Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun

Michael Edward Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun (22 July 1942 – 30 June 2012), was a British-Australian farmer, who is most noted because of the documentary Britain's Real Monarch, which alleged he was the rightful monarch of England instead of Queen Elizabeth II. From February 1960 until November 2002, he held the courtesy title Lord Mauchline.

The Right Honourable

The Earl of Loudoun
Born
Michael Edward Lord

(1942-07-22)22 July 1942
Sussex, England
Died30 June 2012(2012-06-30) (aged 69)[1]
Jerilderie, New South Wales, Australia
Alma materAmpleforth College
OccupationFarmer
TitleEarl of Loudoun
Spouse(s)
Noelene McCormick
​
(m. 1969)​
Children5, including Simon Abney-Hastings, 15th Earl of Loudoun
Parent(s)

Loudoun was born in England and educated at Ampleforth College in Yorkshire, but emigrated to Jerilderie, New South Wales, as a teen, where he was a rice farmer and family man.[2] He was the heir-general of George Plantagenet, the younger brother of Edward IV of England. If Edward IV had been illegitimate and the crown of England had descended by male-preference primogeniture before 1500, then George (and his heirs) would have been monarchs of England.

Abney-Hastings died on 30 June 2012 in New South Wales.[3]

Early life

Abney-Hastings was born in Sussex, England, to Captain Walter Strickland Lord and Barbara Abney-Hastings, 13th Countess of Loudoun, and later lived at Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire. As a youth he was educated at Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, before moving to Australia when he was 18 years old.[4]

Claim to the English throne
Further information: Alternative successions of the English crown

In 2004, Britain's Real Monarch, a documentary broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, repeated the claim that Abney-Hastings, as the senior descendant of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, is the rightful King of England. This argument involves two disputed claims: first, that Edward IV of England was illegitimate,[5] based on the accusation that his supposed father, Richard, Duke of York, was absent at the time when Edward is thought to have been conceived; and second, that the Plantagenet crown should have descended by male-preference cognatic primogeniture instead of agnatic primogeniture and conquest. Also, Henry VI had placed an attainder on Edward after he was restored to the throne, and named George, Duke of Clarence, as heir to the throne after Henry VI and his legitimate issue.

Personal views and family

Abney-Hastings was a committed Australian republican and expressed no interest in pursuing his claim to the throne, although he was amused by it.[6] He refrained from using his title publicly.[7]

Abney-Hastings had two sons and three daughters with his wife, Noelene Margaret (née McCormick; married 1969).[8] His eldest son, Simon, held the courtesy title Lord Mauchline until his father's death on 30 June 2012.[9] Until his death, the 14th Earl was one of the seven co-heirs to the Barony of Grey de Ruthyn.

Abney-Hastings was a councillor of the Jerilderie Shire, elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2008.[10]

References

Citations
  1. "Herald Sun Obituaries". HeraldSun.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012.
  2. "Ashby Hastings Patron - The Rightful King of England ?". AshbyHastingsCC.HitsCricket.com. 24 October 2007.
  3. 'Rightful' King of England dies in NSW
  4. "Getting to Know … Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun". ConnectionNewspapers.com. 24 October 2007. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007.
  5. 'Rightful heir' to British monarchy dies in Australia AFP – Thu, 5 July 2012, Yahoo! News
  6. Tibballs, 266
  7. Tibballs, 265
  8. Hull.ac.uk
  9. "Obituaries: Earl of Loudon". Daily Telegraph. 4 July 2012.
  10. "Councillor Michael Abney-Hastings". Jerilderie Shire Council. 27 December 2011. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2011.

Sources
  • Tibballs, Geoff (2005). Royalty's Strangest Characters: Extraordinary But True Tales from 2,000 Years of Mad Monarchs and Raving Rulers. Anova Books. ISBN 1-86105-827-6.
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by
Barbara Abney-Hastings		 Earl of Loudoun
2002–2012		 Succeeded by
Simon Abney-Hastings
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