A History of Royals discussion

Mandy in the European Royalty Group posted this question and I thought it was a fantastic question so I thought I'd post it here as well.

If you could have dinner with any 5 historical figures, who would they be?

What would you talk to them about?

My answer is the same as I posted in the ER group but I didn't expand over there on why so I'll do that now.

Anne Boleyn: As Anne is one of my favorite people ever she's definitely my first choice. I think more than anything I'd just love the chance to get to know her and to see what type of person she really was. Was she actually a nice person who got a bad wrap from the men who hated her or did the men get it right and she was just a nasty, conniving b****? Not sure what I'd ask her specifically although one question does comes to mind. 'Was it worth it?'.

Elizabeth I: I'd love to hear Elizabeth's side of the Robert Dudley affair or lack thereof, as the case may be. I'd especially like to know what really happened to Dudley's first wife, Amy. I'd also ask what was it like growing up as a denied daughter of Henry and the sister of Mary and Edward. And of course, this supper would give her a chance to meet her mother. I wonder what kind of conversation that would be.

Henry VIII: I'd like to ask him what the hell his problem was. How could he deny CoA when he was once so passionate about her? How could he actually behead his wives? Did AoC's really smell that bad? Did he ever wish that Arthur hadn't died and that he hadn't become King? What were his parents like? his grandmother? Thomas More? Confronted with Anne and Elizabeth, I would like to tell them all what their actions caused and that despite Henry finally having his son, it was his youngest daughter who went on to have one of the most well-known reigns in all of England. Aside from his own reign, of course. Actually, I'd also let him know that 500 years later he's still looked at as a tyrant and a bit of an ass and that most people don’t even know he had a son so it was really all in vain anyway. I bet he'd be thrilled with that…. he'd probably try to behead me. I hope this supper would take place in the 21st century and not his own. ;)

Marie Antoinette: What was it really like being Marie Antoinette? What were Louis like and Madame Du Barry? Why did she not get herself and her children out of there? And I'd love to hear all about Count Axel.

Catherine de'Medici: I don't know enough about Catherine to list questions here, only enough to know that I want to know more and what better way to do that then ask her herself?

Jennifer wrote: "Actually, I'd also let him know that 500 years later he's still looked at as a tyrant and a bit of an ass and that most people don’t even know he had a son so it was really all in vain anyway...."

I totally agree that it would be satisfying to ream Henry a new one! He destroyed/damaged alot of innocent lives, shook the religious world, destroyed abbeys/churches with their countless priceless artifacts, all in his in his quest for a son. And in the end it was his daughter who reigned quite well and efficiently.

But, it's easy for me to look back with 21st century eyes and say this :^\

Great Question Jennifer. After a lot of thought I think my five would be:

Anatasia Romanov: I would love to talk to her, find out what it was like to be Nicholas and Alexandra's daughter, what Rasputin was really like, and what really happened to her and her whole family that night.

Lucrezia Borgia: The whole Pope Alexander, Borgia, Machiavellian political background fascinates me. What was it like to be a woman whose whole family was embroiled in those intrigues. Was she really as ruthless as a femme fatale as she is portrayed, or was she just trying to survive? She is sort of my Anne Boleyn in a way.

Lady Jane Grey: As most of you know, she is my Tudor fascination. Questions for her would be: Did she really try to refuse the crown, and is so, how hard? Was her mother really as bad as she was portrayed? If she could have picked a mother, who would it be? Would she have married Edward is they could have worked that out?

Queen Liliuokalani - The history of Hawai'i and Polynesian culture is a particular fascination of mine. This woman never lost her dignity, even after she was forced to abdicate the throne. She only abdicated because she felt it would be best for her subjects. I would love to spend time with her to hear more about the Polynesian philosophy of life. Did she feel she did the correct thing by abdicating the throne (not that she had much choice up against the US)?

Richard I, the Lionheart: Although I don't know very much about Richard, he has always fascinated me, and I would love to know more about him.

This is such a great question!! Ok, my five, not in any particular order would be:

Adolf Hitler: I would really like to psychoanalyze this guy. I want to know why he wanted an arian nation, when he, himself, was not arian and half Jewish. What possessed him to be such a ruthless killer?? I've always been morbidly fascinated by this man. Like I said, I really want to get inside his head. What was he thinking??

Henry VIII: My favorite monarch. He had such a twisted life, he himself was extremely twisted. I want to ask him how felt after Anne Boleyn's and Katherine Howard's executions. (I know all the conjectures, but I want to know how he actually felt).

Katherine Howard: Henry's fifth wife. Often called a "silly little girl." I want to know if this is true or not! Did she really think she would get away with sleeping around on Henry?? Was it worth it?? And what did she think when Henry asked her to be his queen.

