Born on the 22nd of September 1515 in Dusseldorf, Anne of Cleves was the daughter of John III, Duke of Cleves and Maria of Julich Berg. Like Katherine of Aragon, Anne of Cleves had the grandest lineage of any of his other wives. She was descended from Edward I of England and on her father’s … [More]
The consummate “power couple from hell” Edward Seymour and his wife Anne Stanhope were portrayed in Showtime’s “The Tudors” as selfish, greedy and uncompromising. In real life you could say the same…or is there more to the story? Edward Seymour Born in 1500, Edward Seymour was the second son of John Seymour and Margery Wentworth … [More]
The Act in Restraint of Appeals, 1533: A Divorce at Last Guest article by Samia Chebbah It is well-known that Henry VIII wanted to make official his relationship Anne Boleyn when he was already married to Catherine of Aragon. According to Paul G. Friendmann’s chronology, the case of the divorce between Henry VIII and his … [More]
Katheryn Howard Guest post by Lissa Bryan Of all of King Henry VIII’s queens, Katheryn Howard is viewed with the least sympathy. If not technically guilty of adultery, she’s at least seen as having “deserved” her fate because of her immoral lifestyle. One recent historian referred to her as an “empty-headed slut.” Others have described … [More]
Through my constant research of Thomas Seymour I’ve been led on an unexpected journey to discovering the young Elizabeth Tudor. From those who read my blog often you know that I tend to write mostly about the reign of Henry VIII because, well, that’s where I started and there is so much to tell! This … [More]
After the death of his third wife, Henry VIII was in mourning for at least a couple of months. Once he came out of his very brief period of mourning it was time to consider a fourth bride – a foreign bride this time. Thomas Cromwell understood that is was important for Henry to have … [More]
When we think of Henry VIII as a man the image that generally comes to mind is the overweight and smelly man who was filled with rage. Well, at least in his later years. In this article we will be looking back at the younger version of that man who was actually considered attractive. Back … [More]
Recently I’ve read several books on the subject of Anne Boleyn – each are very similar but slightly varying take of her and each I have read with an open mind. It is important for me to understand who she was as a person, whether or not she loved Henry or power, and what is … [More]
When we think of Henry VIII we often think of his sixth wives – the end of his first marriage was quite controversial and took many years to achieve…that’s the marriage we are looking at today. Katherine of Aragon and whether or not the marriage between Arthur, Prince of Wales and his bride was consummated. … [More]
For quite awhile now I’ve had this post in mind but didn’t have the time to dig into it as much as I would have liked. I still don’t have the time I would like to do this piece justice but was able to pull some quotes together for you. While there were hundreds (if … [More]
A letter regarding the executions that occurred in May 1536 is not uncommon. This letter was written by John Husee who was best known as the personal agent of Arthur Plantagenet, Lord Lisle. If you are not familiar with who Lord Lisle was then you should know that he was the illegitimate son of King … [More]
Mary Boleyn was most likely the eldest daughter of Thomas Boleyn and Elizabeth Howard – the family settled at Hever Castle in Kent. Mary is best known as the sister of Anne Boleyn and the mistress of Henry VIII. It was the relationship with Henry VIII that led Mary into her first marriage with William … [More]
The first wife of Henry VIII, Katherine of Aragon, was also the longest in that position. In the end they were married over two decades before Henry married his ill-fated second wife Anne Boleyn. It was on the 21st of June 1529 that Katherine of Aragon “had her day in court” and made quite the … [More]
Lately I’ve been binge reading books and articles about both Anne Boleyn and her daughter Elizabeth. With Anne Boleyn it can be easy to burn out on her, especially during the month of May. Everywhere you look there is another post or image of her and discussion of her unjust execution. In the past, a majority … [More]
Newly released, Fall of the House of Queens by authors Shelly Talcott brings you into a Tudor court you could not have imagined. Through the eyes of Williams Somers.