of Scotland in 1649, then when the monarchy was restored, became king of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1660.  Reigned until 1685.
• Of course Charles III is now the King,

I now jump to Queen Mary II, because the ship I'm on is named after her.

• Was born in 1662 as the niece of King Charles II.
• The eldest daughter, a younger sister Anne, was born in 1665.  Both became queens.
• Mary 2 at the age of 15 married her cousin William of Orange in 1677.
• They jointly became King and Queen of Great Britain in 1689.
• Mary 2 endowed the formation of William and Mary College in Virginia.
• But she died of smallpox at the age of 32, and William III ruled until 1702.

Next Anne.

• She married Prince George of Denmark, her second cousin, in 1683.
• When William III passed away, she became Queen of Great Britain in 1702, then when kingdoms merged, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1707.
• Although she was always in poor health, she had 17 pregnancies, but all her children died relatively young.

• 
  The movie The Favourite, is about Anne's life, starring Olivia Colman, who won an Oscar for Best Actress.  Rotten Tomatoes gave it 93/70 ratings.
• Anne passed away at the age of 49 in 1714.  
• The successor George I was not her husband George.

The line of Georges is fascinating.

• George I was born in 1660 and ruled from 1714 to 1727.
• He married his cousin Sophia Dorothea in 1682, and they had two children, although they later divorced.  

• 
  Son George II went on to replace his father, and ruled from 1727 to 1760, a period of 33 years.
• George III was born in 1738 when his paternal grandfather, King George II ruled.
• He spoke English as his first language, unlike George I and II.

• 
  Married Princess Charlotte and had 15 children.
• When George II died, III became king of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 to 1820, a period of 60 years.
• While he lost the American colonies, he did defeat Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815.
• In 1807  banned slavery in the British Empire.
• Suffered from bipolar disorder from around 1810.
• 
  There is a film, The Madness of King George, about him, played by Nigel Hawthorne, with Helen Mirren as Queen Charlotte.
• Died in 1820 at the age of 81 and was replaced by his son, George IV.
• George IV ruled for a decade to 1830, but his regime was tarnished by scandal and financial extravagance.  Passed away in 1830, and was replaced his brother, William IV.

As confusing as all the above might be, it is interesting that the newest Cunard ship, the MS Queen Anne, is named after this queen.

The MS Queen Anne:

• Maiden voyage departs Southampton on 3May2024, or, in a couple of days.
• This ship will make a world voyage from Hamburg, Germany on 7January2025.
• We will be in this area after our Christmas cruise, so we looked into the possibility of catching it and dropping off in Honolulu.
• However, you can only book segments, so we would need to disembark in San Francisco.

We are on the RMS Queen Mary II.  

• Why RMS?  Stands for Royal Motor Ship because it will remain as the flagship of the Cunard liners.
• Want to see the RMS Queen Mary 2 in a film?  Watch Let Them All Talk, with Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen and Diane Wiest.  Rotten Tomatoes reviewers gave it 87%, but audiences only 49%.

One final ship, the MS Queen Mary:

• Sailed from 1936 to 1967, although was a troopshipduring World War II, and on one voyage, carried 16,600 troops, still the record for most people on a vessel.
• Was bought by the city of Long Beach to serve as a tourist extraction.
• Colorful history there, for there were various failures involving linkage with Disney, the Spruce Goose and other ventures.
• Disney spent a lot, but eventually first opened DisneySea Tokyo in 2001,
• The Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose is now in Oregon,
• Looks like this venture has turned a corner, and the Queen Mary is slowly becoming a successful hotel, restaurant and entertainment site.

Walked 2022 steps, because it takes so long to get from one point to another.  Tomorrow, more on what is happening on the RMS Queen Mary 2.

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