Michael Edward Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun (born Michael Edward Lord; 22 July 194230 June 2012), 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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

instead of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. From February 1960 until November 2002, he held the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some con ...

Lord Mauchline. Loudoun was born in England and educated at

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, but emigrated to

Jerilderie, New South Wales Jerilderie is a small, rural town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Murrumbidgee Local Government Area. At th Jerilderie had a population of 922 people. It can be found along the Newell Highway ...

, as a teen, where he was a rice farmer and family man. He was the

heir-general In English law, heirs of the body is the principle that certain types of property pass to a descendant of the original holder, recipient or grantee according to a fixed order of kinship. Upon the death of the grantee, a designated inheritance such ...

of George Plantagenet, the younger brother of

Edward IV of England Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in Englan ...

. If Edward IV had been illegitimate and the crown of England had descended by

male-preference primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

before 1500, then George (and his heirs) would have been monarchs of England. Abney-Hastings died on 30 June 2012 in New South Wales.

Early life

Abney-Hastings was born in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...

, to Captain Walter Strickland Lord and Barbara Abney-Hastings, 13th Countess of Loudoun, under the name Michael Edward Lord. He later lived at

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Ashby-de-la-Zouch, sometimes spelt Ashby de la Zouch () and shortened locally to Ashby, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England. The town is near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshir ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire ...

, and his name was legally changed via deed poll to Michael Edward Abney-Hastings in 1946. As a youth, he was educated at

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

, before moving to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

when he was 18 years old.

Claim to the English throne

In 2004, '' Britain's Real Monarch'', a documentary broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, repeated the claim that Abney-Hastings, as the senior descendant of

George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (21 October 144918 February 1478), was the 6th son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of English kings Edward IV and Richard III. He played an important role in the ...

, is the rightful

King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Baili ...

. This argument involves two disputed claims: first, that

was illegitimate, based on the accusation that his supposed father, Richard, Duke of York, was absent at the time when Edward is thought to have been conceived; and second, that the Plantagenet crown should have descended by male-preference cognatic primogeniture instead of

agnatic primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

and conquest. Also, Henry VI had placed an attainder on Edward after he was restored to the throne, and named George, Duke of Clarence, as heir to the throne after Henry VI and his legitimate issue.

Personal views and family

Abney-Hastings was a committed Australian republican and expressed no interest in pursuing his claim to the throne, although he was amused by it. He refrained from using his title publicly. Abney-Hastings had two sons and three daughters with his wife, Noelene Margaret (née McCormick; married 1969). His eldest son,

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, held the

Lord Mauchline until his father's death on 30 June 2012. Until his death, the 14th Earl was one of the seven co-heirs to the Barony of Grey de Ruthyn. * Lady Amanda Louise Abney-Hastings (born 1969) * Lady Lisa Maree Abney-Hastings (1971–2012) * Simon Michael Abney-Hastings, 15th Earl of Loudoun (born 1974) * Lady Rebecca Lee Abney-Hastings (born 1974) * The Hon. Marcus William Abney-Hastings (born 1981) Abney-Hastings was a

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

of the

Jerilderie Shire Jerilderie Shire was a local government area in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was located adjacent to the Newell Highway. The Shire was declared in 1918 after the amalgamation of the former Municipality o ...

, elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2008.

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Channel 4: Britain's Real Monarch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loudoun, Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl Of 1942 births 2012 deaths Earls of Loudoun Australian peers English people of Scottish descent Australian people of Scottish descent People educated at Ampleforth College People from Ashby-de-la-Zouch English emigrants to Australia People from the Riverina New South Wales local councillors Australian republicans