King Henry the Seventh's eldest son and heir apparent was named Arthur, after the mythical king of ancient Celts. He was born in 1586. His birth incited great expectations, and his parents Henry VII [incarnation Martin Fry] and Elizabeth of York [Wendi McLandon] brought him up as future powerful king.
Belief in king Arthur's eventual messianic return was extremely widespread amongst the Britons from the 12th century onwards. John Lydgate in his Fall of Princes (1431–8) notes the belief that Arthur "shall resorte as lord and sovereyne Out of fayrye and regne in Breteyne" and Philip II of Spain [incarnation Matthew Rhys] apparently swore, at the time of his marriage to Mary I of England [Kery Russell] in 1554, that he would resign the kingdom if Arthur should return (R. S. Loomis (ed.) Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages)
Already at the age of 11, Arthur was formally betrothed to Catharine of Aragon [Melanie Griffith], daughter of the powerful Spanish king Ferdinand II of Aragon, in order to forge an alliance with Spain, against France. So, when he was 15 years old, prince Arthur married Spanish princess. But, only about six months later, he was taken ill, and died from an undetermined illness („a malign vapour which proceeded from the air"). Arthur's premature death in 1501 paved the way to Henry's accession to the throne, eight years later, when Henry VII died.
In my opinion, incarnation of the young prince Arthur is famous British actor Laurence Olivier; great Shakespearian interpreter in theater (Henry V, Hamlet, Richard III); of romantic roles and later also character interpreter in cinema. So, he, as incarnation of non-destined king Arthur played theatrical roles of kings, whose incarnations were... some of his Hollywood colleagues – Peter Fonda and Errol Flynn (later incarnated as Charlie Sheen).
Post je objavljen 08.12.2017. u 09:00 sati.