Power, Ambition and Death – 1553

The final time that the Kingdom of England experienced three changes in power within the one year, 1553 saw the passing of Edward VI which lead to a series of events that ultimately lead to death, betrayal and once again the shifting of power throughout the monarchy.

Initiated by the passing of King Edward VI, England’s throne was handed down to Lady Jane Grey, a cousin of Mary. In a bid to continue Protestantism throughout the nation, in his final days King Edward VI questioned Mary’s right to the throne, passing it instead to her cousin. Despite the obvious public support for Mary to take the throne, Lady Jane ruled England for nine days, however was over thrown by Mary, who once in power commanded the execution of Lady Jane to ensure that her power remained.

Queen Mary I immediately worked to restore the Roman Catholic faith back to England. With her efforts seeing the restoration of old English law enforcing heresy against the church, Queen Mary I became known as ‘Bloody Mary’ whereby she oversaw the burning of 300 people at the stake for following beliefs contrary to the Roman Catholic faith.

Queen Mary I reigned England for five years, however suffered from an early death in 1558.

In celebration of the 75^th anniversary of the Three Kings of 1936 – England’s latest occurrence of welcoming three separate Kings to the throne within one iconic year comes the Niue 2011 $5 Three Kings of 1936 Silver Proof. Available for purchase from www.downies.com, this eye-catching commemorative retails for $199.00.

Murder for Power – King Edward IV, King Edward V and King Richard III

1483 saw the third occurrence within the British Monarchy where three kings – Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III, ruled the throne within the one year. Beginning with his second reign in 1471, King Edward IV controlled the British throne until his death in 1483. Upon his death, King Edward IV left the throne to his eldest son Prince Edward. Ascending to the throne at just 13 years old, King Edward V was aided by his uncle Richard Duke of Gloucester as he was too young to rule the monarchy alone. Ruling for just two months, King Edward V was transferred to the Tower of London to await his coronation, along with his younger brother Prince Richard.

Days before Edward’s awaited coronation, both little princes were declared illegitimate as King Edward IV’s marriage to their mother, Elizabeth Woodville, became invalid - thus enabling the third in line for the throne, King Edward IV’s brother Richard to be crowned King Richard III. Within a month into King Richard III’s ruling, King Edward IV’s two sons mysteriously disappeared from the Tower of London – never to be seen again.

In 1674 the bodies of two children were discovered within one of the towers. Unable to identify who these two children were, the bodies were transferred and reburied at Westminster Abbey.

Celebrating the iconic year of 1936 – The final time that the British Monarchy experienced three different rulers within the one calendar year, the Niue 2011 Three Kings of 1936 Silver Proof is available for purchase at www.downies.com.

History Repeats – 1216

Following in a similar direction to the Kings of 1066, in 1216 the English Monarchy once again saw three Kings take the throne. Welcoming King John, Louis VIII and Henry III, 1216 was a year of invasion, decease and reclamation of the monarchy.

Crowned in 1199, John, son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine was handed the throne upon the passing of his brother King Richard the Lionheart. Upon ruling successfully for 17 years, King John’s reign was challenged when Louis VIII, son of the King of France, invaded England in 1216. Receiving support and acceptance from the public as England’s new King, Louis VIII began to conquer half of the kingdom - however he was yet to be crowned. Upon the Death of King John in October 1216, Louis VIII’s supporters turned against him, welcoming instead King John’s nine year old son Henry III as the new King of England.

In celebration of the 75^th anniversary of the Three Kings of 1936 – England’s latest occurrence of welcoming three separate Kings to the throne within one iconic year comes the . Available for purchase from www.downies.com, this eye-catching commemorative retails for $199.00.

A legendary battle that instigated Medieval England

Celebrating the 75^th Anniversary of the notorious Three Kings of 1936, comes the .  Issued in remembrance of a series of chain reactions that saw the passing of George V, voluntary abdication of Edward VIII and finally the crowning of George VI, the Three Kings of 1936 was an extraordinary event in Great Britain’s Monarchy. However as history would have it, for the English Throne it was history repeating itself…

1066, a year that historian’s celebrate as the beginning of Medieval England and the first year in which the Kingdom of England welcomed four kings to the throne.

With the passing of Edward the Confessor (1042-66), Edgar, the closest living relative of Edward was proclaimed. Whilst extraordinarily young and spending much of his time in Hungary, the people of England knew very little of Edgar – a critical measure that ultimately lead to his default in being crowned King of England, enabling Harold Godwinson to step in and take the throne. The most powerful nobleman in England and the Earl of Wessex, Harold Godwinson claimed that Edward had promised the throne to him on his deathbed. With the noblemen in the country agreeing to the change in power, Harold was crowned King just two days after the death of Edward the Confessor.

Once news spread that Harold Godwinson was the new King of England, William the Conqueror decided to claim what he believed to be rightfully his. With a promise being made two years prior to the death of Edward, in 1064 Harold was placed in captivity by Count Guy de Ponthieu. With a choice to take the payment from William for his freedom and pass up the opportunity to be King upon the death of Edward or spend the rest of his life in captivity, Harold chose freedom – returning to England to resume his life as a nobleman.

With no written evidence of this agreement, Harold defended his actions by claiming that William had blackmailed him into passing up the throne, and therefore his claim was not valid. For further complications, the King of Norway and Denmark Harold Hardrada came forward indicating that the Danes had in the past conquered England and therefore the throne was rightfully his.

With three men claiming that they were the rightful heir to Edward, two battles were played out – the Battle of Stamford and the Battle of Hastings, which ultimately led to the death of both Harold Godwinson and Harold Hardrada and the crowning of King William I on Christmas Day 1066.

A tale that the English Throne witnessed a further three times and experienced again in 1936 – these stunning chronicles shaped the future and fate of the British nation. The 2011 Three Kings of 1936 Silver Proof is available for purchase at www.downies.com.