title: Guernsey

text: In 2008, the school-leaving age was raised so the earliest date is the last Friday in June in the year a pupil turns 16, in line with England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This means pupils will be between 15 and 10 months and 16 and 10 months before being able to leave. Prior to this, pupils could leave school at the end of the term in which they turned 14, if they so wished: a letter was required to be sent to the Education department to confirm this. However, this option was undertaken by relatively few pupils, the majority choosing to complete their GCSEs and then either begin employment or continue their education.


title: Guernsey

text: Post-GCSE pupils have a choice of transferring to the state-run Grammar School & Sixth Form Centre, or to the independent colleges for academic AS/A Levels/International Baccalureate Diploma Programme. They also have the option to study vocational subjects at the island's "Guernsey College of Further Education".


title: Guernsey

text: There are no universities in the island. Students who attend university in the United Kingdom receive state support towards both maintenance and tuition fees. In 2007, the Education Department received the approval of the States Assembly to introduce student contributions to the costs of higher education, in the form of student loans, as apply in the UK. However, immediately after the general election of 2008, the States Assembly voted in favour of a Requête which proposed abolishing the student loans scheme on the grounds that it was expensive to run and would potentially discourage students from going to, and then returning to the island from, university. In 2012, the Education Department reported to the States Assembly that it had no need to re-examine the basis of higher education funding at the present time.


title: Guernsey

text: The French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir visited the island in late summer 1883. While on the island, he painted fifteen pictures of the views on the island, all featuring the bay and beach of Moulin Huet on the south coast.


title: Guernsey

text: Guernsey cattle are an internationally famous icon of the island. As well as being prized for its rich creamy milk, which is claimed to hold health benefits over milk from other breeds, Guernsey cattle are increasingly being raised for their distinctively flavoured and rich yellowy-fatted beef, with butter made from the milk of Guernsey cows also has a distinctive yellow colour. Since the 1960s the number of individual islanders raising these cattle for private supply has diminished significantly, but Guernsey steers can still be occasionally seen grazing on L'Ancresse common.


title: Guernsey

text: Guernsey also hosts a breed of goat known as the Golden Guernsey, distinguished by its golden-coloured coat. At the end of the Second World War, the Golden Guernsey had almost been rendered extinct due to interbreeding on the island. The survival of this breed is largely credited to the work of a single woman, Miriam Milbourne, who successfully hid her herd from the Germans during the occupation. Although no longer considered to be critically endangered, the breed remains on the watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. The traditional explanation for the donkey ("âne" in French and Guernésiais) is the steepness of St Peter Port streets that necessitated beasts of burden for transport (in contrast to the flat terrain of the rival capital of Saint Helier in Jersey), although it is also used in reference to Guernsey inhabitants' stubbornness. In turn, Guernseymen traditionally refer to Jerseymen as "crapauds" ("toads").


title: Guernsey

text: The so-called Guernsey lily, "Nerine sarniensis", is also used as a symbol of the island, although this species was introduced to the island from South Africa.


title: Guernsey

text: A local delicacy is the ormer ("Haliotis tuberculata"), a variety of abalone harvested under strict laws from beaches at low spring tides. Traditional Guernsey recipes include a stew called Guernsey bean jar, notably served at the annual Viaer Marchi festival. Its chief ingredients include haricot and butter beans, pork, and shin beef. Guernsey gâche is a special bread made with raisins, sultanas and mixed peel. "Gâche mélée" is a dessert consisting of spiced, chopped apples suspended in a sponge mix.


title: Guernsey

text: English is the language in general use by the majority of the population, while Guernésiais, the Norman language of the island, is spoken fluently by only about 2% of the population (according to 2001 census). However, 14% of the population claim some understanding of the language. Until the early 20th century, French was the only official language of the Bailiwick, and all deeds for the sale and purchase of real estate in Guernsey were written in French until 1971. Family and place names reflect this linguistic heritage. George Métivier, a poet, wrote in Guernesiais. The loss of the island's language and the Anglicisation of its culture, which began in the 19th century and proceeded inexorably for a century, accelerated sharply when the majority of the island's school children were evacuated to the UK for five years during the German occupation of 1940–45.


title: Guernsey

text: Victor Hugo, having arrived on Halloween 1855, wrote some of his best-known works while in exile in Guernsey, including "Les Misérables". His home in St Peter Port, Hauteville House, is now a museum administered by the city of Paris. In 1866, he published a novel set on Guernsey, "Travailleurs de la Mer" ("Toilers of the Sea"), which he dedicated to the island. Guernsey was his home for fifteen years.


title: Guernsey

text: Guernseyman G. B. Edwards wrote a critically acclaimed novel, "The Book of Ebenezer Le Page", that was published in 1981, including insights into Guernsey life during the 20th century. In September 2008, a blue plaque was affixed to the house on the Braye Road where Edwards was raised.


title: Guernsey

text: Henry Watson Fowler moved to Guernsey in 1903. He and his brother Francis George Fowler composed "The King's English", the Concise Oxford Dictionary and much of "Modern English Usage" on the island.


title: Guernsey

text: "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society", a novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, describes the Occupation of Germans during World War II. Written in 2009, it is about a writer who begins corresponding with residents of the island, and becomes compelled to visit the island.


title: Guernsey

text: A "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" film adaptation, starring Lily James and Jessica Brown Findlay, was released in 2018.


title: Guernsey

text: The 2022 British psychological thriller film "Marooned Awakening", starring Murray McArthur, Tilly Keeper and Tim McInnerny was co-written by and stars Guernseyman, Cameron Ashplant. Ashplant produced the film through Across the Channel Productions Ltd, alongside London-based director Musaab Mustafa, and Guernsey co-producers Frances and Roger Le Tissier of Ivy Gate Films. Principal photography was completed entirely on Guernsey in September 2021. The film premiered on the island at Beau Séjour Theatre on 3 September 2022.


title: Guernsey

text: Guernsey participates in the biennial Island Games, which it hosted in 1987 and 2003 at Footes Lane. Guernsey has also participated as a country in its own right in Commonwealth Games since 1970. Its first medals came in 1982 with its first gold in 1990.


title: Guernsey

text: In those sporting events where Guernsey does not have international representation, but the British Home Nations are competing separately, highly skilled islanders may choose to compete for any of the Home Nations. There are, however, restrictions on subsequent transfers to represent other Home Nations. The football player Matt Le Tissier, for example, could have played for the Scottish or Welsh football teams, but opted to play for England instead.


title: Guernsey

text: Football in Guernsey is run by the Guernsey Football Association. The top tier of Guernsey football is the FNB Priaulx League where there are eight teams (Alderney, Belgrave Wanderers, Northerners, Sylvans, St Martin's, Rovers, Rangers and Vale Recreation). The second tier is the Jackson League. In the 2011–12 season, Guernsey F.C. was formed and entered the Combined Counties League Division 1, becoming the first Channel Island club ever to compete in the English leagues. Guernsey became division champions comfortably on 24 March 2012, they won the Combined Counties Premier Challenge Cup on 4 May 2012. Their second season saw them promoted again on the final day in front of 1,754 'Green Lions' fans, this time to Division One South of the Isthmian League, despite their fixtures being heavily affected not only by poor winter weather, but by their notable progression to the semi-finals of the FA Vase cup competition. They play in level 8 of the English football pyramid. The Corbet Football Field, donated by Jurat Wilfred Corbet OBE in 1932, has fostered the sport greatly over the years. Recently, the island upgraded to a larger, better-quality stadium, in Footes Lane.


title: Guernsey

text: Guernsey has the second oldest tennis club in the world, at Kings (founded in 1857), with courts built in 1875. The island has produced a world class tennis player in Heather Watson as well as professional squash players in Martine Le Moignan, Lisa Opie and Chris Simpson.


title: Guernsey

text: Guernsey was declared an affiliate member by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2005 and an associate member in 2008. The Guernsey cricket team plays in the World Cricket League and European Cricket Championship as well as the Sussex Cricket League.


title: Guernsey

text: Various forms of motorsport take place on the island, including races on the sands on Vazon beach as well as a quarter-mile "sprint" along the Vazon coast road. Le Val des Terres, a steeply winding road rising south from St Peter Port to Fort George, is often the focus of both local and international hill-climb races. The 2005, 2006 and 2007 World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx is a Guernseyman.


