Rank didn’t spare them
QUESTION Were any royals killed by the Black Death?
THE Black Death, or bubonic plague, peaked in Europe between 1347 and 1353, but returned to haunt the continent throughout the 14th to 17th centuries. It was the most fatal pandemic in human history, killing up to a third of the world’s population.
Royalty fared better than the common man as they were able to isolate on private estates while the plague thrived in the unhygienic towns and villages, yet it still took many prominent lives.
Following intense negotiations, Joan of England, the beloved daughter of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault, was betrothed to Pedro, heir to Castile, in 1345. Three years later, 14year-old Joan and her retinue set out on the journey to Castile for the nuptials.
The Black Death had not yet appeared in England and the party was unaware of the danger. However, an outbreak had begun in Bordeaux and after arriving in the town, members of the entourage began to die.
Joan was moved to the isolated village of Loremo, but could not escape the plague and died.
A devastated Edward III wrote to Alfonso XI of Castile: ‘But see, with what intense bitterness of heart we have to tell you this, destructive Death (who seizes young and old alike, sparing no one and reducing rich and poor to the same level) has lamentably snatched from both of us our dearest daughter, whom we loved best of all, as her virtues demanded.’
Alfonso succumbed to the plague two years later during the Fifth Siege of Gibraltar.
Other British-born royal plague victims were Blanche of Lancaster and her daughter Philippa of Lancaster, Queen of Portugal.
Blanche was the first of the three wives of John of Gaunt, the powerful son of Edward III, and the mother of Henry IV. When John died 31 years later, he was buried with Blanche.
Philippa of Lancaster, who was married to Joao I of Portugal, succumbed to the plague in 1415, as did her son King Duarte of Portugal 23 years later.
Anne of Bohemia, the first wife of Richard II, is also thought to have been a plague victim.
In 1455, 12-year-old Lady Margaret Beaufort married 24-year-old Edmund Tudor. The Wars of the Roses, the battle for the English throne between the House of Lancaster and the House of York, had just begun.
Edmund, a Lancastrian, was taken prisoner by the Yorkists a year later. He died of the plague in captivity at Carmarthen Castle, leaving his young widow seven months pregnant with their child, Henry, who would later found the Tudor dynasty.
There were plague deaths among European royal families including Queen Jeanne la Boiteuse, known as Joan the Lame, the first wife of France’s Philip VI; Eleanor of Portugal, Queen of Aragon; Louis, King of Sicily; and Louis I of Naples.
Mary Illsley, Market Harborough, Leics.
QUESTION Who has received the most Best Song Oscar nominations without winning?
AMERICAN hit-making machine Diane Warren has been nominated for the Best Song Oscar 13 times, yet has always left the Academy Awards empty-handed.
Her nominated songs include Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship (Mannequin, 1987); Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion (Up Close And Personal, 1996); How Do I Live by LeAnne Rimes (Con Air, 1997); I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing (Armageddon, 1998); and Music Of My Heart by Gloria Estefan and NSYNC (Music Of The Heart, 1999).
More recent nominated songs include There You’ll Be by Faith Hill (Pearl Harbour, 2001); Grateful by Rita Ora (Beyond The Lights, 2014); Til It Happens To You by Lady Gaga (The Hunting Ground, 2015); Stand Up For Something by Andra Day (Marshall, 2017); I’ll Fight by Jennifer Hudson (RBG, 2018); I’m Standing With You by Chrissy Metz (Breakthrough, 2019); Io sì (Seen) by Pausini (The Life Ahead, 2020); and Somehow You Do by Reba McEntire (Four Good Days, 2020).
As consolation, more than 800 of her songs have been recorded and she was the first songwriter with seven hits by different artistes in the charts at the same time. Disney songwriter Mack David had eight unsuccessful Best Song Oscar nominations including Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo from Cinderella, 1950; It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, 1963; and the Ballad Of Cat Ballou, 1965.
Danny Thomas, Sheffield, S. Yorks.
QUESTION Livingston FC’s Tony Macaroni Arena is nicknamed The Spaghettihad. Are there other fun stadium nicknames?
FURTHER to earlier answers, I’ve supported Dumbarton FC for more than 60 years. Their nickname is Sons of the Rock.
They now play on a ground at the foot of Dumbarton Rock, a volcanic plug, on which is built Dumbarton Castle.
As a result, the ground is often referred to as ‘Rock Bottom’, though whether that is a reflection of their footballing abilities I’d rather not comment.
Douglas W. McKinnon, Ayr.
QUESTION Which English counties are best and least represented in the football league?
THE earlier answer failed to include Sutton United. Promoted to the football league in the 2021/22 season, the team is technically within the County of Surrey, although also part of Greater London.
Rob Chandler, Sutton, Surrey.
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