P. Willie
Wills
Wills
Baldy (by his wife, Catherine)
Billy
Billy
Billy the Fish (his RAF nickname):
Willy Wombat: " . . . The Australian population were delighted by the Royal couple and the adorable blond-haired, blue-eyed inquisitive toddler whom they had nicknamed 'Willy Wombat', and the hugely popular visit set the anti-Royal brigade back ten years." (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
Prince of Wails
Prince William Augustus of Great Britain
Billy the Butcher
Bloody Butcher:
Butcher Billy: "The long retreat was disastrous for the Jacobite army because the Highlanders' morale dwindled and desertions increased. Until they were out of England, Charles's army was followed by a large, well-supplied, and methodical army led by William, duke of Cumberland ('Butcher Billy'), George II's enormously fat but capable son. . . ." (Heyck. A History of the Peoples of the British Isles: From 1688 to 1914: 112)
Butcher Cumberland: "The sickening slaughter after the battle earned the Duke his notorious, 'Butcher Cumberland'. Over two thousand men were killed in cold blood, and in the weeks that followed hundreds of fugitives were pursued without mercy. The harrowing of the glens almost annihilated the population of the Highlands." (Hilliam. Monarchs, Murders & Mistresses: A Book of Royal Days)
Sweet William: "The Duke of Cumberland has been harshly judged by historians, applying to him standards that were not those of his age, as well as by those who were and are Jacobites. It is only if all his actions and words, much of which are ambiguous, are seen in a 'Jacobite' light that he can be properly termed 'the Butcher'. Of course, he was not the 'whiter than white' hero (Sweet William) believed by loyalists in 1746, either. Rather he was a soldier who was defending his father's crown and was determined to stamp out the enemies ('Rebellious Scots to crush', to use a line from the contemporary National Anthem) which threatened it, if possible forever. . . ." (Oates. Sweet William or the Butcher?: The Duke of Cumberland and the '45)
the Butcher:
the Butcher of Culloden
the Butcher of Cumberland.
the Martial Boy: " . . . Speck informs the reader at the outset, 'During the ensuing campaign, however, Cumberland's nickname was to change from 'the martial boy' to 'the Butcher'. . . ." (Oates. Sweet William or the Butcher?: The Duke of Cumberland and the '45)
born William Henry Andrew Frederick
Prince William of Gloucester
Silly Billy:
William Bentinck (Lord)
the Beast: The correspondence Bentinck shoved aside bore the royal crest of Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples and Sicily. She called Bentinck ‘the Beast’, and he had an equally viperous name for her. Kit had it in him to feel sorry for the man. He had overheard a conversation that suggested Bentinck had right royal problems with his own monarchy thanks to his ill-considered expedition to interfere in the politics of Genoa." (Carter. The Rocky Career of William Bentinck)
"Exactly what the regent told his daughter about the duke can only be imagined; but it was a surprising outburst, for Gloucester's failings were generally thought to be intellectual rather than moral. He was not considered very bright -- one of his many family nicknames was 'Silly Billy' -- but he was generally thought to make up for his lack of cleverness by the decent moderation of his conduct. Gloucester took his religious duties seriously. He was a regular church-goer, a Sabbatarian with strict views about activities which might properly be undertaken on sundays. He was actively charitable -- a generous benefactor to a wide range of good causes. . . ." (Hadlow. A Royal Experiment: The Private Life of King George III: 586)
" . . . 'He was not a man of talent,' says Mr. Raikes, 'as may be inferred from his nick-name of 'Silly Billy,' but he was a quiet, inoffensive character.' Greville speaks of the 'Duke of Gloucester bowing to the company, while nobody was taking any notice of him, or nothing about him. Nature must have been in a merry moeed when she made this Prince.'. . . ." (Gardiner. Nothing But Names: 54)
William Bentinck (Lord)
the Beast: The correspondence Bentinck shoved aside bore the royal crest of Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples and Sicily. She called Bentinck ‘the Beast’, and he had an equally viperous name for her. Kit had it in him to feel sorry for the man. He had overheard a conversation that suggested Bentinck had right royal problems with his own monarchy thanks to his ill-considered expedition to interfere in the politics of Genoa." (Carter. The Rocky Career of William Bentinck)
the Ferocious Beast (la Bestia Feroce):
--"By 1811, he was commander of British troops in Sicily, British representative to the Court of Palermo, and a lieutenant-general. He immediately began involving himself in internal Sicilian affairs. He butted heads with the former Archduchess Maria Karolina of Austria, by then Queen of Naples-Sicily, who dubbed him La bestia feroce (the ferocious beast)." (Carter. The Rocky Career of William Bentinck)
