Queering the English/British crown 1066-present

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Hello history community. My good friend (and godfather of my 3rd child) HCP and I come to you tonight with a bit of a thought experiment, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but nonetheless valid, critical analysis of the "traditional" lineage of English/British monarchs from William the Conquerer onwards through the lens of figuring how each and every one of these figures was either themselves queer, or queer-coded in one way or another.

I hope you all can get some enjoyment out of this, and maybe even join in on the deconstruction of the typical method of studying these historical people. Please note as I write this that I am queer myself, in case that's relevant to you.

I'll list the person, followed by whether which ones were queer (which should be obvious to all real students of history) and if they weren't queer, how they were queer-coded, with an explanation attached for those. Enjoy
William the Conquerer: queer-coded (French)

William Rufus: queer

Henry Beauclerc: queer-coded (kinslayer)
 
Empress Matilda: queer-coded (erased from history)

Stephen of Blois: queer-coded (widowed)

Henry II: queer-coded (son of Matilda & married to Eleanor of Aquitaine)

Richard Lionheart: queer

John: queer-coded (Robin Hood, ©1973 Walt Disney Productions)

Louis the Lion: queer-coded (French)

Henry III: queer-coded (antisemitic)

Edward Longshanks: queer-coded (nickname)

Edward II: queer

Edward III: queer-coded (anti-gay + went to France willingly)

Richard II: queer

Henry IV: queer-coded (won throne through trickery)

Henry V: queer-coded (Timothée Chalamet played him in the movie)

Henry VI: queer-coded (mentally ill + married to Margaret of Anjou)

Edward IV: queer-coded (respected wife)

Edward V: queer-coded (twink)

Richard III: queer-coded (evil)

Henry VII: queer-coded (son of Margaret Beaufort & married to Elizabeth of York)

Henry VIII: queer-coded (drama queen)

Edward VI: queer-coded (twink)

Lady Jane Grey: queer-coded (erased from history + educated humanist)

Bloody Mary: queer-coded (rightwing feminist icon)

Elizabeth I: queer-coded (sexual deviant [virgin])

James VI/I: queer

Charles I: queer-coded (overthrown in violent revolution)

Ollie Cromwell: queer-coded (anti-gay)

Queen Dick Cromwell: queer

Charles II: queer-coded (I don't think this one needs an explanation)

James VII/II: queer

Mary II: queer-coded (respected constitutional norms)

William of Orange: queer

Anne: queer

George I: queer-coded (mommy issues)

George II: queer-coded (daddy issues)

George III: queer-coded (mentally ill)

George IV: queer-coded (unfaithful)

William IV: queer-coded (sailor)

Victoria: queer-coded (overweight)

Edward VII: queer-coded (fashion icon)

George V: King George V is the only monarch who is neither queer nor queer-coded.

Edward VIII: queer-coded (fashion icon + Nazi sympathizer)

George VI: queer-coded (speech impediment)

Elizabeth II: queer-coded (surrounded by divorce)

Charles III: queer-coded (full of himself)
Comment your thoughts down below

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

William of Orange is queercoded because he's Dutch.

[afleitch]

I love this

James VI/I is both queer and queercoded due to his belief witches were trying to kill him.

[Boobs]

Mary Queen of Scots - queer-coded (sexual deviant [dungeon porn])

The House of Stewart itself is queer-coded.

[afleitch]

Mary Queen of Scots - queer-coded (sexual deviant [dungeon porn])

The House of Stewart itself is queer-coded.

And she was 6ft.

[Kleine Scheiße]

Raz yuo have fallen down the hpc. rabbit hole, get yuor at together before its to late buddy

[Kleine Scheiße]

Hpc.   pipeline

[Cassius]

Surely George V is queer coded due to having a pointy beard?

[Kleine Scheiße]

Hello history community. My good friend (and godfather of my 3rd child) HCP and I come to you tonight with a bit of a thought experiment, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but nonetheless valid, critical analysis of the "traditional" lineage of English/British monarchs from William the Conquerer onwards through the lens of figuring how each and every one of these figures was either themselves queer, or queer-coded in one way or another.

I hope you all can get some enjoyment out of this, and maybe even join in on the deconstruction of the typical method of studying these historical people. Please note as I write this that I am queer myself, in case that's relevant to you.