Tsar Nicholas II: One of the last of the Romanovs. What was going through his head the last couple of months of running away? Knowing now what would befall him, would he have ran to a different country with his family?

Anne Boleyn: (I love the Tudor time period!) What was she thinking the last couple of days that she sat in the Queen's Lodgings of the Tower and heard her scaffold being built? How close were her and her brother really? What happened to Henry Percy, and was it for sure the reason why she went after Wolsey? What was she thinking when Henry (VIII) started pursuing her so single mindedly, and how did she feel about his abrupt "cool down" from her? Basically, I want to know what she was thinking those last couple of days on the Earth. (I'm not a psychologist, but I do like knowing what people were/are thinking a lot!)

what a great question to really make one think. Now will tis be a formal dinner or a private intimate dinner that does make a difference. If it was a small intimet dinner I would envite:

Julis Ceasar - Ceasar has always had my interest, he was a man of political power, military prowess and I have to admit that he had lots of women yet not one really caught his full attention and heart so I would like to sit across from and ask a few questions on the ones he knew and about Rome.

Vlad the Impaler - I know he's got a bad wrap but his story would be rather interesting coming from himself, being held hostage most of his youth then having to fight his own blood family to stay alive and become Prince and all along the way be a military leader and keeping the enemy at bay. I tink I would set him to the left of Ceasar, see how they mesh.

Barbra Villiers Palmer - the woman was a royal mistress but she was determined to change her future and being the mistress of King Charles II she advised him(!) on allsorts of things, though she almost lost him. I would want to ask how she managed it while trying to stay true to herself and all that she secretly accomplished. She would sit to Ceasar's right. Wonder how they would get along?

Catherine the Great - I've only recently found an interest in her, she was a woman that did not back down. I know she was believed to be a fornicator of the worse kind but why did she perfer the lower class rather then the lavish handsome fellows and why was their so many? What motivated her, not the obvious reason but what really did. I would set her to my right, across from Countess of Castlemian, I think they would have fun with Ceasar.

and lastly,

Mary Bolyen - I know everyone is so gitty about Anne but my heart goes out to Mary. I think she was passed around at the whim of man and well her story is just as interesting as Annes though she did not change the course of English history nor set herself on the throne. She did take care of elizabeth thoser first years, got a few questions on that myself. She seemed to have simple wishes when it came to life and well I'ld love to talk to her about it all, even the love of her life, Stafford. I would seat her to my left across from Vlad, with all the pain in their lives they might have something in common and Mary might bring him out of his shell.

Ahh, now what to serve?

Oh Aly. Meeting Hilter would be quite interesting! Would love to know the answers to those questions.

Nona, I read your post on the original ER post and loved your answer.

Great choices everyone! Oh how I wish I had a time machine ;)

yeah thank goodness for copy and paste..lol.

Hitler, interesting choice. I wonder about his lady friend was she not part jewish? And supposedly he was too. such animosity.

Ava. i don't remember her last name, but her first name was Ava. I don't know much about her, but Hitler was part Jewish. I just don't understand what made him go so crazy. He was definitely a self loather.

Eva Braun.

There is a biography on Eva Braun called "The Lost Life of Eva Braun" if you're interested in reading about her life. The author is Angela Lambert.

Fun answers over here!
I'll sit in on all your dinners :)

I'd love to have dinner with just about everyone listed, but I suppose I'll keep my answer the same as my original one (on the European Royalty Board)

Copy and Pasting...
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Richard III
Henry VIII
Anne Boleyn
Elizabeth I

It was HARD to narrow it down, and honestly, I sort of hate to include 3 Tudors...
I just can't help but find them fascinating!
Originally I left Anne Boleyn off my list, but if this were real there's no way I'd actually miss an opportunity to meet her!

Really, I'd love to meet just about everyone I've read about. If there's a Heaven, I sure hope it's populated with historical characters that don't mind being asked dozens of questions!

Thanks Mandy! I hope you don't mind that I *stole* your question. I thought it was fantastic :)

Another Mandy on here...this should make things interesting :)

Since I only started reading about the Tudors a few months ago (and that's all I've read so far), my knowledge is pretty limited. At this point, with who I've read about so far, I would include:

Henry VIII
Lady Jane Grey
Anne Boleyn
Mary Tudor (the daughter)
Elizabeth Woodville

Didn't Hitler's hate of the Jews have something to do with the horrible treatment that he got from his father?

No problem, Jennifer!

Mandy - I saw that, too! The pictures should make it easy to tell us apart :)

Lyn - I hadn't heard that, but maybe...
even if he was horrible, though...

Mandy - I agree about Hitler, it certainly doesn't excuse his craziness. If I met him, I would love to ask him it that was true, or see if he even understood his own behavior.

