has the proverbial “blue blood” running through his veins. What the vast majority don’t know is that a medieval legend claims that mermaid blood also pulses in those same veins! Indeed, it’s said that all British monarchs from Henry VIII to the present share this distinctive trait. This water-faerie or mermaid connection started in the 15th century during a series of English civil conflicts known as the War of the Roses. King Edward IV (King Charles III’s 15th great-grandfather) married the widow of a commoner in 1464. Her name was Elizabeth Woodville. They supposedly met in the forest while she was out walking and he was hunting. She was famous for her beauty and was said to have “heavy-lidded eyes like those of a dragon.” Even though the king loved Elizabeth, it was not a popular betrothal and most likely the reason the couple married quickly and in secret. His Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council told the king that Elizabeth was beneath him as she was not the daughter of a duke or earl.
daughter of a duke or earl. Some nobles believed that magic must’ve been at play to make the king fall prey to such poor judgment. Many started to blame Elizabeth’s mother, Jacquetta of Luxembourg. Jacquetta, also known as the Dowager Duchess of Bedford and Countess Rivers, proudly traced her family’s lineage back to the shapeshifting faerie mermaid Melusine. This made her an easy target. Jacquetta was eventually accused of witchcraft and brought to trial, but the charges didn’t hold, especially when one of the accusers was himself charged with treasonous activities and exiled. This story of Jacquetta’s ancient mermaid relative, Melusine, dates back to the Middle Ages. Committed to prose in 1393 by Jean d’Arras, the popular legend tells of the founding of the French Lusignan dynasty by Melusine. Like King Edvard IV and Elizabeth Woodville, this story also begins with a meeting in the woods only under more tragic circumstances. Raymond, the son of the Count of Poitou, was boar hunting in the forest when he accidently killed his uncle with a spear. Full of anguish, he wandered deep into the forest until nightfall where he came upon a strange fountain. Illuminated beneath the milky light of the moon, he saw three women sitting on the edge of the fountain. The most beautiful of the three was Melusine. It was love at first sight for Raymond, and that was even before Melusine promised to smooth things over with the hunting accident. Raymond was relieved and grateful to have happened upon so wonderful a woman. When she made good on her promise, he asked her to marry him. She agreed if only he vowed to leave her alone on Saturdays—undisturbed, no questions asked. He made an oath to prove his trustworthiness, pledging never to interrupt her privacy on that day. Raymond did not know the cause behind Melusine’s odd request, nor did he ask her why. He also didn’t 63
