Page 60 - BBC History - September 2017

History Hot 100 2017

11 Mary, Queen of Scots
1542–87 2 Eleanor of Aquitaine
Scottish queen and French queen consort c1122–1204
Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, became
10 Henry VIII one of the most powerful women in
1491–1547 Europe when she married Louis, heir
to Louis VI of France in late July 1137.
King of England
The French king died the following
9 William Shakespeare month and Eleanor became queen of
1564–1616 France, a title she would hold for 15
years. An unsuccessful crusade to the
English poet, playwright and actor
Holy Land in 1147–49, combined with
Eleanor’s perceived failure to provide
8 Queen Victoria Louis with a son, soured the relationship
1819–1901
and the couple divorced in 1152. Her
British queen and empress of India
second marriage to the future Henry II
saw her become queen of England and,
7 Adolf Hitler
later, mother to the future Richard I.
19 Martin Luther 1889–1945 Up 5 places from 2016
1483–1546 Dictator of Nazi Germany
On 31 October 1517, after witness- 6 Winston Churchill
ing corruption in the Catholic church, 1874–1965
German theologian Martin Luther HOLDING
supposedly nailed his 95 Theses to the British wartime prime minister ON TO
door of the Wittenberg Castle church. THE TOP
SPOT
In them, he condemned the practice 5 Anne Boleyn
of selling ‘indulgences’ to absolve sin See box below
and stated that salvation could be
reached by faith, not deeds. Luther 4 Elizabeth I
was condemned by the Catholic church 1533–1603
but his work sparked the Protestant Queen of England
Reformation.
Up 36 places from 2016 3 Alfred the Great
849–899
King of Wessex
20 Napoleon Bonaparte 2 Eleanor of Aquitaine
1769–1821
See box above right
French military and political leader
19 Martin Luther
See box above
18 Margaret Beaufort
1443–1509
Mother of King Henry VII
17 Elizabeth of York
1466–1503
Queen consort of Henry VII
16 Elizabeth Woodville
1437–92
Queen consort of Edward IV
15 Jesus Christ
c6-4 BC–30 AD
Religious leader central to Christianity 5 Anne Boleyn
c1501–36 1 Richard III
14 William Marshal Anne spent much of her childhood at 1452–85
c1146/47–1219
the French court, returning to England Interest in the Yorkist king reached fever pitch in 2012 when his
Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman
in 1522 where she proceeded to dazzle remains were found beneath a Leicester car park.
Henry VIII. By 1533, Anne was pregnant Mystery still surrounds Richard, not least whether he was responsi-
13 Benito Mussolini with the king’s child and the pair were ble for the deaths of his nephews – Edward V and his younger brother,
1883–1945
secretly married. In 1534, Henry’s mar- Richard – who mysteriously disappeared from the Tower of London in
Italian Fascist dictator riage to Catherine of Aragon was finally the summer of 1483.
annulled and Anne was crowned queen. Richard III’s death at the battle of Bosworth heralded the dawn of
12 Henry VII But a series of failed pregnancies com- the Tudor dynasty as Henry Tudor took the throne of England, marrying ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANDY TUOHY
1457–1509 bined with accusations of adultery saw Richard’s niece, Elizabeth of York. Five monarchs would sit on the
First Tudor king of England Anne sent to the scaffold in 1536. throne for more than a century of Tudor rule. Richard III, meanwhile,
Down 1 place from 2016 still continues to divide opinion.

60 BBC History Magazine Hot 100