You know Lyn, as I understand Hitler knew what he was doing and thought he was filling a Nostradamus prophesy as being the second coming of the anti-Christ (little known to many there are three comings and the last will be the worst).

His mother was a housekeeper in a Jewish home and Hitler was born to her illegitimate. By adolescence he was already a bitter and rebellious youth being beaten by his step-father constantly. His anti-Semitism is said to stem from books he read such as the writings of Lanz von Liebenfels and polemics from politicians such as Karl Lueger, as well as Martin Luther's On the Jews and their Lies. He held Martin Luther in very high regard referring to him in his autobiography Mein Kampf as “a great warrior, a true statesman, and a great reformer”.

Sorry to bring over the bad habit of trailing off topic from the TL group but I couldn't help myself. I am working on my unusual dinner party, but I am having a hard time narrowing it down to only five. :)

That's right Colleen. It was his step-father that beat him, not his father. I just always wondered if that had some affect on him as far as his other craziness. Good luck on narrowing down your five. It took me forever, and I'm still not entirely sure.

We're all so good at trailing off Colleen that we can't blame you ;)

Interesting post though. Can't wait for your dinner guest list!

I was at a family dinner last night and asked everyone this question. I expected them to roll their eyes at me as they sometimes do when I start talking about history/royalty/books/etc but they actually really enjoyed the question and it made for an interesting discussion, even though no one actually came up with 5!

Jennifer - Good idea. I think I will try it at Thanksgiving this year.

Jennifer wrote: "Mandy in the European Royalty Group posted this question and I thought it was a fantastic question so I thought I'd post it here as well.

If you could have dinner with any 5 historical figures, ..."


I have been reading this thread and thinking. It is So hard to narrow it down because there are just so many historical figures that interest me and from being in Goodreads my list of To Read Up on has grown greatly too.
I guess if I had to choose:

William Tyndale and/or Martin Luther. They were both so important in the religious reform. Knowing the punishment for going against the church at the time Even if it was just to translate the bible to bring it to the masses. I would like to ask them how they dealt with all the impending danger and what prompted them to start the translations.

Mozart and his sister, Nannerl. For Mozart I would would want to ask him Why he threw away his God given gift with booze and drugs. For Nannerl I would want to fid out how the coped with being the oldest but set aside for Mozart. She was talented in her own right but was a girl and older so left behind when The dad started touring with Mozart.

I have to have a few Tudors...so I thought of the wives and well ruled out Kat Howard because she seemed like a silly immature loose girl, Jane because she seemed so overly plain and pious even that doubt would have little to agreeably converse about and also Ann o Cleaves just cause I know so little about her. Ann B and I would not get on well and she is overrated so not on my list. That leaves Wife 1 and 6. CoA I would like to ask about her ablity to stand firm and not falter on her convictions knowing how it would affect Mary. For Kat Parr...I would ask how she managed to deal with being married more for being a nurse than wife and Why she married Seymour later...

OK that is 5-6 but there are many more.
Even would like to have met Jane Grey if for no other reason than to give the poor girl a HUG. Seemed she never got any affection from her parents and certainly not from that orgre of a hubby she was saddled with.

I did love all the other posts here.

Wen, i seriously thought about putting Dvorak on my list because he is my favorite composer, so it was really cool to see Mozart on your list! (he's another one of my favorites). I was surprised by William Tyndale and Martin Luther. I actually would like to talk to them too, although I think the conversation would quickly get combative (I LOVE discussing religion!)

Wen wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Mandy in the European Royalty Group posted this question and I thought it was a fantastic question so I thought I'd post it here as well.

If you could have dinner with any 5 his..."

Poor Jane. She definitely could have used a hug or two. Great list Wen! There are just so many people we could add.

My mom mentioned Cleopatra the other night when I asked and I was suprised to realize no one had said her yet. She also agreed with Henry and Anne. Dad said Jesus, Ghandi and Lao Tzu :)

Aly wrote: "Wen, i seriously thought about putting Dvorak on my list because he is my favorite composer, so it was really cool to see Mozart on your list! (he's another one of my favorites). I was surprised b..."

Yes I did put and or Tyndale and Luther....Not sure how well they would have coexisted during a meal...lol To me it would interesting and at the least prob very entertaining to have both.
I love a good religious debate.. so long and no one gets nasty. I think All opinions if stated from actual thoughts and feeling are valid.

So, I'm thinking about my list, and wondering exactly what constitutes a historical figure. Does the person have to be dead? Or is it enough that they have stopped doing the significant thing that they did in the past?

I guess think of historical figures as being dead but really I don't think it matters for this particular question. It's fun to hear all the different answers so if you want to add someone who is still living feel free :)

I totally agree with you Wen. It's not to discuss fun when people are coming from a place without facts and full of biases and prejudices.