title: Guernsey

text: The racecourse on L'Ancresse Common was re-established in 2004 after a gap of 13 years, with the first new race occurring on 2 May 2005. Races are held on most May Day bank holidays, with competitors from Guernsey as well as Jersey, France and the UK participating. Sea angling around Guernsey and the other islands in the Bailiwick from shore or boat is a popular pastime for both locals and visitors with the Bailiwick boasting multiple UK records.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the Conqueror during the Norman conquest of England. His death marked the end of Anglo-Saxon rule over England.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: Harold Godwinson was a member of a prominent Anglo-Saxon family with ties to Cnut the Great. He became a powerful earl after the death of his father, Godwin, Earl of Wessex. After his brother-in-law, King Edward the Confessor, died without an heir on 5 January 1066, the "Witenagemot" convened and chose Harold to succeed him; he was probably the first English monarch to be crowned in Westminster Abbey. In late September, he successfully repelled an invasion by rival claimant Harald Hardrada of Norway in York before marching his army back south to meet William the Conqueror at Hastings two weeks later.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: Harold was a son of Godwin (–1053), the powerful earl of Wessex, and of Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, whose brother Ulf the Earl was married to Estrid Svendsdatter (c. 1015/1016), the daughter of King Sweyn Forkbeard (died 1014) and sister of King Cnut the Great of England and Denmark. Ulf and Estrid's son would become King Sweyn II of Denmark in 1047. Godwin was the son of Wulfnoth, probably a "thegn" and a native of Sussex. Godwin began his political career by supporting King Edmund Ironside (reigned April to November 1016), but switched to supporting King Cnut by 1018, when Cnut named him Earl of Wessex. Godwin remained an earl throughout the remainder of Cnut's reign, one of only two earls to survive to the end of that reign. On Cnut's death in 1035, Godwin originally supported Harthacnut instead of Cnut's initial successor Harold Harefoot, but managed to switch sides in 1037—although not without becoming involved in the 1036 murder of Alfred Aetheling, half-brother of Harthacnut and younger brother of the later King Edward the Confessor. When Harold Harefoot died in 1040, Harthacnut ascended the English throne and Godwin's power was imperiled by his earlier involvement in Alfred's murder, but an oath and large gift secured the new king's favour for Godwin. Harthacnut's death in 1042 probably involved Godwin in a role as kingmaker, helping to secure the English throne for Edward the Confessor. In 1045 Godwin reached the height of his power when the new king married Godwin's daughter Edith.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: Godwin and Gytha had several children—six sons: Sweyn, Harold, Tostig, Gyrth, Leofwine and Wulfnoth (in that order); and three daughters: Edith of Wessex (originally named Gytha but renamed Ealdgyth (or Edith) when she married King Edward the Confessor), Gunhild and Ælfgifu. The birthdates of the children are unknown. Harold was aged about 25 in 1045, which makes his birth year around 1020.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: Edith married Edward on 23 January 1045 and, around that time, Harold became Earl of East Anglia. Harold is called "earl" when he appears as a witness in a will that may date to 1044; but, by 1045, Harold regularly appears as an earl in documents. One reason for his appointment to East Anglia may have been a need to defend against the threat from King Magnus the Good of Norway. It is possible that Harold led some of the ships from his earldom that were sent to Sandwich in 1045 against Magnus. Sweyn, Harold's elder brother, had been named an earl in 1043. It was also around the time that Harold was named an earl that he began a relationship with Edith the Fair, who appears to have been the heiress to lands in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Essex, lands in Harold's new earldom. The relationship was a form of marriage that was not blessed or sanctioned by the Church, known as "More danico", or "in the Danish manner", and was accepted by most laypeople in England at the time. Any children of such a union were considered legitimate. Harold probably entered the relationship in part to secure support in his new earldom.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: Harold's elder brother Sweyn was exiled in 1047 after abducting the abbess of Leominster. Sweyn's lands were divided between Harold and a cousin, Beorn. In 1049, Harold was in command of a ship or ships that were sent with a fleet to aid Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor against Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, who was in revolt against Henry. During this campaign, Sweyn returned to England and attempted to secure a pardon from the king, but Harold and Beorn refused to return any of their lands, and Sweyn, after leaving the royal court, took Beorn hostage and later killed him.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: In 1051 Edward appointed an enemy of the Godwins as Archbishop of Canterbury and soon afterwards drove them into exile, but they raised an army which forced the king to restore them to their positions a year later. Earl Godwin died in 1053, and Harold succeeded him as Earl of Wessex, which made him the most powerful lay figure in England after the king.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: In 1055 Harold drove back the Welsh, who had burned Hereford. Harold also became Earl of Hereford in 1058, and replaced his late father as the focus of opposition to growing Norman influence in England under the restored monarchy (1042–66) of Edward the Confessor, who had spent more than 25 years in exile in Normandy. He led a series of successful campaigns (1062–63) against Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Gwynedd, king of Wales. This conflict ended with Gruffydd's defeat and death in 1063.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: In 1064, Harold was apparently shipwrecked at Ponthieu. There is much speculation about this voyage. The earliest post-conquest Norman chroniclers report that King Edward had previously sent Robert of Jumièges, the archbishop of Canterbury, to appoint as his heir Edward's maternal kinsman, Duke William II of Normandy, and that at this later date Harold was sent to swear fealty. Scholars disagree as to the reliability of this story. William, at least, seems to have believed he had been offered the succession, but there must have been some confusion either on William's part or perhaps by both men, since the English succession was neither inherited nor determined by the reigning monarch. Instead the Witenagemot, the assembly of the kingdom's leading notables, would convene after a king's death to select a successor. Other acts of Edward are inconsistent with his having made such a promise, such as his efforts to return his nephew Edward the Exile, son of King Edmund Ironside, from Hungary in 1057. Later Norman chroniclers suggest alternative explanations for Harold's journey: that he was seeking the release of members of his family who had been held hostage since Godwin's exile in 1051, or even that he had simply been travelling along the English coast on a hunting and fishing expedition and had been driven across the Channel by an unexpected storm. There is general agreement that he left from Bosham, and was blown off course, landing at Ponthieu. He was captured by Count Guy I of Ponthieu, and was then taken as a hostage to the count's castle at Beaurain, up the River Canche from its mouth at what is now Le Touquet. William arrived soon afterward and ordered Guy to turn Harold over to him. Harold then apparently accompanied William to battle against William's enemy, Conan II, Duke of Brittany. While crossing into Brittany past the fortified abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, Harold is recorded as rescuing two of William's soldiers from quicksand. They pursued Conan from Dol-de-Bretagne to Rennes, and finally to Dinan, where he surrendered the fortress's keys at the point of a lance. William presented Harold with weapons and arms, knighting him. The Bayeux Tapestry, and other Norman sources, then record that Harold swore an oath on sacred relics to William to support his claim to the English throne. After Edward's death, the Normans were quick to point out that in accepting the crown of England, Harold had broken this alleged oath.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: The chronicler Orderic Vitalis wrote of Harold that he "was distinguished by his great size and strength of body, his polished manners, his firmness of mind and command of words, by a ready wit and a variety of excellent qualities. But what availed so many valuable gifts, when good faith, the foundation of all virtues, was wanting?"


title: Harold Godwinson

text: Due to a doubling of taxation by Tostig in 1065 that threatened to plunge England into civil war, Harold supported Northumbrian rebels against his brother, and replaced him with Morcar. This led to Harold's marriage alliance with the northern earls but fatally split his own family, driving Tostig into alliance with King Harald Hardrada ("Hard Ruler") of Norway.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: At the end of 1065, King Edward the Confessor fell into a coma without clarifying his preference for the succession. He died on 5 January 1066, according to the "Vita Ædwardi Regis", but not before briefly regaining consciousness and commending his widow and the kingdom to Harold's "protection". The intent of this charge remains ambiguous, as is the Bayeux Tapestry, which simply depicts Edward pointing at a man thought to represent Harold. When the Witan convened the next day they selected Harold to succeed, and his coronation followed on 6 January, most likely held in Westminster Abbey, though no evidence from the time survives to confirm this. Although later Norman sources point to the suddenness of this coronation, the reason may have been that all the nobles of the land were present at Westminster for the feast of Epiphany, and not because of any usurpation of the throne on Harold's part.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: In early January 1066, upon hearing of Harold's coronation, William began plans to invade England, building 700 warships and transports at Dives-sur-Mer on the Normandy coast. Initially, William struggled to gain support for his cause, however, after claiming that Harold had broken an oath sworn on sacred relics, the Pope formally declared William the rightful heir of the throne of England and nobles flocked to his cause. In preparation of the invasion, Harold assembled his troops on the Isle of Wight, but the invasion fleet remained in port for almost seven months, perhaps due to unfavourable winds. On 8 September, with provisions running out, Harold disbanded his army and returned to London. On the same day, the invasion force of Harald Hardrada, accompanied by Tostig, landed at the mouth of the Tyne.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: The invading forces of Hardrada and Tostig defeated the English earls Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria at the Battle of Fulford near York on 20 September 1066. Harold led his army north on a forced march from London, reached Yorkshire in four days, and caught Hardrada by surprise. On 25 September, in the Battle of Stamford Bridge, Harold defeated Hardrada and Tostig, who were both killed.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: According to Snorri Sturluson, in a story described by Edward Freeman as "plainly mythical", before the battle a single man rode up alone to Harald Hardrada and Tostig. He gave no name, but spoke to Tostig, offering the return of his earldom if he would turn against Hardrada. Tostig asked what his brother Harold would be willing to give Hardrada for his trouble. The rider replied "Seven feet of English ground, as he is taller than other men." Then he rode back to the Saxon host. Hardrada was impressed by the rider's boldness, and asked Tostig who he was. Tostig replied that the rider was Harold Godwinson himself.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: On 12 September 1066 William's fleet sailed from Normandy. Several ships sank in storms, which forced the fleet to take shelter at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and to wait for the wind to change. On 27 September the Norman fleet set sail for England, arriving the following day at Pevensey on the coast of East Sussex. Harold's army marched 241 miles (386 kilometres) to intercept William, who had landed perhaps 7,000 men in Sussex, southern England. Harold established his army in hastily built earthworks near Hastings. The two armies clashed at the Battle of Hastings, at Senlac Hill (near the present town of Battle) close by Hastings on 14 October, where after nine hours of hard fighting, Harold was killed and his forces defeated. His brothers Gyrth and Leofwine were also killed in the battle, according to the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle".


