Kingly Countenances

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXVIII, Issue 3485, 6 September 1937, Page 2

Kingly Countenances

What Some British Sovereigns Looked Like. No King in the world had his features so widely reproduced as King Edward VIII. In older days thousands of the king’s subjects never knew what ho looked like. On the Throne of England have sat tall men, short men, handsome men and ugly. Probably King Edward VIII., though by no means diminutive, was one of the smallest of the Kings of England. Richard the First was the tallest of our kings, being six feet two inches in height, and very shapely built. He had yellow hair, inclined to red, and fierce, sparkling blue eyes. On the other hand, poor Charles the First was the shortest, of our kings. He stood only five feet five inches in his socks, and was always weak In body. As a child he could not stand until he was five years of age, and in the last few years of his life his halting voice became w r orse instead of better. Charles had prominent eyes, a fine nose, and soft, silky brown hair, a direct contrast to his great enemy, Cromwell, whose face was swollen and reddish, his clothes badly made and not over clean, and his voice sharp and out of tune.

Rufus of a Ruddy Countenance

Talking of kings with red faces, it has now been definitely established that the reason why William the Second was nicknamed "William Rufus” was because his face was unusually red. For the rest he had his father’s grey eyes and hair of a light yellow color.

William the Conqueror is said to have had grey eyes, a high forehead, short, dark hair, and an aquiline nose. In his youth he was a tall man, with a fine figure, but later on he became tubby, and seemed to shrink in stature.

Stephen has been described as the handsomest of our kings, being tall, strong, and with bold, flashing eyes. There his virtues end, however, for Stephen was a rotten king. John the tyrannical wasn’t badlooking in his youth, we are told, but just before his death he possessed one of the most miserable-looking countenances It is possible to imagine. A Comely Fighter.

As for Henry the Fifth, the greatest fighter who ever occupied the Throne of England, he had a comely face, a long, straight nose, dark brown ©yes, smooth hair, and a fresh, ruddy complexion. In figure he was tall and slender, and thus his suit of armor, made of pure gold, made him look almost god-like on hils wedding day in June, 1420.

There was never anything so spectacular about his son, however, for Henry VI. always dressed very simply. As a young man he had a pale complexion and light brown hair, which he always wore long and cut level with the mouth, and in later life he grew a beard.

The first Yorkist King, Edward the Fourth, was possibly the smartest monarch to ascend the Throne of England. He was nineteen years of age when he became king, and was reckoned at the time to be the handsomest man in Europe. At thirty he had lost most of his good looks and put on a good deal of weight. Although various portraits of the son of Henry the Eighth attempt to make him look kingly, the truth is that poor little Edward VI. was a sulky-looking youngster with a passion for learning and a body wasted by constant illness.