Royal succession is not always easy, and more than once in history seemed to turn on a matter of random chance. 115 years before Queen Elizabeth II, the only daughter of the King’s fourth son, who was never himself a king, became Queen.
By September of 1944, the Western Allies had broken out of the Normandy beachehead, and suddenly and quickly moved across northern France . By September 7th, the 90th division was stretched across the northern sector on Patton’s Third Army’s left, advancing slowly northeast. As they did so the German defenders made a risky attack in an effort to spoil the allied advance, cutting through Allied lines in a surprise action at the small town of Mairy-Mannville.