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- One of the most famous women of history.
Lady Godiva, who rode naked through the streets of Coventry, as a protest against taxation.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/godiva.html
http://www.abacom.com/~jkrause/godiva.html
Elizabeth II (Alexandra Mary) WINDSOR Queen of England is the 31st great granddaughter of Lady GODIVA Countess Of Mercia.
Lady GODIVA Countess Of Mercia is the 26th great grandmother of Thomas JEFFERSON.
So-called President George W. BUSH is the 33rd great grandson of Lady GODIVA Countess Of Mercia.
Nikolas II ROMANOV Czar of Russia was the 30th great grandson of Lady GODIVA Countess Of Mercia.
Louis XVI, King Of FRANCE was the 27th great grandson of Lady GODIVA Countess Of Mercia.
Diana SPENCER was the 32nd great granddaughter of Lady GODIVA Countess Of Mercia.
Juan Carlos DE BORBON King of Spain is the 32nd great grandson of Lady GODIVA Countess Of Mercia.
Simeon KOBURGOTSKI King and Prime Minister of Bulgaria is the 33rd great grandson of Lady GODIVA Countess Of Mercia.
She was a religious benefactress who---according to tradition when her husband Leofric, Earl of Mercia, imposed a heavy tax on the townsfolk of Coventry (1040)---obtained its remission by riding naked through the market place. The story occurs in Roger of Wendover (1235). Some writers assert that Lady Godiva ordered all to remain indoors, which they did except for the famous Peeping Tom, but he is a later addition to the story.
An explanation of the Lady Godiva story could well be the survival of a Celtic pagan celebration in honour of the goddess-spirit, Epona. To celebrate the passage of the Moon accross the night sky and, at the same time, the change from winter to spring, a tradition of a naked lady with long hair riding on a white horse had survived. Quite possibly Leofric, Earl of Mercia, had dared his wife, Godiva, to take the local girl's place in the procession.
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Abt 0980 - 1067 (~ 87 years)