title: Harold Godwinson

text: The notion that Harold died by an arrow to the eye is a popular belief today, but this historical legend is subject to much scholarly debate. A Norman account of the battle, "Carmen de Hastingae Proelio" ("Song of the Battle of Hastings"), said to have been written shortly after the battle by Guy, Bishop of Amiens, says that Harold was killed by four knights, probably including Duke William, and his body dismembered. Twelfth-century Anglo-Norman histories, such as William of Malmesbury's "Gesta Regum Anglorum" and Henry of Huntingdon's "Historia Anglorum" recount that Harold died by an arrow wound to his head. An earlier source, Amatus of Montecassino's "L'Ystoire de li Normant" ("History of the Normans"), written only twenty years after the battle of Hastings, contains a report of Harold being shot in the eye with an arrow, but this may be an early fourteenth-century addition. Later accounts reflect one or both of these two versions.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: A figure in the panel of the Bayeux Tapestry with the inscription "Hic Harold Rex Interfectus Est" ("Here King Harold is killed") is depicted gripping an arrow that has struck his eye, but some historians have questioned whether this man is intended to be Harold or if Harold is intended as the next figure lying to the right almost supine, being mutilated beneath a horse's hooves. Etchings made of the Tapestry in the 1730s show the standing figure with differing objects. Benoît's 1729 sketch shows only a dotted line indicating stitch marks without any indication of fletching, whereas all other arrows in the Tapestry are fletched. Bernard de Montfaucon's 1730 engraving has a solid line resembling a spear being held overhand matching the manner of the figure to the left. Stothard's 1819 water-colour drawing has, for the first time, a fletched arrow in the figure's eye. Although not apparent in the earlier depictions, the Tapestry today has stitch marks indicating the fallen figure once had an arrow in its eye. It has been proposed that the second figure once had an arrow added by over-enthusiastic nineteenth-century restorers that was later unstitched. Many believe this, as the name "Harold" is above the figure with an arrow in his eye. This has been disputed by examining other examples from the Tapestry where the visual centre of a scene, not the location of the inscription, identifies named figures. Further evidence is that an arrow volley would be loosed before the Norman cavalry charge. A further suggestion is that both accounts are accurate, and that Harold suffered first the eye wound, then the mutilation, and the Tapestry is depicting both in sequence.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: The account of the contemporary chronicler William of Poitiers states that the body of Harold was given to William Malet for burial:


title: Harold Godwinson

text: Another source states that Harold's widow, Edith Swannesha, was called to identify the body, which she did by some private mark known only to her. Harold's strong association with Bosham, his birthplace, and the discovery in 1954 of an Anglo-Saxon coffin in the church there, has led some to suggest it as the place of King Harold's burial. A request to exhume a grave in Bosham Church was refused by the Diocese of Chichester in December 2003, the Chancellor having ruled that the chances of establishing the identity of the body as Harold's were too slim to justify disturbing a burial place. A prior exhumation had revealed the remains of a man, estimated at up to 60 years of age from photographs of the remains, lacking a head, one leg and the lower part of his other leg, a description consistent with the fate of the king as recorded in the Carmen. The poem also claims Harold was buried by the sea, which is consistent with William of Poitiers' account and with the identification of the grave at Bosham Church that is only yards from Chichester Harbour and in sight of the English Channel.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: There were legends of Harold's body being given a proper funeral years later in his church at Waltham Holy Cross in Essex, which he had refounded in 1060. Legends also grew up that Harold had not died at Hastings but instead fled England or that he later ended his life as a hermit at Chester or Canterbury.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: Harold's son Ulf, along with Morcar and two others, were released from prison by King William as he lay dying in 1087. Ulf threw his lot in with Robert Curthose, who knighted him, and then disappeared from history. Two of Harold's other sons, Godwine and Edmund, invaded England in 1068 and 1069 with the aid of Diarmait mac Máel na mBó (High King of Ireland) but were defeated at the Battle of Northam. In 1068, Diarmait presented another Irish king with Harold's battle standard.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: For some twenty years Harold was married "more danico" (Latin: "in the Danish manner") to Edith the Fair (also known as Edith Swanneck) and had at least six children with her. She was considered Harold's mistress by the clergy.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: According to Orderic Vitalis, Harold was at some time betrothed to Adeliza, a daughter of William the Conqueror; if so, the betrothal never led to marriage.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: About January 1066, Harold married Edith (or Ealdgyth), daughter of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia, and widow of the Welsh prince Gruffydd ap Llywelyn. She had one son, named Harold, probably born posthumously. Another of Harold's sons, Ulf, may have been a twin of the younger Harold, though most historians consider him a son of Edith the Fair. Both these sons survived into adulthood and probably lived out their lives in exile.


title: Harold Godwinson

text: After her husband's death, Edith fled for refuge to her brothers, Edwin, Earl of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria, but both men made their peace with King William initially before rebelling and losing their lands and lives. Edith may have fled abroad (possibly with Harold's mother, Gytha, or with Harold's daughter, Gytha). Harold's sons, Godwin and Edmund, fled to Ireland and then invaded Devon, but were defeated by Brian of Brittany.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold II (, ; 9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the second King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909 and the self-made autocratic ruler of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Born in Brussels as the second but eldest-surviving son of Leopold I and Louise of Orléans, Leopold succeeded his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned for exactly 44 years until his death, the longest reign of a Belgian monarch to date. He died without surviving legitimate sons. The current Belgian king descends from his nephew and successor, Albert I. He is popularly referred to as the Builder King (, ) in Belgium in reference to the great number of buildings, urban projects and public works he commissioned.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold was the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private project undertaken on his own behalf as a personal union with Belgium. He used Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo, the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, the colonial nations of Europe authorised his claim and committed the Congo Free State to him. Leopold ran the Congo by using the mercenary Force Publique for his personal gain. He extracted a fortune from the territory, initially by the collection of ivory and, after a rise in the price of natural rubber in the 1890s, by forced labour from the native population to harvest and process rubber.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold's administration of the Congo Free State was characterized by atrocities and systematic brutality, including forced labour, torture, murder, kidnapping, and the amputation of the hands of men, women, and children when the quota of rubber was not met. In 1890 and in one of the first uses of the term, George Washington Williams described the practices of Leopold's administration of the Congo Free State as "crimes against humanity". These and other facts were established during Leopold's rule by eyewitness testimony, by on-site inspection from an international commission of inquiry, by the investigative journalism and activism of E. D. Morel, and by the 1904 Casement Report.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: While it has proven difficult to accurately estimate the pre-colonial population and the amount by which it changed under the Congo Free State, estimates for the Congolese population decline during Leopold's rule range from 1 million to 15 million. The causes of the decline included epidemic disease, acts of violence committed by the regime, severe famine caused by the regime’s actions, and a low birth rate during the worst of the Rubber Terror (in the period from 1896 to 1903).


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: In 1908, the reports of deaths and abuse, along with pressure from the Congo Reform Association and other international groups, induced the Belgian Government to take over the administration of the Congo from Leopold during the penultimate year of his rule. The Congo Free State was thus reconstituted as a new territory, the Belgian Congo.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold was born in Brussels on 9 April 1835, the second child of the reigning Belgian monarch, Leopold I, and of his second wife, Louise, the daughter of King Louis Philippe of France. The French Revolution of 1848 forced his maternal grandfather, Louis Philippe, to flee to the United Kingdom. Louis Philippe died two years later, in 1850. Leopold's fragile mother was deeply affected by the death of her father and her health deteriorated. She died of tuberculosis that same year, when Leopold was 15 years old.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold's sister Charlotte became Empress Carlota of Mexico in the 1860s. The British monarch at the time, Queen Victoria, was Leopold II's first cousin, since Leopold's father and Victoria's mother were brother and sister.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: At the age of 18, Leopold married Marie Henriette of Austria, a cousin of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and granddaughter of the late Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, on 22 August 1853 in Brussels. Lively and energetic, Marie Henriette endeared herself to the people by her character and benevolence. Her beauty earned her the sobriquet "The Rose of Brabant". She was also an accomplished artist and musician. She was passionate about horseback riding, to the point that she would care for her horses personally. Some joked about this "marriage of a stableman and a nun", the latter referring to the shy and withdrawn Leopold.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: The marriage produced four children: three daughters and one son, Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant. The younger Leopold died in 1869 at the age of nine from pneumonia after falling into a pond. His death was a source of great sorrow for King Leopold. The marriage became unhappy, and the couple separated after a last attempt to have another son, a union that resulted in the birth of their last daughter, Clementine. Marie Henriette retreated to Spa in 1895, and died there in 1902.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: As Leopold's older brother, the earlier crown prince Louis Philippe, had died the year before Leopold's birth, Leopold was heir to the throne from his birth. When he was 9 years old, Leopold received the title of Duke of Brabant, and was appointed a sub-lieutenant in the army. He served in the army until his accession in 1865, by which time he had reached the rank of lieutenant-general.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold's public career began on his attaining the age of majority in 1855, when he became a member of the Belgian Senate. He took an active interest in the senate, especially in matters concerning the development of Belgium and its trade, and began to urge Belgium's acquisition of colonies. Leopold traveled abroad extensively from 1854 to 1865, visiting India, China, Egypt, and the countries on the Mediterranean coast of Africa. His father died on 10 December 1865, and Leopold took the oath of office on 17 December, at the age of 30.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold became king in 1865. He explained his goal for his reign in an 1888 letter addressed to his brother, Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders: "the country must be strong, prosperous, therefore have colonies of her own, beautiful and calm."


