How much do you know about the castles used by the Tudors? Test your knowledge with this fun quiz.
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Castles Quiz
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Edward VI’s Coronation – Primary Source Accounts and Archbishop Cranmer’s Speech
On 20 February 1547, King Edward VI was crowned King at Westminster Abbey. Here are some primary sources regarding his coronation, including Archbishop Cranmer’s speech comparing Edward to Josiah.
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Video – Henry VIII: Tyrant Part 1
In today’s Claire Chats I look at whether Henry VIII was a tyrant and compare him to Machiavelli’s idea of what a monarch/leader should be.
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February 1516 – Birth and Christening of Mary I
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Research on Anne Boleyn Portaits actually incomplete
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Shrove Tuesday, Pancakes and Lent
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Foundations of Hampton Court’s royal apartments discovered
The foundations of the royal apartments built for Anne Boleyn in the 1530s have just been discovered under the wooden floorboards of one of the Georgian rooms.
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The Nidd Hall Portrait – is it Anne Boleyn?
An article about the news that facial recogntion technology has found a match between the Nidd Hall portrait and the 1534 Anne Boleyn medal.
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This week in history 16 – 22 February
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Plantagenet and Tudor Consorts Quiz
This week’s quiz tests your knowledge of the consorts of Plantagenet and Tudor monarchs – good luck!
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Video – Henry VIII: Renaissance Prince
In this week’s Claire chats I talk about Henry’s upbringing, contemporary descriptions of him at his accession, his love of music and how he seemed to be the ideal Renaissance prince and king.
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The Claimant: A Novel of the Wars of the Roses Book Tour Day 5 – Researching The Claimant
I am honoured for the Tudor Society to be the last stop on Simon Anderson’s book tour for his historical novel The Claimant:A Novel of the Wars of the Roses. It is a wonderful novel, one that gripped me from the start and one that didn’t let go of me – I need the sequel!
Today, Simon joins us to tell us all about the research he did for his novel. Thank you Simon and a big welcome to the Tudor Society. Over to Simon…
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“The Boleyn Family” Chatroom transcript from Elizabeth Norton
Here is the transcript of our wonderful live chat with Elizabeth Norton. There were some great questions and answers and it was very interesting.
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Was Katherine Parr a feminist? By Conor Byrne
Katherine Parr was different to Henry VIII’s other consorts. She was several years older than his previous wives, she had been married twice before, and she had not spent considerable time in royal service. Above all, however, Katherine differs to her five predecessors by virtue of her status as an author. She was the first Queen of England to publish her own work.
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Blanche Parry
As today is the anniversary of the death of eighty-two year-old Blanche Parry, chief Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber, on 12 February 1590, I thought I would share an article written by Sarah Rochel back in 2009 for The Elizabeth Files.
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The Executions of Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guildford Dudley: A Primary Source Account
A primary source account of the executions of Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guildford Dudley on 12 February 1554.
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10 February 1567 – The Murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
On this day in history, the 10th February 1567, Lord Darnley was murdered at Kirk o’ Field, Edinburgh, in the Royal Mile, just a few hundred yards from Holyrood House where his wife, Mary Queen of Scots, and baby son, the future James VI/I, were staying.
Henry, Lord Darnley, had been lodging at Kirk o’ Field while convalescing after contracting either syphilis or smallpox. What he didn’t know was that while he had been recovering his enemies had been filling the cellars of the house with gunpowder.
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Hampton Court Palace by Sarah Bryson
Hampton Court has origins far older than Henry VIII. Originally Hampton Court was a settlement belonging to the Saxon period; its original name was ‘Hammton’ meaning ‘a settlement by the river’. In the early 12th century the land was owned by Reginald de St Valery, a crusader in Jerusalem. He allowed the Knights Hospitallers of St John to rent the land. The Knights built the House of Hampton and the land was primarily used to manage the Knights agricultural estates.
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This week in history 9 – 15 February
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Mary, Queen of Scots Letter
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Tudor Laws Quiz
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8 February 1587 – The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots: A Primary Source Account
This primary source account of the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots is from Original letters, illustrative of English history; with notes and illustrations, Second Series, Volume III, ed. Henry Ellis (p113-118). Ellis notes that “the present narrative is from the Lansdowne MS. 51. art. 46. It is indorsed in Lord Burghley’s hand, “8 Feb. 1586. The Manner of the Q. of Scotts death at Fodrynghay, wr. by Ro. Wy.””
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Video – Henry VIII the Jouster
In today’s Claire Chats video I look at Henry VIII the jouster and the records that tell of how he excelled at the sport, and also accounts of his accidents.
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Anne Neville’s Final Months by Alex Taylor
An article on Anne Neville, queen consort of Richard III and daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and a man known as “the Kingmaker”.
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Elizabeth Norton Expert Talk – The Boleyn Family
Thanks this month goes to historian Elizabeth Norton for her expert chat all about the Boleyn Family. It’s very easy to be absorbed in the fascinating life of Queen Anne Boleyn and her marriage to Henry VIII, but the Boleyn family has a much longer history. In this Expert Talk, Elizabeth Norton explains to us where the Boleyns came from and how they rose high enough for Anne to become Queen Consort. Fascinating stuff!
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This week in history 2 – 8 February
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Quiz – Henry VIII’s advisers and friends
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Catherine of Aragon’s Stillbirth on 31 January 1510 – The Primary Source
On this day in history, 31st January 1510, Queen Catherine of Aragon gave birth to a still-born daughter. Although she had lost her baby, Catherine’s abdomen stayed rounded and actually began to increase in size, leading her physicians to conclude that she was still pregnant with the twin of the baby she’d lost. This was not true.
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I thought it would be interesting to share the primary source account of this event here. -
Video – Henry VIII’s Love Letters to Anne Boleyn – The Sweating Sickness Letter
In today’s Claire Chats video I talk about the contrast between the letter Henry VIII wrote to Anne Boleyn in June 1528, when he’d just found out that she’d come down with sweating sickness, and his other letters to her. I show photographs of those letters so you can see the difference Sandra Vasoli talked about in her recent talk.
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Sneak peek – February 2015 Tudor Life Magazine
