The curiously named Royal Children has its part to play in Britsh history. In 1688, when the throne of King James II was in peril, he arranged for Anne. (1646-1723 r. 1702-14) his daughter, to be spirited away to Nottingham. While ensconsed in Nottingham Castle, Anne endeared herself to the citizens of the city and became popular amongst the locals. Tradition has it that her children (from her union with Prince George of Denmark) were accommodated in this inn. Unfortunately none of Anne's children survived into adulthood and it is said that the restless spirits of her offspring still walk in and around the site. The name "The Royal Children" is painted on the one piece of whale-bone that we publicly displayed in Nottingham! A couple of hundred years ago whale oil occupied the same place in everyday life that paraffin does nowadays, and the whale fisheries of Whitby and the other north-east ports were very prosperous. Whaling skippers would distribute portions of the skeletons of their gigantic prey as advertisements here and there, hence the whale's shoulder-blade. The Royal Children holds to this day a license for selling whale oil for lamps, and displays the whale bones that made it famous.