Last year, the premier-minister of Netherlands announced that the members of the royal family can get married to a same-sex person and they won’t have to give up their throne for it. This is the first time in history when a monarch is allowed to be in a queer marriage.
For centuries, there have been many queer leaders, the sexual identity of which is never written about in history books. They ruled countries, built cities, carried out reforms, however, historians stay silent when it comes to their sexual identities.
Here are stories of monarchs that you won’t see in history books:
Emperor Ai of Han (B.C. 27-1)
Emperor Ai is one of the descendants of the Han dynasty. This dynasty ruled china from 206 B.C to 202 A.D. Emperor Ai became king at the age of 20 and ruled the country for 6 years, as we read in the history books, the emperor had romantic feelings for one of his minister men.
“Book of Han” mentions the emperor’s and minister’s love as “the passions of the cut sleeve”. According to the story, the couple fell asleep together and upon waking up, the Emperor cut the sleeve of his clothing off in order to wake up the sleeping minister. The term “cut sleeve” became a Euphemism and for centuries it referred to queer love in China.
Emperor of Rome, Hadrian (76-138)
Another Emperor whose love story left a permanent trace in history is the Emperor of Rome, Hadrian. He is known as a humanist Emperor and is one of the Five Good Emperors, who was in an arranged married as he spent his life in love with Antonius.
In Rome, it was normal for the Emperors to have sexual relationships with other men, and it is precisely the kind of relationship that Hadrian and Antonius had. Antonius drowned in a river, after which the desperate lover had about 2000 sculptures installed, declared him a deity and built a city near the river Nile, which he named after Antonius.
Khalifa Al-Hakim of Cordova II (915-976)
Al-Hakim II was a Khalifa of a feudal country, Cordova, which was located on the Pyrenees Peninsula, modern territory of Italy. He was known for his years of calm leadership and a particular interest toward knowledge. As it’s known, the private library of the Khalifa had more than 400 000 books and he was especially merciful to writers and philosophers.
Researchers are still arguing about whether he was interested in men, however many sources in history mention epithets stating that the legendary ruler preferred man and had a harem of men. Besides, it is known that he had a wife, whose name he changed and he called her Jafaar. In order to attract the leader’s attention, the woman had a short, manly haircut and wore men’s clothing.
The King of England, Eduard II (1284-1327)
Eduard II, the kind of England and Wales, lived in 1307-1327 years. During his reign the king was defeated in a battle with Scotland and was forced to recognize Scottish independence, after which the king, led by Queen Isabella, was overthrown by the Barons.
However, as many historians and scholars write, the king was in a romantic relationship with the English nobleman Pierre Gavston, whom the young prince met before the coronation, and their relationship immediately grew into more than a friendship. At the royal court, Pierre Gavston was also mentioned as the second king, which is why he was repeatedly expelled from the country at the initiative of Queen Isabella. The English classic Christopher Marlowe wrote the play “Edward II” about the veiled relationship between the King and Gavston.
Queen Nzinga of Ndongo (1583 – 1663)
Anna Nzinga, one of the most powerful rulers of present-day Angola, ascended the throne after the death of her brother. Her goal was to free the country from the clutches of Europe, particularly Portugal, which led to many years of war and she eventually achieved her goal.
Announced as a national hero of Angola, Anna Nzinga was known for her partisan politics and the skills needed for a ruler that even many men could not boast of as a ruler. As historians write, the woman always wore men’s clothes during royal rituals and had a harem of men, wearing women’s clothes, who she referred to as her wives. His title “Ngola” means king in Nigerian.
The Kind of England, James I (1566-1625)
King James I, the son of the Queen of Scots, Mary Stuart, is another monarch who, according to many historians, was one of the most high-profile figures due to his queer relationship. As is well known, the first representative of the Stuart dynasty had romantic feelings at first with George Villiers, who was also given the title of Count.
In addition, the King’s other love affair with the Duke of Buckingham is also famous. The weirdest thing is, the king did not hide his relationship with men, and historians often noted that Elizabeth was the king and James was the queen. During the restoration of the palace of Apethorpe in 2000, a secret exit was discovered between the bedrooms of the king and the duke.
Queen of Sweden, Christina (1626-1689)
When it comes to Queen Christina of Sweden, it is difficult to separate fictional facts from reality. Queen Christina, from the Vasa dynasty, ascended the royal throne at the age of 6 and she was known for her exceptional education. During her reign, the queen promoted religion, philosophy, mathematics, and alchemy, and Stockholm was even compared to North Athens at the time.
In the records of the Jesuit priest in 1653 we read that there was nothing feminine about the queen, her voice, her manner of speaking, her gait, her style was quite masculine. Another scholar of the time wrote that nature made a mistake in the case of the Queen.
Queen Christina writes in her memoirs that she resented marriage and all that “women talk about and do.” That is why the queen refused to marry and have an heir to the throne, instead giving the royal throne to her relative.