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold's reign was marked by a number of major political developments. The Liberals governed Belgium from 1857 to 1880, and during its final year in power legislated the Frère-Orban Law of 1879. This law created free, secular, compulsory primary schools supported by the state and withdrew all state support from Roman Catholic primary schools. The Catholic Party obtained a parliamentary majority in 1880, and four years later restored state support to Catholic schools. In 1885, various socialist and social democratic groups drew together and formed the Labour Party. Increasing social unrest and the rise of the Labour Party forced the adoption of universal male suffrage in 1893.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: During Leopold's reign other social changes were enacted into law. Among these were the right of workers to form labour unions and the abolition of the "livret d'ouvrier", an employment record book. Laws against child labour were passed. Children younger than 12 were not allowed to work in factories, children younger than 16 were not allowed to work at night, and women younger than 21 years old were not allowed to work underground. Workers gained the right to be compensated for workplace accidents and were given Sundays off.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: The first revision of the Belgian Constitution came in 1893. Universal male suffrage was introduced, though the effect of this was tempered by plural voting. The eligibility requirements for the Senate were reduced, and elections would be based on a system of proportional representation, which continues to this day. Leopold pushed strongly to enable a royal referendum, whereby the king would have the power to consult the electorate directly on an issue, and use his veto according to the results of the referendum. The proposal was rejected, as it would have given the king the power to override the elected government. Leopold was so disappointed that he considered abdication.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold emphasized military defence as the basis of neutrality, and strove to make Belgium less vulnerable militarily. He achieved the construction of defensive fortresses at Liège, at Namur and at Antwerp. During the Franco-Prussian War, he managed to preserve Belgium's neutrality in a period of unusual difficulty and danger. Leopold pushed for a reform in military service, but he was unable to obtain one until he was on his deathbed. The Belgian army was a combination of volunteers and a lottery, and it was possible for men to pay for substitutes for service. This was replaced by a system in which one son in every family would have to serve in the military.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold commissioned a great number of buildings, urban projects and public works, largely with the profits generated from exploitation of the Congo Free State. These projects earned him the epithet of "Builder King" (, ). The public buildings were mainly in Brussels, Ostend, Tervuren and Antwerp, and include the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark, memorial arcade and complex, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and Duden Park in Brussels; the Hippodrome Wellington racetrack, the Royal Galleries and Maria Hendrikapark in Ostend; the Royal Museum for Central Africa and its surrounding park in Tervuren; and Antwerpen-Centraal railway station in Antwerp.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: In addition to his public works, Leopold acquired and built numerous private properties for himself inside and outside Belgium. He expanded the grounds of the Royal Castle of Laeken, and built the Royal Greenhouses, as well as the Japanese Tower and the Chinese Pavilion near the palace (now the Museums of the Far East). In the Ardennes, his domains consisted of of forests and agricultural lands and the châteaux of Ardenne, Ciergnon, Fenffe, Villers-sur-Lesse and Ferage. He also built important country estates on the French Riviera, including the Villa des Cèdres and its botanical garden, and the Villa Leopolda.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Thinking of the future after his death, Leopold did not want the collection of estates, lands and heritage buildings he had privately amassed to be scattered among his daughters, each of whom was married to a foreign prince. In 1900, he created the Royal Trust, by means of which he donated most of his properties to the Belgian nation in perpetuity, and arranged for the royal family to continue using them after his death.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: On 15 November 1902, Italian anarchist Gennaro Rubino attempted to assassinate Leopold, who was riding in a royal cortege from a ceremony at Church of St. Michael and St. Gudula in memory of his recently deceased wife, Marie Henriette. After Leopold's carriage passed, Rubino fired three shots at the procession. The shots missed Leopold but almost killed the king's Grand Marshall, Count Charles John d'Oultremont. Rubino was immediately arrested and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment. He died in prison in 1918.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: The king replied after the attack to a senator: "My dear senator, if fate wants me shot, too bad!" ("Mon cher Sénateur, si la fatalité veut que je sois atteint, tant pis"!)


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: After the failed regicide, the king's security was questioned, because the glass of the landaus was 2 cm thick. Elsewhere in Europe, the news of this assassination attempt was received with alarm. Heads of state and the pope sent telegrams to the king congratulating him for surviving the assassination attempt.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: The Belgians rejoiced that the king was safe. Later in the day, in the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie before "Tristan und Isolde" was performed, the orchestra played "The Brabançonne", which was sung loudly and ended with loud cheers and applause.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold was the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private project undertaken on his own behalf. He used explorer Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo, an area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, the colonial nations of Europe authorised his claim by committing the Congo Free State to improving the lives of the people.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: From the beginning, Leopold ignored these conditions. He ran the Congo using the mercenary "Force Publique" for his personal enrichment. Failure to meet rubber collection quotas was punishable by death. Meanwhile, the Force Publique were required to provide the hand of their victims as proof when they had shot and killed someone, as it was believed that they would otherwise use the munitions (imported from Europe at considerable cost) for hunting. As a consequence, the rubber quotas were in part paid off in chopped-off hands. Leopold extracted a fortune from the Congo, initially by the collection of ivory, and after a rise in the price of rubber in the 1890s, by forced labour from the people to harvest and process rubber.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Under his regime, millions of Congolese inhabitants, including children, were mutilated, killed or died from disease and famine. In addition, the birth rate rapidly declined during this period. Estimates for the total population decline range from one million to fifteen million, with a consensus growing around 10 million. Several historians argue against this figure due to the absence of reliable censuses, the enormous mortality of diseases such as smallpox or sleeping sickness and the fact that there were only 175 administrative agents in charge of rubber exploitation.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Reports of deaths and abuse led to a major international scandal in the early 20th century, and Leopold was forced by the Belgian government to relinquish control of the colony to the civil administration in 1908.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold fervently believed that overseas colonies were the key to a country's greatness, and he worked tirelessly to acquire colonial territory for Belgium. He envisioned "our little Belgium" as the capital of a large overseas empire. Leopold eventually began to acquire a colony as a private citizen. The Belgian government lent him money for this venture.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: During his reign, Leopold saw the empires of the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain as being in a state of decline and expressed interest in buying their territories. In 1866, Leopold instructed the Belgian ambassador in Madrid to speak to Queen Isabella II of Spain about ceding the Philippines to Belgium. Knowing the situation fully, the ambassador did nothing. Leopold quickly replaced the ambassador with a more sympathetic individual to carry out his plan. In 1868, when Isabella II was deposed as queen of Spain, Leopold tried to press his original plan to acquire the Philippines. But without funds, he was unsuccessful. Leopold then devised another unsuccessful plan to establish the Philippines as an independent state, which could then be ruled by a Belgian. When both of these plans failed, Leopold shifted his aspirations of colonisation to Africa.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: After numerous unsuccessful schemes to acquire colonies in Africa and Asia, in 1876 Leopold organized a private holding company disguised as an international scientific and philanthropic association, which he called the International African Society, or the International Association for the Exploration and Civilization of the Congo. In 1878, under the auspices of the holding company, he hired explorer Henry Stanley to explore and establish a colony in the Congo region. Much diplomatic maneuvering among European nations resulted in the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 regarding African affairs, at which representatives of 14 European countries and the United States recognized Leopold as sovereign of most of the area to which he and Stanley had laid claim. On 5 February 1885, the Congo Free State, an area 76 times larger than Belgium, was established under Leopold II's personal rule and private army, the "Force Publique".


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: In 1894, King Leopold signed a treaty with Great Britain which conceded a strip of land on the Congo Free State's eastern border in exchange for the Lado Enclave, which provided access to the navigable Nile and extended the Free State's sphere of influence northwards into Sudan. After rubber profits soared in 1895, Leopold ordered the organization of an expedition into the Lado Enclave, which had been overrun by Mahdist rebels since the outbreak of the Mahdist War in 1881. The expedition was composed of two columns: the first, under Belgian Baron Dhanis, consisted of a sizable force, numbering around 3,000, and was to strike north through the jungle and attack the rebels at their base at Rejaf. The second, a much smaller force of 800, was led by Louis-Napoléon Chaltin and took the main road towards Rejaf. Both expeditions set out in December 1896.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Although Leopold had initially planned for the expedition to carry on much farther than the Lado Enclave, hoping indeed to take Fashoda and then Khartoum, Dhanis' column mutinied in February 1897, resulting in the death of several Belgian officers and the loss of his entire force. Nonetheless, Chaltin continued his advance, and on 17 February 1897, his outnumbered forces defeated the rebels in the Battle of Rejaf, securing the Lado Enclave as a Belgian territory until Leopold's death in 1909.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold amassed a huge personal fortune by exploiting the natural resources of the Congo. At first, ivory was exported, but this did not yield the expected levels of revenue. When the global demand for rubber exploded, attention shifted to the labor-intensive collection of sap from rubber plants. Abandoning the promises of the Berlin Conference in the late 1890s, the Free State government restricted foreign access and extorted forced labor from the natives. Abuses, especially in the rubber industry, included forced labour of the native population, beatings, widespread killings, and frequent mutilation when production quotas were not met. Missionary John Harris of Baringa was so shocked by what he had encountered that he wrote to Leopold's chief agent in the Congo, saying:


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: I have just returned from a journey inland to the village of Insongo Mboyo. The abject misery and utter abandon is positively indescribable. I was so moved, Your Excellency, by the people's stories that I took the liberty of promising them that in future you will only kill them for crimes they commit.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Estimates of the death toll range from one million to fifteen million, since accurate records were not kept. Historians Louis and Stengers in 1968 stated that population figures at the start of Leopold's control are only "wild guesses", and that attempts by E. D. Morel and others to determine a figure for the loss of population were "but figments of the imagination".


