Enjoy the amazing 92 page Richard III Special Edition magazine from the Tudor Society with a massive 50 page special feature section on King Richard.
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March 2015 Tudor Life Magazine
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The Order of the Bath by Sarah Bryson
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath was not officially founded as a Chivalry until 1725 by King George I, however its history dates back centuries before this. It is believed that King Henry IV was the original founder of the Order of the Bath, creating several Knights of the Bath upon his coronation. It is believed that the name of the Order came from the fact that the men who were to be newly created Knights had to wash as a part of purification before they were created Knights.
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This week in history 23 February – 1 March
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Anne Boleyn’s Appearance: Does it really matter? by Conor Byrne
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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Richard III Festival
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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Castles Quiz
How much do you know about the castles used by the Tudors? Test your knowledge with this fun 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
I've just shared this news on The Anne Boleyn Files too. I contacted the University of California regarding the news reports about how a facial recognition program had matched the 1534 Moost Happi Medal and the Nidd Hall portrait, and was very surprised to get an email back from Professor Conrad Rudolph of the Department of the History of Art, project director of FACES, who said that their research is actually not complete. He gave me the following statement and gave me permission to share it here:
Recent findings of the FACES (Faces, Art, and Computerized Evaluation Systems) research project at the University of California, Riverside, have been misinterpreted by the press. While the FACES team did find certain associations and lack of associations between a number of famous portraits (in particular, problematic groups of portraits sometimes said to be of Anne Boleyn and of William Shakespeare), a forthcoming publication by the FACES team will state that the overall results of our work on these particular groups of portraits is inconclusive. As a matter of principle, we are insistent that this technology does not prove the identity of its subjects. It merely provides new categories of evidence for researchers to use in coming to their own conclusions. And it is the decided position of the FACES team that research on these groups of portraits is incomplete.
Thank you so much to Professor Rudolph for helping me with this.
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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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I've just shared this news on The Anne Boleyn Files too. I contacted the University of California regarding the news reports about how a facial recognition program had matched the 1534 Moost Happi Medal and the Nidd Hall portrait, and was very surprised to get an email back from Professor Conrad Rudolph of the Department of the History of Art, project director of FACES, who said that their research is actually not complete. 