I'll list the person, followed by whether which ones were queer (which should be obvious to all real students of history) and if they weren't queer, how they were queer-coded, with an explanation attached for those. Enjoy
William the Conquerer: queer-coded (French)

William Rufus: queer

Henry Beauclerc: queer-coded (kinslayer)
 
Empress Matilda: queer-coded (erased from history)

Stephen of Blois: queer-coded (widowed)

Henry II: queer-coded (son of Matilda & married to Eleanor of Aquitaine)

Richard Lionheart: queer

John: queer-coded (Robin Hood, ©1973 Walt Disney Productions)

Louis the Lion: queer-coded (French)

Henry III: queer-coded (antisemitic)

Edward Longshanks: queer-coded (nickname)

Edward II: queer

Edward III: queer-coded (anti-gay + went to France willingly)

Richard II: queer

Henry IV: queer-coded (won throne through trickery)

Henry V: queer-coded (Timothée Chalamet played him in the movie)

Henry VI: queer-coded (mentally ill + married to Margaret of Anjou)

Edward IV: queer-coded (respected wife)

Edward V: queer-coded (twink)

Richard III: queer-coded (evil)

Henry VII: queer-coded (son of Margaret Beaufort & married to Elizabeth of York)

Henry VIII: queer-coded (drama queen)

Edward VI: queer-coded (twink)

Lady Jane Grey: queer-coded (erased from history + educated humanist)

Bloody Mary: queer-coded (rightwing feminist icon)

Elizabeth I: queer-coded (sexual deviant [virgin])

James VI/I: queer

Charles I: queer-coded (overthrown in violent revolution)

Ollie Cromwell: queer-coded (anti-gay)

Queen Dick Cromwell: queer

Charles II: queer-coded (I don't think this one needs an explanation)

James VII/II: queer

Mary II: queer-coded (respected constitutional norms)

William of Orange: queer

Anne: queer

George I: queer-coded (mommy issues)

George II: queer-coded (daddy issues)

George III: queer-coded (mentally ill)

George IV: queer-coded (unfaithful)

William IV: queer-coded (sailor)

Victoria: queer-coded (overweight)

Edward VII: queer-coded (fashion icon)

George V: King George V is the only monarch who is neither queer nor queer-coded.

Edward VIII: queer-coded (fashion icon + Nazi sympathizer)

George VI: queer-coded (speech impediment)

Elizabeth II: queer-coded (surrounded by divorce)
Comment your thoughts down below

[Diabolical Materialism]

It's beautiful. Would love to see the pre-Norman Invasion Kings as well. Among the contenders for the English throne in 1066 (William, Harold, and Harald), who among them was the queerest in your eyes?

[Lechasseur]

What does queer coded mean?

[RosettaStoned]

 Frederick, Prince of Wales: queer-coded (cricket enthusiast).

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Mary Queen of Scots - queer-coded (sexual deviant [dungeon porn])

The House of Stewart itself is queer-coded.

And she was 6ft.

And has been played by Saoirse Ronan.

Prince Charles is queer-coded because he's interested in things like organic farming and homeopathy. Prince William is queer-coded because he's balding prematurely and thus nonconforming with respect to mainstream male beauty standards.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

It's beautiful. Would love to see the pre-Norman Invasion Kings as well. Among the contenders for the English throne in 1066 (William, Harold, and Harald), who among them was the queerest in your eyes?

This is a great question. Sorry for taking so long to answer. I wish I were more educated on the 3 claimants of 1066, but I'm inclined to say that it's Harold Godwinson since he walks so fast.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

What does queer coded mean?

Thank you for asking! "Coding" here can refer to the conventions/assumptions/stereotypes in our culture that we assign to certain groups of people based on the way they supposedly act. The best known examples of "queer-coding" are probably the Disney villains of the 90s era: Jafar, Scar, Ursula, Captain Hook, etc. These characters have the hallmarks of queerness (usually just being effeminate men but also having drag queen references in Ursula's case)

Above all, this makes them devilishly entertaining. Academically, though, they are part of a larger idea of casting queer people in a villainous light. This isn't an inherently bad thing, and it's often remembered nowadays as a consequence of making something out of a bad situation: for much of the history of film and TV, studios were actively prohibited from showing queer personalities in a positive light (see: the Hays Code). So before queer people became more acceptable in the 21st century, almost all of our representation in the media was as the "bad guys." You could say queer people got the last laugh here, as Ursula and Scar and Jafar and Captain Hook are all the most memorable characters from their respective movies, owing a lot to the fun queer personalities the filmmakers gave them.

I also referenced Disney queer-coding in my original post with the note about King John, who is a character in the Disney Robin Hood movie, and is a good example of queer-coding as well.

In my post I mostly mean it satirically. But, I also see it as a useful way to look at this part of history… call it a unique lens.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen!


Charles III: queer-coded (full of himself)

[The Mikado]

Doesn't Mary II have other reasons to be on this list?

Also, poor Queen Anne had an ungodly number of miscarriages, maybe that counts?

[Buffalo Mayor Young Kim]

I didn’t know anti-semitism and family Murder were queer coded.