Every aspect of Anne Boleyn’s life is controversial. Her birth date, her personality, her relationship with Henry VIII, whether she was guilty of the crimes attributed to her – all of these, and more, arouse fierce debate. But it is Anne’s physical appearance that is perhaps the most lingering and heated of controversies about her.
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I’ve included details of this festival, along with all the events surrounding Richard’s reburial, in the forthcoming edition of Tudor Life magazine which is a special Richard III themed issue (out later this week!), but I wanted to draw your attention to this festival so that you could book tickets and make travel arrangements.
The Richard III Festival is taking place in Gloucester, UK, between 6th and 14th March, and includes talks from the Greyfriars dig team and authors like John Ashdown-Hill. I hope that some of you will be able to go.
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How much do you know about the castles used by the Tudors? Test your knowledge with this fun quiz.
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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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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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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.
[Read More...]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’s quiz tests your knowledge of the consorts of Plantagenet and Tudor monarchs – good luck!
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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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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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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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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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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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A primary source account of the executions of Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guildford Dudley on 12 February 1554.
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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 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 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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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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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”.
[Read More...]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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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.
I thought it would be interesting to share the primary source account of this event here.
