The Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, originally the Crown Jewels of England, are a collection of royal ceremonial objects kept in the Jewel House at the Tower of London, which include the coronation regalia and vestments worn by British monarchs.
The Honours of Scotland, informally known as the Scottish Crown Jewels, are the regalia that were worn by Scottish monarchs at their coronation. Kept in the Crown Room in Edinburgh Castle, they date from the 15th and 16th centuries, and are the oldest surviving set of crown jewels in the British Isles.
Earl of Loudoun, named after Loudoun in Ayrshire, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1633 for John Campbell, 2nd Lord Campbell of Loudoun, along with the subsidiary title Lord Tarrinzean and Mauchline. The 1st Earl's wife Margaret was the granddaughter and heiress of Hugh Campbell, who had been created Lord Campbell of Loudoun; he resigned the peerage in favour of his grandson-in-law, who was later created an earl.
Michael Edward Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun, was a British-Australian farmer, who is most noted because of the 2004 documentary Britain's Real Monarch, which alleged he was the rightful monarch of England instead of Queen Elizabeth II. From February 1960 until November 2002, he held the courtesy title Lord Mauchline.
Barbara Huddleston Abney-Hastings, 13th Countess of Loudoun, was a Scottish countess in her own right, and a member of the House of Lords. Lady Loudoun was the oldest daughter of Reginald Mowbray Chichester Huddleston and Edith Abney-Hastings, 12th Countess of Loudoun. Her father took her mother's last name. Her only brother, Ian Huddleston Abney-Hastings, styled Lord Mauchline (1918–1944), was killed in Italy in World War II, so as the eldest sister, Barbara succeeded to the earldom in 1960.
Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The medieval title was associated with the ruling house of Scotland.
Baron Hastings is a title that has been created three times. The first creation was in the Peerage of England in 1290, and is extant. The second creation was in the Peerage of England in 1299, and became extinct on the death of the first holder in c. 1314. The third creation was in the Peerage of England in 1461, and has been in abeyance since 1960.
Baron Hungerford is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 7 January 1426 for Walter Hungerford, who was summoned to parliament, had been Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House and invested as Knight of the Order of the Garter before and was made Lord High Treasurer one year before he became a peer. The man who would later succeed as third baron was created Baron de Moleyns on 13 January 1445 by writ of summons; both titles merged when he succeeded as Baron Hungerford in 1459. The third baron was attainted and the peerage forfeit in 1461. This attainder was reversed in 1485 for the then 4th baroness of Hungerford, and so it came into the Hastings family of Earls of Huntingdon until 1789, when it came into the Rawdon(-Hastings) family of the Marquesses of Hastings until 1868 when it fell into abeyance. This abeyance was terminated three years later for a member of the Abney-Hastings family and an Earl of Loudoun. In 1920 it again fell into abeyance, which was terminated one year later for the Philipps family of the Viscounts of St Davids where it has remained since.
A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate. The word may refer to a former monarch or a descendant of a deposed monarchy, although this type of claimant is also referred to as a head of a house.
Baron Grey of Ruthin was a noble title created in the Peerage of England by writ of summons in 1324 for Sir Roger de Grey, a son of John, 2nd Baron Grey of Wilton, and has been in abeyance since 1963. Historically, this branch of the Grey family was seated at Ruthin Castle in Wales.
Under feudalism in France and England during the Middle Ages, tenure by serjeanty was a form of tenure in return for a specified duty other than standard knight-service.
Edith Maud Rawdon-Hastings, 10th Countess of Loudoun was a Scottish peer. She died aged 40 after caring for Rowallan Castle. Sir George Gilbert Scott designed an Eleanor Cross style monument to her which was erected in Ashby de la Zouch.
Britain's Real Monarch is a historical documentary presented by Tony Robinson first shown on Channel 4 on 3 January 2004. It has also been broadcast in Australia and in the United States. The documentary discusses the descendants of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, and their claim to the throne of England.
British history provides several opportunities for alternative claimants to the English and later British Crown to arise, and historical scholars have on occasion traced to present times the heirs of those alternative claims.
George Augustus Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 2nd Marquess of Hastings, styled Lord Rawdon from birth until 1817 and Earl of Rawdon from 1817 to 1826, was a British peer and courtier.
Elizabeth Frances Philipps, Viscountess St Davids was a British peeress. Following the passing of the Peerage Act 1963, she became the first woman to take her seat in the House of Lords by virtue of an hereditary peerage as 14th Baroness Strange of Knokin.
Edith Maud Abney-Hastings, 12th Countess of Loudoun was a British peeress.
Francis Hastings, Lord Hastings was the son of George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon and Dorothy Port. He married Sarah Harington, daughter of Sir James Harington and Lucy Sydney. They had five children:
Abney-Hastings is a double-barrelled surname created from the surnames Abney and Hastings.
The Stole Royal is an item of regalia used during the coronation of a British monarch, similar to the stoles worn as vestments by clergymen. It is donned after the anointing of the monarch and is worn throughout the crowning, receiving of homage and conclusion of the communion. The Stole Royal is removed, with other garments, before the procession from Westminster Abbey for which the Imperial Robe is worn.