Aly wrote: "I totally agree with you Wen. It's not to discuss fun when people are coming from a place without facts and full of biases and prejudices. "


Yay you like to fight fair too. You can debate with me any time...giggle

I don't know if I would have 5 I'd like to have dinner with, but this is my list so far. . .

#1 Sir Aurthur Wellesley,Duke of Wellington
#2 Richard III

I might have to add Richard III to my list at some point, and Juana La Loca from Spain.

i just asked my mom this query . . . she went totally political
Lincoln
Churchill
Eisenhower
Kennedy
and threw in Edison for the last one

gave me a whole new perspective on my mom

i'm trying to think of my list but keep coming up with authors and actors - so i have to think on it a bit

Your mom has some good ones on her list, Debbie. I could definitely go for them, especially Lincoln and Churchill.

Okay, I would have to say:

Henry VIII: I would love to here everything from his point of view. But, I also think I would be revolted.

Victor Hugo: I love Les Miserables...do I need to say anymore?

Anne Frank: I would cry, though.

William Shakespeare: I would love to talk about his plays and such with him... And his perspective

Sarah Wincester: She was so crazy, totally unlike anyone I have ever read about! I love her!

Wow, you guys have some great answers!

There are so many I'd want to sit down with!!!

Ok so here goes:

Queen Victoria: I dont know why, but I've always found her very interesting, I think I'd like to know her better.

Cleopatra: Wouldnt it be amazing just staring at her through dinner? I think I'd be in aw all night.

Catherine of Aragon: She's always been my favorite of the 6 wives and I'd really like to just sit down with her and find out how she felt about everything.

Lucrezia Borgia: Well after reading The Borgia Bride I have some questions I'd like to ask her! Wow, but a conversation with her should be interesting.

To put a man in the mix:
Theodore Roosevelt: Again I'm not sure why but I want to know more about this man! I dont know much but when I see a picture of him I find that I like his face and I think it would be wonderful to have dinner with him.

Oh! I forgot about Harry Houdini! He is awesome! I would just love to Hear him talk...

clarinet friend - Sarah Winchester certainly has a very interesting story. I would love to talk with her, too.

Niecole -I am laughing that you felt compelled to include a man. And Teddy Roosevelt no less. From what I have read, he was a larger than life figure in real life and probably a hoot to have dinner with. Very different from his cousin FDR.

I know, I've never felt like I wanted to know more about FDR, but I've always wanted to learn more about Teddy. I read yesterday that he actually didnt like being Teddy because it was a nickname that his first wife gave him and she died very unexpectedly and he was haunted by her death and never spoke of her again because it hurt to much. He prefered the nickname Teedy

(wish I knew who on earth I was thinking of when I posted message 26...)

Thats pretty funny :)

There are many others whom I'd love to have dinner with...

An excellent book on Theodore Roosevelt is Mornings on Horseback -much recommended.

Darkpool wrote: "(wish I knew who on earth I was thinking of when I posted message 26...)"

Darkpool - Did anyone even ever answer your question on #26? I would say a historical figure is a someone who has made history. Dead or Alive. I think we were thinking dead to begin with, but let's open it up.

Susanna wrote: "An excellent book on Theodore Roosevelt is Mornings on Horseback -much recommended."

Just put it on my TBR, Susanna

Katherine Parr & grown-up Mary Seymour - because i may be related to the Parr family and would love to know what happened to Mary and to let Mary meet her mother

Jack Kerouac - love his writing but in love with the legend more

Katherine Hepburn - fav actress and one ballsy lady

Cary Grant - just cuz i love him

Jane Austen - would love to ask if her life was anything like her heroines

I agree with Jane Austen. I'd like to just talk to her and see if she really is as blunt as her letters seem to be.

Elizabeth Tudor-Incredibly intelligent person who I'd love to talk to about how she managed to stay in power as a single woman for so long.

Eleanor of Aquitaine-I'd love to hear what she was thinking in some of her adventures and what rumors are true.

Mary Tudor-She's a tragic figure but so complex.

Grace O'Malley-I'd love to hear her life story and what it was like being a female pirate. Particularly when compared to how Elizabeth Tudor wielded power in the same era.

Wow Amanda - Grace O'Malley sounds like a fascinating choice.

I have always heard that Jane Austen was nothing like her heroines, but it seems to me you would have to have some of those characteristics hidden inside that wanted to come out. She would be fascinating.

Susanna wrote: "An excellent book on Theodore Roosevelt is Mornings on Horseback -much recommended."

Thanks so much Susanna :)

Hope y'all enjoy it! It covers his earlier life, up into the 1890s, not his years as President.

I think thats the part I'd actually really like to read. I read a bit about him, that he was a sickly child, its amazing how a child that someone would see as weak and sick would end up President :)... what a great story it must be