Mood:  amorous

There have been more than a few scandalous queens on the throne of England – queens in the homosexual sense that is.  William the Conqueror’s son, William Rufus, made little secret of his sexual preferences, and scandalized the nation with the camp goings on at court.  Here is a description from one disapproving cleric: “Then was there flowing hair and extravagant dress, and was invented the fashion of shoes with curved points; then the model for young men was to rival women in delicacy of person, to mind their gait, to walk with loose gesture, and half naked.  Enervated and effeminate, they unwillingly remained what nature made them, the assailers of others’ chastity, prodigal of their own.”  William II died young in a mysterious hunting accident.  Despite allegations that it may not have been an accident, there was little scandal surrounding his death.  The people of England thought they were well rid of him.  The great hero, Richard the Lionheart, was also gay.  He was warned by a prominent clergyman to leave off his unnatural practices and spend time with his lovely Spanish wife.  But he left his marriage unconsummated and went dashing off to the Middle East with his rough crusades.  His heterosexual brother, King John, took over but made so free with the wives and daughters of his barons that they made him sign the Magna Carta.  His wife, Isabella of Angouleme, caused scandal when she took lovers of her own.  John had them slaughtered and their bodies draped over her bed as warning.