battles
pilltown
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Carol’s support for King Richard has led her to write this book about his childhood. In the spring there will be another book, following his life until the fateful Battle of Bosworth on 22nd August, 1485. I hope both titles do really well for her, and that she will find another aspect of Richard, or…
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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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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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Certain ‘books’ (ahem) often go on about Richard III’s supposed unpopularity and describe his brother Edward IV in glowing terms, putting him forth as a universally loved and admired monarch. (Even worse are those writers who make the brave, ruthless, warrior-King Edward into some kind of hapless old duffer, totally cowed and pushed about by…
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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 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…
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Horrox on the de la Poles
Azincourt, de la Pole family, DNA, Earls of Suffolk, Edmund Earl of Suffolk, Edward the Black Prince, Harfleur, Hull, John Ashdown-Hill, John Duke of Suffolk, John Earl of Lincoln, John of Gaunt, Katherine Wingfield, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Lord Richard de la Pole, Marguerite de la Pole, Michael de la Pole, Michael K Jones, moneylenders, Nicolas of the Tower, Norwich, Pavia, Richard de la Pole, Richard II, Rosemary Horrox, Sir William de la Pole, Sutton Hoo, William de la Pole, William Duke of Suffolk, Wuffings EducationTwo weeks after visiting Wingfield , I attended a “Wuffing Education” Study Day at Sutton Hoo, addressed by Rosemary Horrox on the de la Pole family. This juxtaposition of dates was entirely beneficial as their genealogy and history was fresh in my mind so it was easy to follow Horrox’s train of thought. She covered the…
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This post harks back to a previous one of 5th November 2014. Both concern the similarities between the lives and deaths of Richard II and Richard III, but I have now come upon a passage in a book that is actually about Richard II, but much of which could be applied to Richard III. The book…
