The Maid of Norway and the Royal Pawn Shop
1472 Orkney and Shetland were pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Princess Margaret, daughter of Christian I, King of Norway and Denmark. As the wife of King James III of Scotland she was the Queen Consort and the mother of the future King James IV of Scotland.
The First Protestant King of England
1547 Edward VI, aged 9 years old, was crowned at Westminster. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England’s first monarch who was raised as a Protestant.
The Funny Old Game
1940 The birth of Jimmy Greaves, England’s third highest international goalscorer and the highest goalscorer in the history of Tottenham Hotspur football club. Famed for his trademark catchphrase “It’s a funny old game.”
The Last Viceroy of India
1947 Lord Louis Mountbatten, cousin of King George VI and a hero of World War II, was appointed the last Viceroy of India, the same day London announced that the British would leave India by June 1948.
Olympic Gold
1952 Jeannette Altwegg won Britain’s first Olympic Gold Medal for figure-skating at the Winter Olympics in Oslo.
Whatever’s Happened to Our Millions?
1982 US entrepreneur John de Lorean’s luxury sports car project in Belfast set up with over £17 million of British taxpayers’ money, went into receivership. On his return to the US he was asked bluntly, ‘Are you a con man?’
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