ROYAL GHOSTS
Laketempest 2010/02/05 23:36
Throughout history there have been stories about the ghosts of kings and queens and princes. Many monarchs were very cruel and yep often the victims of violent deaths themselves. This fact, together with the mystery that surrounded kings and queens in the past, makes it hardly suprising that there should be lots of royal ghost stories. The shortage of modern royal ghosts is probably because most of the worlds royal families have ceased to exist.
THE PHANTOM WIVES OF HENRY VIII : King Henry VIII had six wives, at least four of whom have returned as ghosts. Catherine of Aragon, Henrys first wife, has often been seen in a castle in Cambridgeshire. Anne Boleyn, Henrys second wife, was beheaded in 1536. Her ghost dressed in white has visited the houses where she lived, carrying her own head. The ghost of Henrys third wife, Jane Seymour, haunts several houses holding a lighted taper. Henrys fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was beheaded in 1542 for having a love affair with one of the court musicians. Her phantom has apparead in the room in Hampton Court Palace where she was arrested.
The ghosts of Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, have been seen in the Tower of London. In 1483 the two princes were murdered there. Two hundred years later their skeletons were found, and moved to Westminister Abbey.
Queen Elizabeth I, who died in 1603, has been seen walking along the walls of Windsor Castle, about 35km west of London, she is also said to haunt the library at Windsor, and was seen there only a few days after her death.
The ghost of George II has been seen gazing up at the weather vane on Kensington Palace, in London. When he died on October 25, 1760, he was waiting for messengers from Germany. His spirit is said to mutter, 'why dont they come?'