Throne name

The ancient rulers in many parts of the world, upon accession to the throne, took names that were different from those given at birth. This was the case with some of the kings of Assyria ^[1] , as well as with a number of Jewish kings. Even in ancient Egypt, the pharaohs had many names.

In some parts of Asia, as a rule rather than exceptions, monarchs took a new name upon accession to the throne (the old was often taboo ). In China and countries whose culture developed under his influence (Japan, Korea), the monarchs adopted the motto of the board , which was called after death (along with this the monarch had a religious (temple) name and others). So, the Japanese emperor Mutsuhito is known under his motto - Meiji , the emperor of China Xuanye - under the motto of Kansi .

Immediately after the election of the new Pope, he is asked by the College of Cardinals “What name do you want to be called?”. The Chosen Pope chooses a name by which he will be known from now on. It is part of the solemn proclamation of Habemus Papam . The tradition of changing names among popes appeared in the VI century and by the end of the first millennium already prevails; the last pope, who did not change his name, lived in the 16th century.

The first pope to adopt a double name was John Paul I in 1978 - in honor of John XXIII and Paul VI , his successor John Paul II bore the same name.

The monarchs of Great Britain did not use the first baptismal names as throne three times.

Queen Victoria received the names of Alexandrina Victoria at baptism; upon her accession to the throne, she used a middle name (the first seemed to her dissonant, and “Victoria” means victory).

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales , her son, adopted the name of King Edward VII when he became king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1901 . This was done against the desire of the mother, who wanted all her descendants to have a double name with the first name Albert in honor of her husband, Prince Consort Albert , as her throne, so her son received the names Albert Edward, and the eldest grandson Albert Victor (died during his lifetime grandmother and did not reign).

In 1936 , after the abdication of Edward VIII, Prince Albert, Duke of York , took the throne as King George VI - by the second baptismal name. Georg was his middle name.

However, most British monarchs used their first baptismal names as the throne.

Apparently, Charles, the Prince of Wales, will bear his last baptismal name (George VII) if he becomes king. This is due to the not-so-good reputation of kings with the names of Charles (Charles) - Charles I (deposed and executed as a result of the revolution ) and Charles II (known for his love affairs), as well as the Jacobite contender for the English throne, Charles Stewart , who recognized his supporters as the king of England Charles III.

Certain difficulties arose in Scotland, with which England has been in a union since 1707. In 1953, shortly after the coronation of Elizabeth II, the nationalist Iain Hamilton and John McCormick, who joined him, tried to challenge the right of the latter to be numbered by throne number II, arguing that this violates the Union Act 1707 : Queen Elizabeth I of Scotland never was in Scotland ( case 1953 SC 396 “McCormick v. Lord Advocate”), the previous Elizabeth , who executed the legitimate Scottish Queen Mary Stuart , was called Elizabeth I of England, and since then the royal houses of England and Scotland were not yet united, Eliza Veta I cannot be considered the Queen of Scotland, and therefore, Elizabeth II in Scotland should be called Elizabeth I. There were attacks of vandals on the royal monogram EIIR ( Elizabeth II Regina ) on the mailboxes of the Royal Post in Scotland, in connection with which the monogram was replaced by the Crown Scotland.

The case was lost because the title and throne number of the monarch is the subject of the Royal Prerogative , which the Union Act does not regulate. At the suggestion of Winston Churchill, future British monarchs should, when determining their throne number, rely on the largest number among their English and Scottish predecessors. For example, although King Henry of Scotland has never been (King Henry Stewart was a consort king, spouse of Mary Stuart), but there was a king of England Henry VIII Tudor , in case one of the future kings of Great Britain bears this name, he will be king Henry IX . Similarly, although the King of England, James II Stuart, in Scotland was named after James VII, the future king of the United Kingdom with this name will be James VIII. On the other hand, there was never King David in England, but there was King David II of Scotland, so the future hypothetical king of the United Kingdom will be named David III.

The day before Elizabeth II’s visit to Scotland in 2002, an unresolved issue, according to some Scots, was raised again ^[2] : a veteran of the Nationalist Scottish National Party (SNP) Winnie Ewing sent the Queen a formal letter stating that it was in her anniversary year The 50th anniversary of the coronation is the time to raise the issue of changing the Queen’s official name again. The initiative was supported by SNP leader John Sweeney and the son of John McCormick, who filed his first lawsuit in 1953, and Scott Neil, member of the Scottish Parliament, Sir Neil McCormick.