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Adam Hochschild devotes a chapter of his book "King Leopold's Ghost" to the problem of estimating the death toll. He cites several recent lines of investigation, by anthropologist Jan Vansina and others, that examine local sources (police records, religious records, oral traditions, genealogies, personal diaries, and "many others"), which generally agree with the assessment of the 1919 Belgian government commission: roughly half the population perished during the Free State period. Hochschild points out that since the first official census by the Belgian authorities in 1924 put the population at about 10 million, these various approaches suggest a rough estimate of a population decline by 10 million.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Smallpox epidemics and sleeping sickness also devastated the disrupted population. By 1896, African trypanosomiasis had killed up to 5,000 Africans in the village of Lukolela on the Congo River. The mortality statistics were collected through the efforts of British consul Roger Casement, who found, for example, only 600 survivors of the disease in Lukolela in 1903.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Inspired by works such as Joseph Conrad’s "Heart of Darkness" (1902), originally published as a three-part series in "Blackwood’s Magazine" (1899) and based on Conrad's experience as a steamer captain on the Congo 12 years earlier, international criticism of Leopold’s rule increased and mobilized. Reports of outrageous exploitation and widespread human rights abuses led the British Crown to appoint their consul Roger Casement to investigate conditions there. His extensive travels and interviews in the region resulted in the Casement Report, which detailed the extensive abuses under Leopold's regime. A widespread war of words ensued. In Britain, former shipping clerk E. D. Morel with Casement's support founded the Congo Reform Association, the first mass human rights movement. Supporters included American writer Mark Twain, whose stinging political satire entitled "King Leopold's Soliloquy" portrays the king arguing that bringing Christianity to the country outweighs a little starvation, and uses many of Leopold's own words against him.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Writer Arthur Conan Doyle also criticised the "rubber regime" in his 1908 work "The Crime of the Congo", written to aid the work of the Congo Reform Association. Doyle contrasted Leopold's rule with British rule in Nigeria, arguing that decency required those who ruled primitive peoples to be concerned first with their uplift, not how much could be extracted from them. As Hochschild describes in "King Leopold's Ghost", many of Leopold's policies, in particular those of colonial monopolies and forced labour, were influenced by Dutch practice in the East Indies. Similar methods of forced labour were employed to some degree by Germany, France, and Portugal where natural rubber occurred in their own colonies.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: International opposition and criticism at home from the Catholic Party, Progressive Liberals and the Labour Party caused the Belgian Parliament to compel the king to cede the Congo Free State to Belgium in 1908. The deal that led to the handover cost Belgium the considerable sum of 215.5 million Francs. This was used to discharge the debt of the Congo Free State and to pay out its bond holders as well as 45.5 million for Leopold's pet building projects in Belgium and a personal payment of 50 million to him. The Congo Free State was transformed into a Belgian colony under parliamentary control known as the Belgian Congo. Leopold went to great lengths to conceal potential evidence of wrongdoing during his time as ruler of his private colony. The entire archive of the Congo Free State was burned and he told his aide that even though the Congo had been taken from him, "they have no right to know what I did there". The Congo was given independence in 1960.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: On 17 December 1909, Leopold II died at Laeken, and the Belgian crown passed to Albert I, the son of Leopold's brother, Philippe, Count of Flanders. His funeral cortege was booed by the crowd in expression of disapproval of his rule of the Congo. Leopold's reign of exactly 44 years remains the longest in Belgian history. He was interred in the royal vault at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Attention to the Congo atrocities subsided in the years after Leopold's death. Statues of him were erected in the 1930s at the initiative of Albert I, while the Belgian government celebrated his accomplishments in Belgium. The debate over Leopold's legacy was reignited in 1999 with the publication of "King Leopold's Ghost" by American historian Adam Hochschild, which recounts Leopold's plan to acquire the colony, the exploitation, and the large death toll. The debate then periodically resurfaced over the following 20 years.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: In 2010, Louis Michel, a Belgian member of the European Parliament and former Belgian foreign minister, called Leopold II a "visionary hero." According to Michel, "To use the word 'genocide' in relation to the Congo is absolutely unacceptable and inappropriate. ... maybe colonisation was domineering and acquiring more power, but at a certain moment, it brought civilisation." Michel's remarks were countered by several Belgian politicians. Senator Pol Van Den Driessche replied, "[A] great visionary? Absolutely not. What happened then was shameful. If we measured him against 21st century standards, it is likely that Leopold would be hauled before the International Criminal Court in The Hague."


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: In June 2020, a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Brussels protested the murder of George Floyd, causing Leopold II's legacy to become once again the subject of debate. MPs agreed to set up a parliamentary commission to examine Belgium's colonial past, a step likened to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee set up in South Africa after the apartheid regime was abolished. On 30 June, the 60th anniversary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's independence, King Philippe released a statement expressing his "deepest regret" for the wounds of the colonial past, and the "acts of violence and cruelty committed" in the Congo during colonisation but did not explicitly mention Leopold's role in the atrocities. Some activists accused him of not making a full apology.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold II remains a controversial figure in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the capital Kinshasa (known until 1966 as Leopoldville in his honor) his statue was removed after independence. Congolese culture minister Christophe Muzungu decided to reinstate the statue in 2005. He noted that the beginning of the Free State had been a time of some economic and social progress. He argued that people should recognize some positive aspects of the king as well as the negative, but hours after the six-metre (20ft) statue was installed near Kinshasa's central station, it was officially removed.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Several statues have been erected to honour the legacy of Leopold II in Belgium. According to Professor of Colonial History Idesbald Goddeeris of Leuven University (2018), most of the statues date from the interwar period, the peak of colonial-patriotic propaganda. The monuments were supposed to help get rid of the scandal after international commotion about the atrocities in the Congo Free State during Leopold II's rule, and to raise people's enthusiasm for the colonial enterprise in Belgian Congo.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold's controversial regime in the Congo Free State has motivated proposals for these statues to be removed. During the international George Floyd protests against racism (May–July 2020), several statues of Leopold II were vandalised, and petitions calling for the removal of some or all statues were signed by tens of thousands of Belgians. Other petitions, also signed by tens of thousands, called for the statues to remain.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: In early June 2020, a majority in the Brussels Parliament requested a committee to be set up to 'decolonise the public sphere' in the Brussels-Capital Region. From 9 June 2020 onwards, authorities in Belgium gave way to public pressure and began removing some of the statues of Leopold, beginning with ones in Ekeren in the municipality of Antwerp and in the Warocqué Faculty of Economics and Management of the University of Mons on that day.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold's sister became the Empress Carlota of Mexico. His first cousins included both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert, as well as King Fernando II of Portugal.


title: Leopold II of Belgium

text: Leopold also fathered two sons by Caroline Lacroix. They were adopted in 1910 by Lacroix's second husband, Antoine Durrieux. Leopold granted them courtesy titles that were honorary, as the parliament would not have supported any official act or decree:


title: Samantha Morton

text: Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress and director. She is known for her work in independent productions and has received numerous accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a British Independent Film Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a British Academy Film Award.


title: Samantha Morton

text: Morton was a member of the Central Junior Television Workshop in her native Nottingham and began her career in British television in 1991. She guest-starred in four episodes of "Soldier Soldier" that year, two episodes of "Cracker" in 1994, and one episode of "Peak Practice" that same year. She had a bigger role, a dozen episodes, in the ITV series "Band of Gold" (1995–1996).


title: Samantha Morton

text: Morton made the transition to film with lead roles in the dramas "Emma" (1996), "Jane Eyre" (1997), and the well-received "Under the Skin" (1997). She also starred alongside Max Beesley in BBC's mini series production of "" in 1997 to critical acclaim. The next year, Woody Allen cast Morton in "Sweet and Lowdown" (1999), which earned her nominations for the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.


title: Samantha Morton

text: Established as a prominent force on the independent film scene by the early 2000s, Morton starred in "Morvern Callar" (2002), which garnered her the BIFA Award for Best Actress, and she received her second Academy Award nomination for her performance in "In America" (2003), this time for Best Actress. Her role in the commercially successful sci-fi thriller "Minority Report" (2002) was followed by biographical portrayals of Myra Hindley in "Longford" (2006), Deborah Curtis in "Control" (2007), and Mary, Queen of Scots in "" (2007). For her role in "Longford", she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.


title: Samantha Morton

text: Morton made her directorial debut with the television film "The Unloved" (2009), which won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Single Drama. She had also starred in films such as "The Messenger" (2009), "John Carter" (2012), "Decoding Annie Parker" (2013), and "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" (2016). By the late 2010s, she often ventured back into television, starring in the series "The Last Panthers" (2015), "Rillington Place" (2016), "Harlots" (2017–2019), and "The Walking Dead" (2019–2020).


title: Samantha Morton

text: Samantha Jane Morton was born in the Clifton area of Nottingham on 13 May 1977, the third child of Pamela (née Mallek), a factory worker, and Peter Morton. She is of Polish/Irish descent. She has six half-siblings from her parents' relationships subsequent to their 1979 divorce. She lived with her father until she was eight, when she was made a ward of court because neither of her parents could care for her and her siblings. Her father was an abusive alcoholic, and her mother was involved in a violent relationship with her second husband; as a result, she never lived with her parents again.


title: Samantha Morton

text: The next nine years were spent in and out of foster care and children's homes. During that time, she attended West Bridgford Comprehensive School and joined the Central Junior Television Workshop when she was 13, soon being offered small-screen roles in "Soldier Soldier" and "Boon". Under the effects of drugs, she threatened an older girl who had been bullying her. She was convicted of making threats to kill and served 18 weeks in an attendance centre.


