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.
Shamans in Peru on Monday gathered for an annual New Year’s ritual where they made predictions for the year to come, including illness for US President Donald Trump and the downfall of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “The United States should prepare itself because Donald Trump will fall seriously ill,” Juan de Dios Garcia proclaimed as he gathered with other shamans on a beach in southern Lima, dressed in traditional Andean ponchos and headdresses, and sprinkling flowers on the sand. The shamans carried large posters of world leaders, over which they crossed swords and burned incense, some of which they stomped on. In this
The death of a former head of China’s one-child policy has been met not by tributes, but by castigation of the abandoned policy on social media this week. State media praised Peng Peiyun (彭珮雲), former head of China’s National Family Planning Commission from 1988 to 1998, as “an outstanding leader” in her work related to women and children. The reaction on Chinese social media to Peng’s death in Beijing on Sunday, just shy of her 96th birthday, was less positive. “Those children who were lost, naked, are waiting for you over there” in the afterlife, one person posted on China’s Sina Weibo platform. China’s
‘NO COUNTRY BUMPKIN’: The judge rejected arguments that former prime minister Najib Razak was an unwitting victim, saying Najib took steps to protect his position Imprisoned former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was yesterday convicted, following a corruption trial tied to multibillion-dollar looting of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state investment fund. The nation’s high court found Najib, 72, guilty on four counts of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering related to more than US$700 million channeled into his personal bank accounts from the 1MDB fund. Najib denied any wrongdoing, and maintained the funds were a political donation from Saudi Arabia and that he had been misled by rogue financiers led by businessman Low Taek Jho. Low, thought to be the scandal’s mastermind, remains
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday announced plans for a national bravery award to recognize civilians and first responders who confronted “the worst of evil” during an anti-Semitic terror attack that left 15 dead and has cast a heavy shadow over the nation’s holiday season. Albanese said he plans to establish a special honors system for those who placed themselves in harm’s way to help during the attack on a beachside Hanukkah celebration, like Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Syrian-Australian Muslim who disarmed one of the assailants before being wounded himself. Sajid Akram, who was killed by police during the Dec. 14 attack, and
RSS