anniversaries
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Well, I confess I only know a few of these, and am disappointed that one of my personal favourites, Kingdom of Heaven, doesn’t make this list.
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I have been asked for an opinion about Dan Jones and the Templars, and so have delved around for an impression of Jones’ thoughts on the subject. I know nothing about him, and so started from scratch, so to speak. What follows is an assessment from someone who was considering acquiring the book. A YouTube…
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Here is an interesting thought. What might have happened to Anne Neville had she outlived Richard? I quote: “A question that arises is what would have happened to Anne had she lived? It is unlikely that her survival would have affected the result of Richard’s loss at Bosworth in any way and it is highly…
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Recent archaeological excavations in Kent by the University of Leicester have pinpointed the probable landing point for Caesar’s invasion of Britain. No full study on this important historical event has taken place in the last 100 years and it was widely thought amongst academics that both of Caesar’s incursions into Britain had been regarded as…
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Men of Harlech
“Men of Harlech”, Barmouth, Dafydd ab Ifan ab Einion, Denbigh, Earl of Pembroke, Edward I, Edward IV, France, Harlech Castle, Hedgeley Moor, Henry VI, Hexham, Hundred Years War, Jack Cade, Jasper “Tudor”, John Oxenford, Margaret d’Anjou, Matthew Gough, Northampton, Richard III, Rouen, Scotland, siege of harlech, Sir Richard Herbert, Sir Richard Tunstall, Towton, Wales, Wars of the Roses, William Herbert Earl of Huntingdon
In March 1461, the Lancastrian forces of King Henry VI were decisively thrashed at Towton, the Yorkist army of King Edward IV winning the day after a bitter and close-fought battle. After that, England fell into the hands of the first Yorkist king. At least, that is what Edward would have liked. In truth, repeated…
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On the left is Charles, 2nd Earl Grey and Prime Minister from 1830-4, after whom the popular bergamot-infused blend was named and during whose premiership the final abolition of slavery and a parliamentary Reform Act were passed. Charles was a Northumbrian by birth and his mother, Elizabeth, was also a Grey, as were at least…
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The truth about the Beauforts and the throne of England. . . .
“Beauforts”, Anne Mortimer, Battle of Bosworth, Blanche of Lancaster, Castile, Catherine de Roet, Constanza of Castile, Duchy of Lancaster, Edmund Mortimer, Edward III, Edward IV, excepta dignitate regali, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VII, John Ashdown-Hill, John of Gaunt, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Lancastrians, Lionel of Antwerp, Mortimers, Phillipa of Ulster, Phillippa of Lancaster, Portugal, Richard Earl of Cambridge, Richard III, YorkistsJohn of Gaunt, third son of Edward III, was the Duke of Lancaster, and his illegitimate children, the Beauforts, were barred from the throne by his legitimate, firstborn son, Henry IV. Clearly the latter wasn’t having any baseborn relative wearing the crown. Nevertheless, we eventually ended up with a Beaufort king, who claimed to…
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How Edward IV ascended the throne of England….
“Beauforts”, “Tudors”, cartoons, Castile, Catherine de Roet, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Edmund of Langley, Edmund of Rutland, Edward IV, Edward of Lancaster, Edward the Black Prince, executions, George Duke of Clarence, Henry II, Henry IV, Henry VI, Henry VII, humour, John of Gaunt, Lancastrians, Lionel of Antwerp, Margaret d’Anjou, Matilda, Mortimers, Phillippa of Lancaster, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Shakespeare, SHW, Stephen, Tewkesbury, Tower of London, usurpation, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, York, YorkistsThe Wars of the Roses did not commence, à la Bard, with white and red roses snatched and brandished in a garden by opposing lords, but they were foreshadowed at the turn of the fifteenth century when Henry of Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, usurped and murdered Richard II. Bolingbroke was the son and heir…
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Today in 1484, Elizabeth Wydeville emerged from sanctuary in Westminster Abbey …
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Today in 1564, Christopher Marlowe (right) was baptised in Canterbury. One of the plays for which he is most famous is Edward II (left), traditionally dated a year before his own 1593 death. In it, he fuels the myth of Edward meeting his end by a red-hot poker. This is cited by Starkey in…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 