title: Samantha Morton

text: After joining Central Junior Television Workshop at the age of 13, she was soon being offered small-screen roles such as Clare Anderson in the first series of Lucy Gannon's "Soldier Soldier" and also Mandy, in an episode of "Boon" —both were ITV Central productions. Moving to London at sixteen, Morton applied to numerous drama schools, including RADA, without success. In 1991, she attended Clarendon College of Performing Arts to gain a BTEC award but subsequently left for personal reasons. She made her stage début at the Royal Court Theatre, and continued her television career with appearances in "Peak Practice" and in an episode of "Cracker". At the time, she had a regular role in the first two series of Kay Mellor's successful "Band of Gold" (1995–96).


title: Samantha Morton

text: Further television roles followed, including parts in period dramas such as "Emma" and "Jane Eyre". "Emma" was a film adaptation of the novel of the same name published in 1815 about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The movie received largely positive reviews from critics and was broadcast in late 1996 on ITV, garnering an estimated 12 million viewers. In "Jane Eyre", Morton starred as a Yorkshire orphan who becomes a governess to a young French girl and finds love with the brooding lord of the manor. Like her previous small-screen projects, the 1997 film originally aired on ITV.


title: Samantha Morton

text: She took on the leading role in the independent drama "Under the Skin" (1997), directed by Carine Adler, where she played Iris, a woman coping with the death of her mother. The movie garnered favorable reviews from writers, with "The Guardian" placing it at number 15 on its list of the Best British Films 1984–2009. Janet Maslin for "The New York Times" remarked that Morton "embodies the role with furious intensity and with a raw yet waifish presence" and James Berardinelli wrote that the actress "forces us to accept Iris as a living, breathing individual". She won the Best Actress accolade at the 1998 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards and was nominated for the BIFA Award for Best Female Performance in a British Independent Film.


title: Samantha Morton

text: Impressed by her performance in "Under the Skin", Woody Allen cast her in "Sweet and Lowdown", a romantic comedy about a fictional jazz guitarist in the 1930s (played by Sean Penn) who regards himself as the second greatest guitarist in the world. Morton played Hattie, a mute laundress and the love interest of Penn's character. The film was released in September 1999, to wide critical acclaim and moderate success at the box office in the arthouse circuit. George Perry for BBC.com found her to be "extraordinary" as an "adoring mute who suffers [...] She uses her eyes to convey meaning, reviving techniques of silent cinema". Morton earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her role, which was especially notable, considering the fact that she does not utter a single word of dialogue in the film. During a 2007 interview with UK's "The Guardian", she remarked that her Oscar nomination meant "incredible things for me in the [United States]. I'm grateful for that. It means that [...] I'm able to support the industry".


title: Samantha Morton

text: Morton would next star in the small scale drama "Jesus' Son", which found a limited release, and praise from critics. She received a Satellite Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her performance. Her other film in 1999 was the romantic drama "Dreaming of Joseph Lees", an adaptation of a story written by Catherine Linstrum set in rural England in the late 1950s; for her part, she won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress. She appeared in the biographical drama "Pandaemonium" (2000), directed by Julien Temple, playing Sara Coleridge, the wife of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. She was nominated for a British Independent Film Award in the category of Best Actress. Morton also played a mermaid opposite Larry Mullen in the Anton Corbijn-directed promotional video for U2's "Electrical Storm", and provided the voice of Ruby for the Canadian animated series "Max & Ruby" from 2002 to 2003.


title: Samantha Morton

text: Morton found wider recognition and mainstream success when she took on the part of a senior precog in Steven Spielberg science fiction thriller "Minority Report", opposite Tom Cruise. Although critics felt she was "slightly typecast" in her role of "feral, near-mute victim", "Minority Report" grossed US$358 million. She won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Empire Award for Best British Actress. In her next film, the drama "Morvern Callar", she played a grieving young woman from Scotland who decides to escape to Spain after the suicide of her boyfriend. Writing for "Rolling Stone", Peter Travers stated that Morton "fills this character study with poetic force and buoyant feeling", as part of a positive critical response, and she earned the Best Actress Award at the 5th British Independent Film Awards and the 7th Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.


title: Samantha Morton

text: In the independent drama "In America" (2003), directed by Jim Sheridan, Morton played the matriarch of an immigrant Irish family struggling to start a new life in New York. "In America" met widespread critical acclaim, with Terry Lawson of "Detroit Free Press" calling the film "an achingly intimate and beautifully observed account of the immigrant experience". Roger Ebert felt that Morton "reveals the power of her silences, her quiet [and] her presence", while A.O. Scott, of "The New York Times", found the "blunt, inarticulate force of her feeling [...] at the center of the drama". Her performance earned her nominations for the Academy Award, the Independent Spirit Award, and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award in the category of Best Actress.


title: Samantha Morton

text: In 2004, Morton starred as a love interest in the dystopian film "Code 46", directed by Michael Winterbottom and alongside Tim Robbins, and played the wife of a man who witnessed a deadly accident in the drama "Enduring Love", opposite Rhys Ifans and Daniel Craig. Critics were polarized for the latter film and suggested that Morton did not have enough time on screen. Nevertheless, she earned a nomination for the Best Supporting Award at the 2004 British Independent Film Awards. In "River Queen" (2005), she took on the role of a young Irish woman finding herself on both sides of the wars between British and Maori during the British colonisation of New Zealand. The film was a box office success at the New Zealand box office, grossing around NZ$1 million in the country. For her role, she received a nomination for the New Zealand Screen Award for Best Leading Actress. She starred alongside Johnny Depp in the little-seen period drama "The Libertine", and appeared in the drama "Lassie", both of which were also released in 2005.


title: Samantha Morton

text: In 2006, she played the Moors murderess Myra Hindley in the television film "Longford". Set between 1967 and 1997, the film depicts the relationship between the child murderer and Lord Longford, the politician who spent years campaigning (ultimately unsuccessfully) for her release. "Longford" was a critical success and premiered with 1.7 million viewers. Morton, however, was severely criticised by the relatives of the children who were killed by Hindley and Ian Brady, but she insisted, "It is my duty as a performer to raise issues [...] we're afraid to look at". She received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards, and won at the 65th Golden Globe Awards.


title: Samantha Morton

text: Morton took on roles in four feature films in 2007. She starred as a struggling police officer in the romantic drama "Expired", and portrayed a Marilyn Monroe impersonator in the dramedy "Mister Lonely". Morton worked again with director Anton Corbijn in the biographical film "Control", where she appeared as Deborah Curtis, wife of musician Ian Curtis from the band Joy Division, whose biography "Touching from a Distance" formed the basis of the film. The film was acclaimed by critics. Roger Ebert remarked that Morton was "absolutely convincing as a plucky teenage bride", and "Variety" magazine found her performance to be "astonishing" and "sympathetic". For "Control", she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Her last film of 2007 was another biopic, "", in which she played Mary, Queen of Scots.


title: Samantha Morton

text: She made part of an ensemble cast in Charlie Kaufman's postmodern drama "Synecdoche, New York" (2008), alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Williams and Emily Watson. In the film, she portrayed Hazel, one of the women in the life of a theatre director (Hoffman) whose extreme commitment to a realistic stage production begins to blur the boundaries between fiction and reality. As her character ages from 30 to 64 over the course of the story, Morton used full-face prosthetic makeup. She discovered that she was pregnant during the filming, which had a schedule that took up to 20 hours a day. The film was a box office bomb, but garnered praise from critics, appearing on many top ten lists of the year. Morton and her co-stars were eventually nominated for the Best Ensemble Performance award at the 18th Gotham Independent Film Awards. Also in 2008, she starred in "The Daisy Chain", an Irish horror film about a couple who after the death of their daughter, take in an orphaned girl, only to become involved in a series of strange occurrences. It premiered at the 16th Raindance Film Festival (London; October 2008), and received a DVD release in 2010.


title: Samantha Morton

text: In the directorial debut of "Jesus' Son" screenwriter Oren Moverman, the war drama "The Messenger" (2009), Morton starred as Oliva Patterson, a widow whose husband was killed in Iraq. She was drawn to the "feminine" side of the story and found her part to be "one of the first characters [she has] played in a long time where [she has] felt so much in common", as her brother and stepfather both served as soldiers in the military forces. Critical reception towards "The Messenger" and Morton was unanimously favorable, with Claudia Puig of "USA Today" asserting that, Morton "as always, gives a subtle, excellent performance". She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 14th Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards and the 25th Independent Spirit Awards.


title: Samantha Morton

text: Morton's other project of 2009 was her directorial debut, the semi-autobiographical Channel 4 drama "The Unloved", which follows an eleven-year-old girl (played by Molly Windsor) growing up in a children's home in the UK's care system, and shown through her perspective. Morton wrote the story in collaboration with Tony Grisoni, and "The Unloved" was first broadcast on 17 May 2009, drawing nearly 2 million viewers. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2009. Michael Deacon, for "The Daily Telegraph", praised Morton on creating an "intense" and "vivid" dramatic film. Morton won a BAFTA for her direction in 2010.


title: Samantha Morton

text: Following a three-year hiatus from the screen to focus on her personal life and family, Morton returned in 2012. She provided the voice of Sola in the science fiction film "John Carter", based on "A Princess of Mars", which received mixed reviews and flopped at the box office. She next played a chief of theory in the thriller "Cosmopolis", directed by David Cronenberg. Her role, described as "misjudged" by "The Guardian", earned her a nomination as Best Actress in a Canadian Film Award at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle. She also served as a jury member at the 69th Venice International Film Festival in 2012.


title: Samantha Morton

text: Morton was the original voice of the artificially intelligent operating system in the 2013 romantic science fiction drama "Her" directed by Spike Jonze, but in post-production, she was replaced by Scarlett Johansson. She is, however, credited as an associate producer. Morton starred in the independent drama "Decoding Annie Parker" (2013) opposite Helen Hunt, playing a woman with breast cancer. The film was released in limited theaters, to mixed reviews from critics. Nevertheless, Betsey Sharkey of "Los Angeles Times" observed that the actress "gives Parker such a humility within a warm humanity that you feel an obligation to stick with her through the mounting horrors". She was awarded the Best Actress Golden Space Needle Award at the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival.