--"By 1811, he was commander of British troops in Sicily, British representative to the Court of Palermo, and a lieutenant-general. He immediately began involving himself in internal Sicilian affairs. He butted heads with the former Archduchess Maria Karolina of Austria, by then Queen of Naples-Sicily, who dubbed him La bestia feroce (the ferocious beast)." (Carter. The Rocky Career of William Bentinck)
Wastall:
Canis:
the Bachelor, the Bachelor Duke:
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| William Cecil 1st Baron Burghley the Weasel @Wikipedia |
the Weasel: "A nickname given to William Cecil, Lord Burleigh. Disraeli, in his Amenities of Literature, says: -- Lady Kildare once aptly described Cecil, when she threatened 'to break the neck of the weasel'. . . ." (Frey. Sobriquets and NIcknames: 358)
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| William Cowper 1st Earl of Cowpear @Wikipedia |
Brito (the Briton): " William de Albini, called the Briton, from having been born in England. He was a soldier of distinction, and acquired great renown in the celebrated battle of Tenercheby, in Normandy, when he commanded the cavalry, for "by a charge of spirit, he determined at once the fate of the day." The monk Matthew Paris records "in this encounter chiefly deserveth honour the most heroic William de Albini, the Briton, who with his sword broke through the enemy and terminated the battle." When he became a supporter of the cause of Empress Maud, his castle of Belvoir, with all his great possessions, were seized by King Stephen, who presented them to Ranulph gerons de Meschines, the Earl of Chester. William-Brito de Albini died about 1155, leaving by his wife, Maud, daughter of Simon St. Liz, an eldest son, William. See Chap 29, Wurts, Vol I." (Vol II File 2: The Paternal Ancestry of Homer Beers James)
Meschin:
Pincerna Regis (the Strong Hand): " . . . William de Albini (was) called Pincerna from the office of butler to the king which he held as appurtenant to the tenure of his manor in Bokenham, in Norfolk. . . ." (Banks: 26)
William of the Strong Arm: " . . . Three years after Henry's death she married William de Albini, known as 'of the Strong Arm.' Legend has it that this knight, when taking part in a tournament, had captivated the wandering fancy of Eleanor of Aquitaine, and she, finding he had no eyes for her, tricked him of his secret and discovered that he loved the dowager-queen of England. Her jealous wrath flared, and she contrived that William should be shut into a cave in which a lion was at large. The unarmed knight succeeded in killing the beast by dragging out its tongue with his bare hands---hence his nickname." (Thornton-Cook: 20)
Black William: William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny
the Ogre of Abergavenny: " . . . He was particularly hated by the Welsh for the massacre of three Welsh princes, their families and their men, which took place during a feast at his castle of Abergavenny in 1175. He was sometimes known as the 'Ogre of Abergavenny'. . . ." (The de Braose website)
William de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster. the Brown Earl:
the Brown Earl: " . . . William de Burgh, styled by the Irish Iarla donn, or the 'Brown Earl,' born in 1312, inherited from his mother, Elizabeth, daughter of Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester, and granddaughter of Edward I, the Lordship of Clare, in Suffolk; and he became further connected with the royal family of England by his marriage with Maud Plantagenet, daughter of Henry, Earl of Lancaster, Leicester, and Derby, grandson of King Henry III. The Earl William, endowed with high spirit and rare capacity, was, while yet a youth, entrusted with the government of Aquitaine, by Edward III, his junior by a few months, who appointed him, at the age of nineteen, his Lieutenant in Ireland, in 1331. . . ." (History of the Viceroys of Ireland: 182)
Hearken and Take Heed: "William Keith, succeeded as third Earl in 1515, took a prominent part in public affairs during the minority of James V, and was one of the nobles entrusted with the charge of the young king. . . Earl William was noted for his sterling honesty, sound judgment, calmness, and moderation, and his earnest endeavours to heal dissensions. From the expression which he frequently used he received the sobriquet of’ Hearken and take heed.’
the Crusader: " . . . Killed in a tournament, Geoffrey was succeeded by his brother William the Crusader, who since 1180 had been Earl of Albermarle in right of his wife. As Earl of Albermarle and of Essex, William carried the 'great Crown' at the Coronation of King Richard Coeur de Lion. . . ." (Tenison: 121)
Algernons (With the Whiskers):
Bellencombre:
the Old Goat of Piccadilly: " . . . In an attempt to regain his youth and potency he was said to have bathed in milk and slept with veal cutlets on his face. Such stories appeared in the cheap scandal sheets of the time, in one of which a fictitious young woman claimed that she slept with 'the old goat of Piccadilly', having got into his bed a maid and left it in the same condition. . . " (Prinny and His Pals)
the Rake of Piccadilly.
