Confusion over prince's battle role

Poll suggests confusion over William of Orange

The Battle of the Boyne was fought with elves, orcs and even a few hobbits in the ranks, a new survey suggests.

The findings could shock a few Orangemen, never mind the Dark Lord.

About one in 10 young people in Britain confused fact with fantasy and said they thought the famous battle of 12 July was straight out of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings best-selling book and blockbusting movie trilogy.

The scene where William of Orange defeated King James II in the famous Battle of the Boyne was at Helm's Deep, not Ireland, they believed.

The poll was commissioned for the BBC2 history series, Battlefield Britain.

Nearly half of the 1,000 people questioned across England, Scotland and Wales, did not know that it was the Battle of the Boyne which took place in County Louth in 1690 and celebrated on 12 July by the Orange Order.

Dr David Hume, director of services at the Grand Lodge of Ireland, said: "A lot of elderly Orangemen will be appalled by this.

Frodo was the hero of a fantasy world

"This survey is more an indictment of the way history is taught than the significance of the battle and the glorious revolution that went with it."

Even though no-one in Northern Ireland was asked about the landmark date, Dr Hume insisted its significance stretched far beyond Irish shores.

"Had William lost the battle, it's self-evident that the history of Europe would have been very different.

"Six different nations fought at the Boyne. Louis XIV would have held sway, and the French would clearly have had a staunch ally in the English."

"So the Battle of the Boyne is a European battle. The other big issue is the way constitutional monarchy and democracy developed after it.

"This is of enormous significance not just to Irish and British history but to the history of the western world."

Battlefield Britain, presented by Peter and Dan Snow, begins on BBC2, Friday at 2100 BST.