Simon Abney-Hastings, the son of a farmhand from the Australian outback, might be an unlikely choice to receive an invitation to King Charles III’s coronation at Westminster Abbey next week, but he is the one person other than those in the line of succession who could actually have a claim on the throne.
Unlikely though it might seem, the scenario is based on research by British medieval historian Michael Jones.
Two decades ago he uncovered a document in Rouen Cathedral in France which he says is proof that King Edward IV was illegitimate.
Photo: Reuters
During the five weeks when Edward might have been conceived, his father, Richard of York, was 160km from his wife, Cecily Neville, the Duchess of York, Jones says.
As a result, Jones says that Edward was not the rightful heir to the throne, and the line of succession should instead have gone through Edward’s younger brother, George, the Duke of Clarence, who is a direct ancestor of Abney-Hastings.
Although the family do not possess any lands or stately homes in the UK, by virtue of their lineage they inherited the ancient Scottish title of Earl of Loudoun.
Abney-Hastings’ father, Michael Abney-Hastings, emigrated from the UK to Australia in 1960.
Michael inherited the title from his mother, the 13th Countess of Loudoun, in 2002 and it passed on his death in 2012 to his son, who is the 15th earl.
In recognition of the family’s heritage, Simon Abney-Hastings, 48, is one of just 13 individuals carrying out ceremonial roles largely because they successfully proved that their forebears played a particular role at previous coronations.
The earls of Loudon have traditionally been the bearers of the golden spurs as far back as the 12th century.
In earlier centuries the spurs — signifying the monarch’s role as head of the armed forces — were attached to the new sovereign’s feet. In more recent times they have just ceremonially touched the heels of the monarch before being placed on the altar.
The surprising implications of the Rouen Cathedral discovery came as a shock to the Abney-Hastings family nearly 20 years ago.
A British documentary team visited an unsuspecting Michael Abney-Hastings at his home in Australia for the 2004 program Britain’s Real Monarch.
To the amusement of his family, they were told that new research pointed to Edward IV being illegitimate, which “means that you are the rightful king of England.”
Michael Abney-Hastings responded that he had been aware of a “distant” link to the Plantagenet royal dynasty, but said that the news that he might have been King Michael I was “a bit of a shock.”
An Australian, Simon Abney-Hastings lives in Wangaratta in the southeastern state of Victoria, and appears to have no plans to press any claim.
His lawyer and private secretary Terence Guthridge said that although historians might believe he has the right to inherit the throne, the 15th earl “has never held this view.”
He has always been a “loyal and staunch supporter” of both Queen Elizabeth II and her son, Guthridge said.
“Indeed, they exchange birthday or Christmas cards every year,” he added.
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
RISING TENSIONS: The nations’ three leaders discussed China’s ‘dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea,’ and agreed on the importance of continued coordination Japan, the Philippines and the US vowed to further deepen cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of rising tensions in Asia’s waters, the three nations said following a call among their leaders. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and outgoing US President Joe Biden met via videoconference on Monday morning. Marcos’ communications office said the leaders “agreed to enhance and deepen economic, maritime and technology cooperation.” The call followed a first-of-its-kind summit meeting of Marcos, Biden and then-Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April last year that led to a vow to uphold international
US president-elect Donald Trump is not typically known for his calm or reserve, but in a craftsman’s workshop in rural China he sits in divine contemplation. Cross-legged with his eyes half-closed in a pose evoking the Buddha, this porcelain version of the divisive US leader-in-waiting is the work of designer and sculptor Hong Jinshi (洪金世). The Zen-like figures — which Hong sells for between 999 and 20,000 yuan (US$136 to US$2,728) depending on their size — first went viral in 2021 on the e-commerce platform Taobao, attracting national headlines. Ahead of the real-estate magnate’s inauguration for a second term on Monday next week,
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS