The Life of Sean Connery

Sean Connery was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1930. After competing in the 1953 Mr. Universe competition, he was encouraged to go into acting, he landed parts in a BBC production of Anna Karenina and in the 1959 film, Darby O’Gill and the Little People. Although he was later offered a contract to play football by Matt Busby of Manchester United, he decided to remain in the acting profession. His breakthrough came when he landed the role of James Bond, going onto to star in seven films as the secret agent. After finishing with the Bond franchise he starred mainly in epic productions with ensemble casts with the exception of John Huston’s The Man Who Would Be King (1975). He began acting in more serious roles following the successful In the Name of the Rose (1986), landing an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Untouchables (1987). During the late 1980s and 1990s he starred in blockbusters including Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Rock (1996) and Entrapment (1999). In more recent years he was involved in several critical and box-office disappointments such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) but he received very positive reviews for his role in Finding Forrester (2000). He is now retired from making movies, in 2008 he released his auto-biography called Being a Scot. He was married to Australian-born actress Diane Cliento from 1962 to 1973, they have one son, Jason Connery. In 1975 Sean Connery married the French actress, Micheline Roquebrune.

Lonnie Donegan - The King of Skiffle

Anthony James Donegan was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 29 April 1931, the son of a violinist who had played with the Scottish National Orchestra. When still an infant, Lonnie’s family moved to London, as a teenager he was playing guitar around London and visiting small jazz clubs. In 1952 he formed his first group, the Tony Donegan Jazzband, on one occasion opening for the American blues musician Lonnie Johnson, from whom he took his name as a tribute. Lonnie Donegan was the first person to become famous for playing skiffle in the United Kingdom, using a washboard, a tea-chest bass and a cheap Spanish guitar. He fell out of favour with the public during the 1960s and 1970s and he began playing on the American cabaret circuit. He experienced somewhat of a renaissance in 2000 after featuring on Van Morrison’s album The Skiffle Sessions - Live in Belfast 1998. He played the Glastonbury festival later that same year and was awarded an MBE. His influence on a generation of musicians is immense and includes John Lennon and Pete Townshend. He was married three times, he had two daughters by his first wife Maureen Tyler (divorced 1962), a son and daughter by his second wife, Jill Westlake (divorced 1971) and three sons by his third wife, Sharon, whom he married in 1977. He died in 2002, half-way through a UK tour. Two of his sons Peter and Anthony have formed bands which perform their father’s material, they also both starred in a musical about his life.

 King James I of England & VI Scotland 

James Charles Stuart was the only child of Mary, Queen of Scots and her second husband, Henry Stuart, Duke of Albany. James succeeded Mary to the throne after her abdication, he was only one year old, becoming King James VI of Scotland. He married Anne of Denmark, daughter of Frederick II in 1590. With the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, James was proclaimed King James I of England. James became keen to establish a permanent Union of the Crowns under one monarch, one parliament and one law, however he was opposed in both countries. In 1605, a plot to assassinate James when Guy Fawkes was foiled in his attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament. The Gunpowder Plot, has it became known, reinforced James’ oppression of non-conforming English Catholics. In May 1606, Parliament passed an Act which required every citizen to take an Oath of Allegiance, swearing a denial of the Pope’s authority over the king. He also commissioned a new translation and compilation of approved books of the Bible that confirmed the divine right of kings to rule, it became known as the King James Bible. He died on 27 March 1625 of dysentery, he was widely mourned, for all his flaws, he reigned over a period of uninterrupted peace and low taxation. However, he bequeathed to his son a fatal belief in the divine right of kings which culminated in the English Civil War and the eventual execution of Charles. He had seven children with Anne of Denmark who survived beyond birth. They included Henry, Prince of Wales; Elizabeth of Bohemia and Charles I of England.

Will the Real William Wallace, Please Stand Up?

William Wallace’s activities prior to 1297 are completely undocumented, he first enters the annals of history rather infamously when he killed William Heselrig, the English Sheriff of Lanark. He became involved in the Scottish Wars of Independence achieving victories at Loudoun Hill and Ayr, he also fought alongside Sir William Douglas the Hardy at Scone. On September 11 1297, Wallace won the Battle of Stirling Bridge against a vastly superior English army. Wallace was knighted by Robert the Bruce and named him ‘Guardian of Scotland and Leader of its armies’. On the 1 April 1298, the English invaded Scotland, the Scots adopted a scorched earth policy. At Falkirk they met Wallace in combat, the English routed Wallace’s forces though he himself managed to escape. By September 1298, Wallace had resigned as Guardian of Scotland in favour of Robert the Bruce. Wallace left for France and the court of King Philip IV of France in an effort to drum up support for the cause of Scottish independence. Wallace returned to Scotland in 1303, he managed to evade capture until August 1305 when he was betrayed by John de Mentieth, a Scottish knight loyal to King Edward I of England. Wallace was transported to London, tried for treason and found guilty. He was taken from the hall, stripped naked and dragged through city at the heels of a horse to the Elms at Smithfield. There he was hanged, drawn and quartered; emasculated, eviscerated and his bowels burnt before him, beheaded and his body was cut into four parts. His head was placed on a spike on London Bridge and his limbs were sent to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Stirling and Aberdeen.

 Scotland's Most Dastardly King - Macbeth

Shakespeare drew loosely from historical accounts about King Macbeth of Scotland for his play Macbeth. Early in the play Macbeth, who is a general in King Duncan of Scotland’s army is told by Three Witches that he will one day be king. Lady Macbeth hatches a plot to murder Duncan so her husband can claim the throne for himself. Macbeth kills Duncan but is overcome with so much emotion that Lady Macbeth must take control of the situation. She accuses their guards, whom Macbeth murders immediately raising the suspicions of Macduff, the loyal Thane of Fife. Fearing for their lives, Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland, and Macbeth assumes the throne. Macbeth has his friend General Banquo murdered because he thinks that he may prove a threat, later Banquo’s ghost haunts Macbeth during a feast. Macbeth murders all in Macduff’s household including the women and children while Macduff is in exile in England. Lady Macbeth breaks down with guilt and begins wandering the halls at night raving. Macduff and Malcolm invade, with Macduff killing Macbeth. Down to today, many actors judge the play to be cursed and will not even mention it by name, instead preferring to refer to it as ’The Scottish Play’ or ‘MacBee’. Shakespeare wrote the play for his new patron, James I of England & VI of Scotland following the death of Queen Elizabeth. James was interested in witchcraft and Scotland, hence the prevalent themes in the play. The play is quite difficult to understand on first reading due to an abundance of obscure allusions and quirks of language.

Bonnie Prince Charlie - The Young Pretender

Charles Edward Stuart was born on 31 December 1720 was known as Bonnie Prince Charlie. He was the exiled Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland. He was the grandson of James II and James VII, after his father’s death Charles was recognised as Charles III by his supporters, his opponents referred to him as The Young Pretender. In December 1743, Charles’ father named him Prince Regent which gave him full authority to seek to regain all thrones. He kitted out two ships but his hopes of raising a French fleet were dashed and he landed in Scotland having to raise an army. He had hoped for wide support from the Highland clans, it was slow in materialising but he eventually raised a large enough force to march and take Edinburgh, he then defeated a government army at the Battle of Prestonpans. Subsequently he marched South, taking Carlisle and making his way as far as Derbyshire, however the English Jacobite support that he was expecting never occurred and he returned to Scotland. George II’s son, the Duke of Cumberland marched north and the two met at the Battle of Culloden on 16 April 1746 with the Duke massacring Charles’ forces. Bonnie Prince Charlie fled the country, escaping to France. He informed his Jacobite supporters that he would never regain the throne as a Catholic, accordingly he slipped back into England in 1750 and conformed to the Protestant faith. He died in Rome on 31 January 1788 and is buried in a crypt in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

Mary, Queen of Scots

Princess Mary Stuart was born at Linlithgow Place, Linlithgow, Scotland in December 1542 to King James V of Scotland and his French wife Mary of Guise. The week old Mary became Queen of Scotland when her father died at the age of 30. Things were moving rather swiftly for Mary, when just six months old, the Treaties of Greenwich promised Mary to be married to Edward , son of King Henry VIII in 1552 and for their heirs to inherit the Kingdoms of Scotland and England. However, the Treaties of Greenwich fell apart, the agreement did not sit well with the Scots, Henry embarked on what has become known as the ‘rough wooing’ designed to ensure the agreement was met. He began raiding Scottish territories, in May 1544, English forces arrived in the Firth of Forth intent on capturing Edinburgh and kidnapping Mary, however she was secretly hid at Stirling Castle. The French came to the aid of the Scots, the King of France, Henry II, proposed to unite France and Scotland by marrying Mary to his three year old son, the Dauphin Francis. With her marriage agreement settled, the five year old Mary moved to France in 1548 to the French court. In 1558 she married the Dauphin Francis with him assuming the title King consort of Scots. When Henry II died in 1559, Mary, Queen of Scots, became Queen consort of France, her husband becoming Francis II of France. Mary was next in line to the English throne after her father’s cousin Queen Elizabeth I who was childless.

When Mary’s husband, Francois died in 1560, France decided to withdraw their troops from Scotland and recognise Elizabeth as Queen of England, Mary refused to ratify this agreement. She returned to Scotland in 1561 but she tolerated the Protestant ascendancy. In 1565, Mary married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Elizabeth felt threatened by the match as both were claimants to the English throne, both being direct descendants of Margaret Tudor, the elder sister of Henry VIII. Following the birth of their son James in 1566, a plot was hatched to remove Darnley and he was duly assassinated in February 1567. In April, 1567, Mary was abducted and raped by James Hepburn, Fourth Earl of Bothwell, they were married the following month according to Protestant rites. The Scottish nobility turned against Mary, she was incarcerated and forced to abdicate the Scottish throne in favour of her one year old son James. Mary escaped in 1568 and raised a small army but she was defeated at the Battle of Langside and fled to England, where she was immediately imprisoned and remained so for the ensuing eighteen years. In 1586, Mary was tried for treason over her alleged involvement in the Babington Plot to kill Elizabeth. She was found guilty and beheaded . She is interred along with Elizabeth in Westminster Abbey. Mary’s son James married Anne of Denmark in 1589, they had many children but only three survived - Charles I of England; Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia and Frederick, Prince of Wales. Her grand-children included Charles II of England and James II of England.