title: Samantha Morton

text: Morton starred opposite Michael Shannon in the independent thriller "The Harvest" (also 2013), as a controlling mother keeping her sick son in a secluded environment. Several critics such as Peter Debruge ("Variety") and Nikola Grozdanovic ("Indiewire") compared her role of Katherine to Kathy Bates' Annie Wilkes in "Misery" (1990). Her performance earned her a Best Actress Award nomination at the 2014 BloodGuts UK Horror Awards.


title: Samantha Morton

text: In Liv Ullmann's film adaptation "Miss Julie" (2014), alongside Colin Farrell and Jessica Chastain, Morton portrayed Kathleen, the fiancée of a valet (Farrell) who finds himself seduced by the daughter of an Anglo-Irish aristocracy (Chastain). The film screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and had a limited release in the UK, France and Spain. "Miss Julie" rated average with reviewers, but the cast received acclaim. Writing for "The Hollywood Reporter", David Rooney thought Morton's Kathleen was "the most satisfyingly drawn character" of the film, which he considered a "ponderous, stately affair".


title: Samantha Morton

text: In 2015, Morton starred as a mother in the First World War context in "Cider with Rosie", a made-for-television adaptation of the book of the same name by Laurie Lee, and took on the role of an insurance investigator charged with recovering stolen diamonds in the European limited television series "The Last Panthers", inspired by the notorious Balkan jewel thieves the Pink Panthers. Morton found her character to be a "very truthful, [...] strong woman" and described her as a "female Bond". Genevieve Valentine, for "The AV Club", wrote: "Morton might at first seem a tough sell as someone so hard-boiled, but the taciturn, untouchable edifice she presents is leaking just enough poison at the edges that we look forward to watching her strike—the sort of character a six-hour miniseries was made for".


title: Samantha Morton

text: Morton appeared in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" (2016), a spin-off from the "Harry Potter" film series, with a screenplay by J. K. Rowling. In the film, she portrayed Mary Lou Barebone, the leader of an extremist group whose goals include exposing and killing wizards and witches. "Fantastic Beasts" grossed US$814 million at the international box office, becoming Morton's most successful and widely seen film.


title: Samantha Morton

text: She filmed the three-part television crime drama "Rillington Place" (also 2016), based on the case of serial killer John Christie, who murdered several women in London during 1940s and early 1950s. Morton was cast opposite Tim Roth as Christie's wife, Ethel. Intrigued by their relationship, Morton felt the depiction of the "psychological aspect of love" in the story "really developed [her] acting chops" but considered as a challenge "to play someone so submissive" as Ethel. The miniseries premiered in BBC One and was favourably received by critics. "The Guardian" found Morton to be "strong" in her "difficult role", and "The Independent" remarked that she "gave a fine, nuanced performance" as "a woman trapped under her husband's spell".


title: Samantha Morton

text: Beginning in 2017, Morton has starred in the Hulu period drama series "Harlots". She portrays Margaret Wells, the madam of a low-class brothel who seeks to improve her fortunes. The response from critics and audiences has been highly positive. "The Telegraph" found her to be the "standout performer", and "The Atlantic" noted: "While the role doesn't give Morton the same room to flex her acting muscles as, say, Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown", she gives depth and moral conflict to a character who could easily be a pantomime dame in the wrong hands".


title: Samantha Morton

text: In July 2018, it was announced that Morton had been cast in the role of Alpha in "The Walking Dead", making her first appearance in February 2019. Alpha is the villainous leader of the Whisperers, a mysterious group of survivors of a zombie apocalypse who—as a method of self-concealment—wear skins taken from the undead.


title: Samantha Morton

text: Morton dated actor Charlie Creed-Miles, whom she met on the set of the film "The Last Yellow", in 1999. They broke up when Morton was 15 weeks pregnant with their daughter, actress Esmé Creed-Miles, born 5 February 2000.


title: Samantha Morton

text: Morton met filmmaker Harry Holm (son of actor Ian Holm) while filming a music video for the band the Vitamins. Their daughter, Edie, was born on 4 January 2008, and their son, Theodore, was born in 2012. They live in Monyash, Derbyshire.


title: Samantha Morton

text: In early 2008, Morton revealed that she had been "close to death" after suffering a debilitating stroke due to being hit by a piece of 17th-century plaster that fell on her head (damaging her vertebral artery) in 2006. She was in hospital for three weeks after the incident. She withdrew from the public spotlight and took an 18-month break from film acting in order to learn to walk again.


title: Samantha Morton

text: In 2011, Morton wrote an open letter hoping her stepfather would get back in touch with her after being estranged for several years. However, it was revealed shortly afterward that her stepfather had died of prostate cancer four years previously.


title: Samantha Morton

text: On 20 July 2011, Morton received an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) from Nottingham Trent University, "in recognition of her internationally successful acting career".


title: Samantha Morton

text: Having been raised in the foster care system, Morton has often been active in related causes. In March 2009, Morton returned to her hometown to show her support for its children's homes and protest against the threatened closure, by Nottingham City Council, of one of the four establishments with 24 social-care staff facing redundancy. In 2012, Morton showed her support for the Fostering Network's annual campaign "Foster Care Fortnight", and in September 2014, triggered by the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal, she discussed in a video interview the sexual abuse she experienced while in the foster care system as a child in Nottingham and that the police took no action when she reported the abuse. Morton had discussed the abuse previously while promoting the semi-autobiographical drama "The Unloved", in an article for "The Guardian".


title: Samantha Morton

text: In 2008, she was part of the Vodafone Foundation's World of Difference campaign, which gives people the opportunity to work for a charity of their choice. Whilst attending a fundraiser for the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in January 2009, she vowed never to work for the BBC again after their refusal to broadcast an emergency charity appeal for the victims of Israel's attack on Gaza on 27 December 2008. She was later joined by Tam Dean Burn, Pauline Goldsmith, Peter Mullan, and Alison Peebles, who also threatened to boycott the corporation. In 2009, she also fronted a television advertising recruitment campaign for social workers in the UK.


title: Samantha Morton

text: Morton was the guest on the long-running BBC radio programme "Desert Island Discs" on 4 October 2020.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Marcelo Vieira da Silva Júnior (born 12 May 1988), known as Marcelo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Super League Greece club Olympiacos. Known for his offensive capabilities, trickery, and technical qualities, Marcelo is often regarded as one of the greatest left-backs of all time. He has spent most of his career with Spanish club Real Madrid and is the club's most decorated player, with 25 trophies won.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Starting his professional career in 2005, Marcelo won a Campeonato Carioca with Fluminense in 2006, during which he was named to the Brasileirão Team of the Season, at age 18. By the end of the year, he joined Real Madrid for an $8 million fee. In Madrid, he went on to be a mainstay and has won five UEFA Champions League titles and six La Liga titles, among other honours. In 2021, Marcelo became the captain of Real Madrid from the start of the 2021–22 season, making him the first foreign captain since 1904. He has been named to the FIFPro World XI six times, the UEFA Team of the Year three times, and La Liga's Team of the Season in 2016. He was also named to "France Football"'s "Team of the Decade (2010–2019)".


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Having debuted for Brazil in 2006, Marcelo was called up for the 2008 Olympic squad, where he won a bronze medal. Four years later, he was part of Brazil's 2012 Olympic team as one of the three over-age players, winning a silver medal. Marcelo was selected to play in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and started all five matches, as Brazil won 3–0 against Spain in the final. He was part of Brazil's squad at the 2014 FIFA World Cup which was his first World Cup. Brazil finished fourth and he was named to the tournament's Dream Team. In May 2018, he was named to the final squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup where he again was named to the tournament's Dream Team.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Marcelo started playing futsal at age nine and by age 13, he was on the books of Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro. He came from a very poor background and even considered quitting football, but his grandfather convinced him to continue with the sport.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Marcelo joined Real Madrid during the January transfer window in 2007. On his arrival, club President Ramón Calderón said, "He is an important signing for us. He is a young player who will inject some freshness into the side and is part of our plan to bring younger players into the squad. We're very happy because he's a pearl that half of Europe wanted." Many spectators hailed him as Brazilian and Real Madrid great Roberto Carlos' potential successor in the left-back role.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Marcelo made his debut as a substitute in the 2–0 defeat against Deportivo La Coruña on 7 January 2007. On 14 April 2007, then coach Fabio Capello gave Marcelo his first start for Real Madrid against Racing de Santander. Real Madrid controversially lost the game 2–1. In the 2007–08 season, Marcelo started nearly all of Madrid's league games under the new manager Bernd Schuster. His ability, speed running across the field, attack, and defence had enabled him to become a very important player for Real Madrid.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: After a string of poor performances in 2009, Marcelo found himself on the bench for much of the remaining season while under new manager Juande Ramos, mainly as deputy to the more defensive-minded Gabriel Heinze. Ramos deployed Marcelo as a winger on more than one occasion, and the Brazilian adapted well to his new role. He scored his first goal after receiving a heel flick from striker Gonzalo Higuaín and slotting the ball past the goalkeeper in Madrid's 4–0 thumping of Sporting Gijón. After the game, coach Ramos declared that Marcelo's future would be positioned as a winger, but will push back to defense when required. Marcelo scored his second goal for Real Madrid in a victory over Almería, a powerful strike from outside the box with his weaker right foot.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: On 18 April 2009, he scored his third goal of his Real Madrid career, when he scored the only goal of the game against Huelva away from home. He scored his fourth goal against Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in April 2009.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Under the next head coach Manuel Pellegrini, Marcelo consistently featured in the starting XI for his versatility and pace along the left flank in offensive and defensive roles. He continued to be employed as a left-winger under Pellegrini, and reached the top of the assist charts of La Liga in the 2009–10 season. He admitted in a press conference at the end of 2009, "I now feel better playing as a winger." His successful performance in Real Madrid's 2009–10 campaign earned him a contract extension on 5 February 2010 with the club until June 2015. This season proved to be his breakthrough season at the club.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: In the 2010–11 season under new coach José Mourinho, Marcelo was back in his natural position of left back. He started all league games, paying back the coach's confidence in him with defensive steel and attacking intent and gained the coach's admiration. On 25 November 2010, Marcelo was named as a part of the 55 player shortlist for the FIFA World XI. He scored his first goal of the new season in a 1–0 win against Espanyol on 13 February. He had a terrific match against Lyon in the Champions League. Showing his attacking flair and defensive skills, he opened the scoring with his first-ever Champions League goal and assisted Karim Benzema's goal, at the end he was named man of the match, of which Real went on to win 3–0, and progressed to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2004. Marcelo then continued his fine season by scoring in the second leg of the semi-finals against Barcelona in the Camp Nou. The game ended 1–1, but Real Madrid lost by an aggregate score of 3–1 since they lost 2–0 at home in the first leg. Marcelo's successful campaign in the Champions League earned him a starting spot in UEFA's starting XI. Marcelo was heavily praised by the worldwide media during that season, and many called him the best left back in the world. Diego Maradona said he was the third best player in La Liga, after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Marcelo was sent off on 17 August 2011 during Madrid's 3–2 loss to Barcelona. On 3 December 2011, Marcelo scored Madrid's third goal in a 3–0 victory over Sporting Gijón in La Liga.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Paolo Maldini gave credits to Marcelo and called him the current left back, "who is a great attacker and a defender, a specialist of both areas."