the Bold:
England's Scourge and Scotland's Bulwark:
--"Douglas, William, the knight of Liddesdale . . . is called by Fordun, 'England's scourge and Scotland's bulwark.'. . . . " (Beeton: 340)
--"Douglas, (William de,) the knight of Liddesdale, was a natural son of the preceding [James de Douglas, the Good Sir James], and was called by Fordun 'England's scourge and Scotland's bulwark.' His memory is stained by his barbarous treatment of Ramsay of Dalworthy, whom he subjected to the most cruel privations in Hermitage castle. After performing many exploits against the English, he was taken, along with David II, at the battle of Durham, in 1346, and was slain in 1353, while hunting in Ettrick forest, by Sir William Douglas, his father's nephew." (Rose: 123)
the Black Douglas:
the Black Knight of Liddesdale: " . . . Being taken by the English in the reign of David II, it was regained by the valour of William Douglas, called the Black Knight of Liddesdale, a natural son of the good Lord James of Douglas. Inheriting the martial spirit of his family, this Sir William Douglas rose to high distinction during the distracted reign of David II of Scotland, and attained the proud title of the Flower of Chivalry. . . ." (Scott: 163)
the Flower of Chivalry (Fr. la Fleur des Chevaliers):
--" . . . Later historians and chroniclers would praise Douglas and his guerrillas as 'schools of Knighthood', earning him the epithet Flower of Chivalry just as they had praised the his relative the Good Sir James for his guerrilla tactics in the First War of Independence." (Wikipedia)
--" . . . But his most remarkable exploit of this nature was a desperate encounter, or rather series of encounters, which he had in the course of one day with Sir Laurence Abernethy, a leader of the party of Baliol. On this occasion Sir William Douglas was four times defeated; but with unconquerable pertinacity he still returned to the charge, and in the fifth was completely victorious. It was by these exploits, and especially the last, that he worthily won the title of the 'Flower of Chivalry.'. . . . " (Significant Scots)
the Bravest of the Normans: "Steward of Normandy, Viceregent in England for William the Conqueror, called 'the bravest of the Normans', related to the ducal family...." (Bradbury: 97)
Mafonache:
William Howard (Lord)
Bald Willy:
Belted Will, Belted Willy: "One of the most memorable worthies famed in English history is Lord William Howard, commonly known as 'Belted Will. . . ." (Chambers)
Belted Will Howard: "Lord William Howard, the second surviving son of Thomas, the fourth Duke of Norfolk, was ancestor of the Earls of Carlisle. This nobleman— Warden of the Western Marches, and known by the name of " Bald Willy," or "Belted Will Howarde" was restored in blood, from the attaint of his father . . . by Act of Parliament, in the year 1603. . . With reference to Naworth Castle, Sir Walter Scott, in his notes to The Lay of the Last Minstrel, observes that, from the rigour with which his Lordship "repressed the Border excesses, the name of Belted Will Howard is still famous in our traditions. . . ." (Burke: 14)
the Civiliser of the English Borders: "At length this politic and martial chieftain, having won for himself the honourable distinction of CIVILISER OF THE ENGLISH BORDERS, having consolidated a noble inheritance for his posterity, and seen his children grow to be the comfort of his old age, died at Naworth Castle on the 20th October 1640, in his seventy seventh year." (Chambers)
William H. Lyons.
Her Third Husband:
William Wastemeat: "Within a short time, William was among many other boys his age. His lord cousin was very fond of young William. In fact the boy used to get the choicest cuts of meat from the stews, even before the lord of the manner himself had been served. Many of the boys were jealous, and even complained of his long sleeping habits. But the food and sleep were all part of something young men really didn't suffer from at the time. Growing pains. Most grew to about five feet six inches, the average height of a man at the time. William was now well up to over six feet by his mid teens. The food and sleep was all part of his growing. It is about this time he picked up his nickname 'William Wastemeat'." (Kissell)
the Marshal:
Malagrida:
the Young, the Younger:
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham.
the Cicero of England, the British Cicero:
Beau Tracy: Robert Tracy;
My darling Freddie Wedie (by Edward, Prince of Wales)
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