Random Kings And Queens Who Were Allegedly LGBTQ+ (14 items)

• 

  (#6) Prince George, Duke of Kent

  • Dec. at 40 (1902-1942)

  Prince George was the son of George V and the brother to Edward VIII and George VI. Called “the most interesting, intelligent and cultivated member of his generation” by biographer Christopher Warwick, George also allegedly carried on multiple bisexual affairs.

  Married to Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, Prince George never stopped partying. In the 1920s, George became addicted to morphine and cocaine during an affair with American socialite Kiki Preston - known as the girl with the silver syringe. George reportedly had a ménage à trois with Kiki and Jorge Ferrara, the son of Argentina's ambassador. George died in 1942 in a tragic plane crash.
• 

  (#4) Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

  • Dec. at 72 (1930-2002)

  The younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, was known for being a party girl. In addition to multiple affairs, she married bisexual photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, who explained, “I didn’t fall in love with boys, but a few men have been in love with me."

  Royal reporter Noel Botham claimed in his book Margaret: The Last Real Princess that Margaret had an affair with the American ambassador's daughter, Sharman Douglas, known as Sass. One of Douglas's close friends told Botham that Sass confessed to being the princess's lover in the 1950s. 
• 

  (#5) Richard I of England

  • Dec. at 42 (1157-1199)

  Richard the Lionheart became King of England in 1189. Today, he's famous for his role in the Third Crusade and his alleged association with Robin Hood. To others, though, Richard I is a gay icon. The king chose not to marry and never fathered an heir. Instead of having a queen by his side at his coronation, Richard invited his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, to play the role of his partner. 

  According to historical documents written at the time, Richard shared a bed with King Philip II of France. One chronicler even wrote the men were so close that "at night the bed did not separate them."
• 

  (#11) Henry III of France

  • Dec. at 38 (1551-1589)

  King Henry III of France was the son of Catherine de Medici and the last Valois king of France. In 1589, one of his subjects called the king "Henry of Valois, buggerer, son of a whore, tyrant." During his lifetime, Henry was attacked for sexual deviancy, and people blamed the calamities of his reign on his sexuality. 

  Although Henry endured repeated accusations of sodomy, most historians believe they were just rumors. As Nicolas Le Roux argued, "It is less the supposed or real sexual practices of the king and those close to him that interests the historian than the image of illegitimacy conveyed by the discussion of sex." In short, regardless of his sexual identity, Henry's enemies used slurs to attack his masculinity.
• 

  (#2) Pope Julius III

  • Dec. at 68 (1487-1555)

  Pope Julius III ran the Catholic Church from 1550 to 1555. He also created a scandal thanks to his young male lover. Julius met Innocenzo, a 15-year-old beggar, in 1548, when Innocenzo was fighting with his pet ape on the street. The future pope swept the boy away and named him a cathedral provost.

  When Julius became pope two years later, he convinced his brother to adopt Innocenzo, and later named his alleged lover a cardinal. Julius's enemies called Innocenzo "Cardinal-Monkey" and complained the boy shared the pope's bed. 
• 

  (#12) William II of England

  • Dec. at 44 (1056-1100)

  The third son of William the Conqueror became King of England in 1087. William II, also known as William Rufus, was his father's favorite, explaining why William the Conqueror skipped over his older sons to make him king. 

  For centuries, rumors swirled about William Rufus's sexuality. The king never married or fathered a child. His close advisor, Ranulf Flambard, is considered a possible sexual partner. William appointed Flambard as the Bishop of Durham in 1099. As William's reign was over a thousand years ago, however, historians don't have much to extrapolate from, other than the king's close friendship with Flambard and his reputation for surrounding himself with attractive men.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking