Following our post on Sunday, (https://murreyandblue.wordpress.com/2015/06/07/a-lock-of-a-kings-hair/) you may have heard that there was a lock of hair in Moyse’s Hall Museum, Bury St. Edmunds, belonging to Edward’s granddaughter Mary “Tudor”, who became Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk. This was investigated at the behest of John Ashdown-Hill, as she would share mtDNA with Edward’s sons, but there has been no success so far:
http://www.johnashdownhill.com/richard-iii-dna/2014/1/22/mt-dna-and-the-princes
Hair today, gone tomorrow
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5 responses to “Hair today, gone tomorrow”
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There are some locks of hair belonging to medieval ladies at Tewkesbury Abbey and in the town museum, but although I recently commenced correspondence, with a view to making an appointment to see them, replies to my nudges eventually ceased. There was no point in going along on the off chance, because the locks were stored, and not out on show. I imagine they’ve either been lost, or someone didn’t want to look for them. One lock of hair, I seem to recall (a long time since I saw it) belonged to Anne Neville’s grandmother, Isabel Despenser, but I would not take an oath on that identification. I’m going on memory alone.
These locks used to be on display in the abbey, along with other interesting bits and pieces, in a little glass-topped table/display case, but were ‘tidied away’ at some point.
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What a shame that they could not obtain mtDNA from Mary’s hair sample. I’m sure you know, super blue, but perhaps others don’t, that Richard III’s mtDNA is not shared with his nephews by Elizabeth Woodville. Those are 2 separate maternal lines. And, considering how fecund Jaquetta was, it’s almost unbelievable that no direct-line maternal descendants can be traced!! It makes me realize what incredible fortune we had that John Ashdown-Hill traced the last surviving maternal line descendant from Joan Beaufort. Just mind-blowing that the fortuitous sequence of events happened the way they did, and we were fortunate enough to be living while they all came together. I hope John keeps on pursuing his line of inquiry.
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Reblogged this on Mid Anglia Group, Richard III Society.
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