A king’s novels, a great ape and a legendary birthplace – take the Thursday quiz

The Thursday quiz summer of shrinkflation continues, as does the quiz master’s holiday. This week your 12 questions are all loosely based on the theme of kings and queens, and roam across pop culture, nature, geography, sport and, inevitably, the queen of prime ministers, Liz Truss. Remember, it is just for fun, and since there are fewer questions than usual every answer carries a lot more pressure with it. Guess well!

The Thursday quiz, No 175 – kings and queens week!

1. Stephen King has written a lot of books in the horror genre among other great works. Which of these was his first published full-length horror novel?

   1. Salem's Lot

   2. Pet Sematary

   3. Carrie

   4. 30-50 Feral Hogs That Run Into My Yard

2. Clearly the best King Kong movie is the original one from 1933. Who was the female lead (not pictured) whom Kong (not pictured), the real hero of the movie, fiercely protects?

   1. Veronica Lake

   2. Julie Adams

   3. Elsa Lanchester

   4. Fay Wray

3. What was Carole King's most famous album, which featured the singles It's Too Late and I Feel the Earth Move and is one of the best-selling albums of the 1970s?

   1. No Secrets

   2. Mosaic

   3. Blue

   4. Tapestry

4. Who (not pictured) won the polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey at this year's men's Tour de France with 127 points in the mountains classification?

   1. Tadej Pogačar (SLO)

   2. Richard Carapaz (ECU)

   3. Enric Mas (ESP)

   4. Ronald Mael (SPK)

5. What is the name of the signature mascot character of Burger King?

   1. The Burger King

   2. Beekay

   3. Mr Whopper

   4. They have never had a signature mascot character

6. Kingler is a massive crab Pokémon, but which branch of the Crustacea are crabs in?

   1. Brachyura

   2. Penaeidae

   3. Achelata

   4. Bannakaffalatta

7. According to legend, King Arthur (sort of pictured) was born at which legendary location in Cornwall?

   1. At the Bedruthan Steps

   2. In the Carnglaze Caverns

   3. At Tintagel Castle

   4. Round the back of the Holiday Inn in Newquay

8. Who released the dark post-punk classic single Kings and Queens in 1985?

   1. Sisters of Mercy

   2. Killing Joke

   3. The Cure

   4. Siouxsie and the Banshees

9. There are currently 12 monarchies in Europe, because apparently Vatican City State (pictured, with the quiz master) counts as one. Who is the current king of Denmark?

   1. Claudius

   2. Frederik X

   3. Hans-Adam II

   4. Harald V

10. Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz, knows that only three countries in Africa have a monarch. Lesotho and Eswatini are two of them. Which is the third?

    1. Algeria

    2. Guinea

    3. Mauritania

    4. Morocco

11. Where do Queens Park Rangers play?

    1. Portman Road

    2. Loftus Road

    3. Brisbane Road

    4. Bannerman Road

12. Is the port and market town in Norfolk where it was announced that Liz Truss had lost her seat as an MP called King's Lynn or Kings Lynn or Kings' Lynn?

    1. Kings Lynn

    2. Kings' Lynn

    3. King's Lynn

Solutions

1:C - Cheerful old Carrie was first in 1974, Salem's Lot second in 1975, and then in 1977 came The Shining., 2:D - It was indeed Fay Wray. Veronica Lake and Julie Adams were stars decades later, with the latter appearing in Creature from the Black Lagoon. Elsa Lanchester was most famous as the bride of the monster in 1935's Bride of Frankenstein., 3:D - It has been certified 14x platinum in the US., 4:B - The Ecuadorian, riding for the EF Education–EasyPost team, had previously won the mountains classification in the Vuelta a España and the general classification in the Giro d'Italia., 5:A - The character appeared in the 1960s, and has at times been called The Marvellous Magical Burger King, and also had a version referred to as the 'creepy' king intermittently since 2004 because marketing is weird., 6:A - Crabs are brachyura. Penaeidae include prawns, achelata are lobsters, and the Thursday quiz finds them all pretty delicious., 7:C - It probably isn't true …, 8:B - It was the second single from the Night Time album, which also spawned the cult hit Love Like Blood. The Thursday quiz misses Geordie., 9:B - It is Frederik, who became king when Queen Margrethe II abdicated earlier this year., 10:D - Mohammed VI of Morocco has been king there since 1999., 11:B - They do indeed., 12:C - It is one Lynn belonging to one king. People called Romanes they go the house?

Scores

1. 0 and above.

   We hope you had fun – let us know how you got on in the comments

If you really do think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers, you will have to keep it to yourself as the quiz master is away. Why not watch King of the Mountain by Kate Bush instead?