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Roberto Carlos named Marcelo as the world's best left back, saying. "He had more ability than me with the ball and he joins in better," and even called him his heir. Marcelo had shown great performances as a left back, such as in the Champions League quarter-finals against Cypriot club APOEL, while entering as a substitute in the 75th minute for Fábio Coentrão. Marcelo was part of the starting XI as Real Madrid claimed their 32nd league title.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Marcelo scored his first goal of the season against Manchester City in the Champions League group stage on 19 September, Real's first goal of a 3–2 win at the Santiago Bernabéu.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: As of February 2013, Marcelo had returned from injury and captained Real Madrid on 23 February at the Estadio Riazor which ended in a 2–1 victory for "Los Merengues". On 20 April, he played as the captain again against Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabéu. In the 14th minute, he sustained a muscle injury after intercepting a long through-ball, but the game ended in 3–1 victory for the home side.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Marcelo scored the opening goal for Real Madrid against Chelsea in the Guinness International Champions Cup 2013 final on 7 August; Real Madrid won 3–1. During the league season, he played 28 matches, and scored one goal, in a 3–0 win over Levante on 9 March.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Marcelo scored Real Madrid's third goal of their 4–1 win in the Champions League final against city rivals Atlético Madrid, with an extra-time strike from outside the box after coming on as a substitute for Fábio Coentrão.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: On 10 July 2015, Marcelo signed a new contract with Real Madrid, keeping him at the club until 2020. On 18 October 2015, he scored his first goal of the season by scoring Real Madrid's first goal in a 3–0 home win against Levante.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: He was a regular starter when the team won the Champions League, beating Atlético Madrid again in the final on penalties.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: He played 30 matches when Madrid won the La Liga and was a regular starter when Madrid won the Champions League after defeating Juventus 4–1 in the final.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: On 13 September 2017, Marcelo signed a new contract which would keep him at the club until summer 2022. During the Champions League, he made eleven appearances, while scoring three goals, with Madrid winning their third consecutive and 13th overall Champions League title after defeating Liverpool 3–1 in the final.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: During the season, he made 34 appearances, winning the Club World Cup for the third consecutive time.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: He appeared sporadically in the 2020–21 season due to various injuries and was replaced by Ferland Mendy in the left-back position. He appeared in a total of 19 matches in all competitions as Real Madrid finished second in the league behind Atlético Madrid.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: On 16 June 2021, it was announced that he would become the captain of Real Madrid from the start of the 2021–22 season, as the player who had been in the first team for the longest period of time after Sergio Ramos; he was assigned the role after Ramos left, making him the first foreign captain since 1904.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: On 19 October 2021, Marcelo made his 100th Champions League appearance in a 5–0 win at Shakhtar Donetsk.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: On 30 April 2022, after winning La Liga, Marcelo became the player with most titles in the history of Real Madrid, surpassing Paco Gento, with 24.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: On 28 May 2022, Marcelo lifted his fifth Champions League trophy after defeating Liverpool 1–0 in the final at the Stade de France, despite not featuring in the game itself. After the final, Marcelo announced that he would leave the club after 15 years.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Marcelo scored on his Brazil debut in a 2–0 victory against Wales at Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane. He picked up the ball just outside the Wales box and shot for a traditional Brazilian full-back goal. Marcelo has been compared to former Brazilian national team left-back Roberto Carlos, who also played for Real Madrid. The two had played together during the second half of the 2006–07 season before Carlos' move to Turkish club Fenerbahçe.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: He was part of the 2008 Olympic squad as part of Brazil's under-23 squad, where he won a bronze medal.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: In May 2010, he was named as one of the seven players serving as backup for Brazil's 2010 FIFA World Cup squad. Despite not being called up by then Brazil coach Dunga, he was selected again by new boss Mano Menezes for a friendly against the United States on 10 August 2010. He was the Man of the Match for a friendly 2–1 win against Mexico away on 11 October 2011, scoring the winner by dribbling past several players and then blasting the goal into the net.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: He was part of Brazil's 2012 Summer Olympics as one of the three overage players, with Brazil winning a silver medal.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Marcelo was selected as a member of Luiz Felipe Scolari's 23-man Brazil squad that took part in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup on home soil. He was part of the Brazil's starting lineup for all five matches, including the 3–0 victory over Spain in the final on 30 June, at the Maracanã Stadium.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which was once again played on home soil, Marcelo scored an own goal in the 11th minute of the opening game against Croatia on 12 June, deflecting a shot by Nikica Jelavić for the first goal of the competition. It was the first own goal that Brazil had conceded at the World Cup, although they eventually won the match 3–1.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: In May 2019, he was excluded from Brazil's final 23-man squad for the 2019 Copa América by manager Tite.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: After his breakthrough season, in 2011 Marcelo was praised by football legends such as Paolo Maldini and Diego Maradona, the latter of whom also called him the best player in the world in his position. Due to his attacking prowess, nationality, and playing role, Marcelo has frequently been compared to compatriot Roberto Carlos, who himself described Marcelo as his heir in 2012, and also labelled him as the world's best left back; regarding Marcelo's technical skills, he commented: "Marcelo possesses a better technical ability than me." Due to his skill, attacking abilities, achievements, and decisive performances in important games, Marcelo is considered by many in the sport to be the best left back in the world, one of Brazil's best players ever, and one of the greatest left backs of all time.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Known mainly for his offensive capabilities, trickery, and technical qualities, Marcelo plays mainly as a left-sided attacking full-back or wing-back, but can also operate as a left winger, or even in midfield. His flair, grace, touch, and control on the ball, coupled with his speed, agility, and dribbling skills, frequently see him beat opponents in one on one situations with elaborate feints, such as step overs. His explosive pace, energy, and clever movement, both on and off the ball, also make him a dangerous threat on counter-attacks; he is capable of penetrating between the opposing defensive lines with attacking runs, or getting up the left flank into good offensive positions from which he can receive the ball often, and provide width for his team, essentially acting as an additional forward.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Moreover, his crossing ability, precise passing, and his eye for the final ball also allow him to function as a secondary playmaker for his team, and enable him to link-up with other players, create goalscoring chances, and provide assists for teammates. While naturally left footed, he is also adept with his right foot, which enables him to cut inside from the left wing, attempt a shot from outside the area, and even score goals.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: Despite his ability going forward, however, the defensive side of Marcelo's game has been brought into question by pundits on occasion, who have cited his defensive solidity, work-rate, concentration, positioning, and awareness as areas of weakness in need of improvement.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: In 2017 Marcelo started investing in football clubs with his company DOZE ("Twelve"). The company became majority shareholder of Campeonato Paranaense club Azuriz based in Marmeleiro, Paraná. Later, in 2021, the company invested in the Portuguese club Mafra.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: In 2008, Marcelo married his longtime girlfriend Clarice Alves and on 24 September 2009, they had their first child, a son named Enzo Gattuso Alves Vieira. Their second son, Liam was born on 1 September 2015.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: He has a number of tattoos, including his shirt number and day of birth (12) tattooed onto his left arm.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: He singled out his grandfather, Pedro Vieira, as the main supporter of and inspiration for his footballing career; his grandfather supported him financially so that he could start his career in Brazil. His grandfather died in July 2014, during the World Cup; Marcelo wanted to withdraw from the tournament to attend his funeral but stayed to play with the Brazil team to honor his grandfather's wishes.


title: Marcelo (footballer, born 1988)

text: On 26 July 2011 Marcelo attained Spanish nationality, which allows him to be registered normally rather than as a non-EU player, of which there is a strict quota allowed.