In 1162 Thomas Becket was already a powerful man in his role as Chancellor to King Henry II, when the latter added the position of Archbishop of Canterbury to his friend's duties. The King hoped that Becket would help him curtail the poser of the Church, which was providing a challenge to the royal authority.
But Henry's plans backfired; Becket resigned as Chancellor and strongly defended Church rights. In 1164, Becket fled to France but was reconciled with Henry six years later. However, the archbishop's first act was to excommunicate the bishops who had supported Henry during his absence. In a momentary fit of frustration the King was said to have cried "Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" Whereupon four of his knights took him literally and murdered Becket at the alter of Canterbury Cathedral on 29th December 1170. Becket instantly became a martyr and was canonised in 1173. The road to his shrine became a popular route for pilgrims.
THOMAS BECKET: 21st December 1120 O.S. (28th December 1120 N.S.); Cheapside, London; "in the afternoon". The opening words of Chapter 1 of Thomas Becket by Frank Barlow (Weidenfield & Nicholson 1986; Phoenix Press reprint 2000) are as follows "In the afternoon of St. Thomas the Apostle's day (21 December), perhaps in 1120, there was born to Matilda, wife of Gilbert Becket, a prosperous merchant and citizen of London, a son. The birthplace was probably the large house in the very centre of the city, on the north side of the West Market (Cheapside), in the block between Ironmonger Lane and Old Jewry, which remained in the family until about 1228." The year 1120 seems to be the one most commonly given, but other references give 1118. Page 247 of the Phoenix Press reprint gives the time of Becket's murder as "about half past four" in the afternoon. The House of Orange-Nassau
Queen Juliana of the Netherlands died on 20th March 2004. She was known as the Peoples' Queen, who rode a bicycle around her capital and served visitors tea herself. She was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke Henry Vladimir Albrecht Ernst of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and was bought up in strict puritan surroundings. When the Nazis invaded the Netherlands in 1940, Wilhelmina set up a government in exile in the UK while Juliana moved to Canada with her children.
After the war Wilhelmina abdicated in her daughter's favour, and Juliana was crowned Queen on 4th September 1948. The following year, she handed independence to Indonesia, ending 346 years of colonial rule. In 1980 on her birthday Juliana herself abdicated in favour of her daughter Beatrix, whose wedding in 1966 to a former member of the Hitler Youth caused much controversy. In the 1970s there had been a bribery scandal involving Juliana's husband, Prince Bernhard, although conclusive evidence was never found. The first of Beatrix' three sons was born on 27th April 1967, thus giving the house of Orange-Nassau its first male heir in 116 years.
WILHELMINA HELENA PAULINE MARIA [d. 28th November 1962]: 31st August 1880; The Hague (52N06 004E18); 6.30 pm LMT (18.13 GMT). Luc de Marr quotes the Official Dutch Gazette.
JULIANA LOUISE EMMA MARIE WILHELMINA: 30th April 1909; The Hague; 6.50 am LMT (06.33 GMT). Luc de Marr quotes Birth record.
BEATRIX WILHELMINA ARMGARD: 31st January 1938; Soestdijk (52N11 005E18); 9.47 am Loenen Time (09.27 GMT). Paul Mahler quotes records.
We say a sad farewell to Peter Ustinov, actor, writer, raconteur - you name it, he could do it - who died on 28th March 2004. The son of White Russian parents, he often like to boast that in spite of his British upbringing, he hadn't a drop of British blood in his veins. He wrote many humorous, though often thought-provoking, stage plays, and won Best Supporting Actor Oscars for his roles in Spartacus and Topkapi. In 1990 he was knighted for the work he did for UNICEF.
PETER USTINOV: 16th April 1921; London (51N30 000W10); 11.00am BST (10.00 GMT). His autobiography Dear Me states "at 11 o'clock in the morning."