“History is written by the victors,” – W. Churchill.

“Hello, my name is Amy-Rose, and I am a Royalist.”

From my love of Medieval history and verging-on-obsessive interest in all things Tudor, my admiration of the British Royal Family is of the upmost. So, as you can imagine, when the news that Kate and Will’s much awaited ‘Royal Baby’ had been born (and a future King of England at that!), I was mere moments away from buying a bunting of the British flag variety and whipping up a Victoria Sponge to celebrate!

It was undoubtedly a wonderful day to be British, yet I couldn’t help but reflect on the less ‘fairytale’ aspects of Royal life. If there is one thing I’ve learnt from my endless research into our Royal history, it is that to be involved within the circus of Royalty was, and is, to be inherently endangered – whether trying to survive Henry VIII’s ruthless Court, afraid to be an accused traitor and join the estimated 57,000 English subjects who lost their heads or being caught up in the media frenzy which surrounded much beloved Princess Diana, there is no denying that Royal life isn’t as sparkling as the Crown Jewels would lead you to believe.

Winston Churchill very famously said that “history is written by the victors,” and he certainly wasn’t wrong! During the politic prowess of Mr T. Blair, we were barraged with media headlines as to exactly why British troops were being marched out into both Iraq and Libya, and are now years later told there was damning evidence against his decision, provided by MI6. Why wasn’t this evidence published during the time, you ask? Because Blair held power. And those who hold power, hold gargantuan amounts of influence and control. The majority of ‘bad press’ against King Henry VIII was written after the death of his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, and thus, the end of the Tudor line and claimant – had Good Queen Bess given birth to a bouncy baby Prince or Princess, might we not remember the tyrannical King as ‘Happy King Harry’, the generous and intelligent ruler, instead?

Next week’s post will be surrounding public perceptions of mental health and illness, and question whether or not there should be more discussion and knowledge about the issues surrounding major national and world-wide issues such as eating disorders, depression and bipolar disorders within the English schooling system.