The males are another matter. Neither can the heir to the throne get one of those forenames that is a shortening of another name (Jack, Fred, Tom). Prince Harry got his name because he would not be king. read more
Henry IV was a usurper and never intended to become king. His father, John of Gaunt, wasn't naming him thinking of his being in a line of kings (although certainly his own royal lineage was a part of it and it was in homage to them). read more
King John and King Stephen are not called the Ist since there has only been one. King James I of England was also known as King James VI in Scotland. Occasional deeds will warrant and adjective for a name such as with the Prussian Frederick the Great but it does not change the fact that his official title is Frederick II. read more
The 16th-century historian John Stow claimed Henry had some 70,000 people executed during his reign; though that was an extreme exaggeration, the number surely reached into the hundreds. He inherited a fortune, and lost it all (and then some). Henry VIII inherited a large fortune, the equivalent of some £375 million today. read more