The New Murrey and Blue blog

Henry VII

Richard III and Harold II

Sep 26, 2020

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion, sources

“Lambert Simnel”, “Perkin”, Anne Neville, Archibald Whitelaw, bastardy, Battle of Bosworth, Battle of Hastings, Bishop’s Stortford, Bosham, burial mystery, Constable of England, coronations, Earl of Wessex, Edgar the Atheling, Edith Swan Neck, Edward V, exile, George Duke of Clarence, Godwin Earl of Wessex, Gruffydd ap Llewellyn, Harold Hardrada, Harold II, Henry VII, Lord Protector of the Realm, marriage, more Danico, Nevilles, Orderic Vitalis, propaganda, Richard Duke of York, scoliosis, Scotland, St. Edward the Confessor, Stamford Bridge, Tostig, Wales, Waltham Abbey, William I, Witangemot

We all know that Richard is directly descended from William the Conqueror, who is his eleven times great grandfather. Here is Richard’s pedigree to William in three parts – follow the yellow dots left to right. (N.B. the first few generations have the yellow combined with red and blue which lead to other ancestors). But…
A treacherous herald….

Sep 21, 2020

anniversaries, buildings, heraldry, law, sources

Edward IV, Edward V, Henry VII, heralds, Leicester Herald, More, Richard III, Roger Machada, Shakespeare, Windsor Castle

Here is a link to an interesting paper about a certain Roger Machado, who is known to have been Henry VII’s herald. It seems that before then he’d been Leicester Herald to Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III, but deserted Richard late in 1483 to go over to the Dark Side. Er, sorry, to…
Princess Cecily of York, a very daring lady….

Sep 17, 2020

anniversaries, genealogy, law, religion

annulments, Cecily Neville the Younger, consanguinity, dispensations, Elizabeth of York, Henry VII, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Marie Barnfield, Mary of York, novels, Richard III, Scropes of Masham, Sir Ralph Scrope, Thomas Kymbe, Viscount Welles

Some of you will know that in the 1970s I wrote a trilogy about Cicely/Cecily, daughter of Edward IV. I called her Cicely back then, and have stuck with it, but now she is generally known as Cecily. She had been the third daughter, but on the death of her sister Mary, because second…
The Royal Progress of Richard III

Aug 29, 2020

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law, religion, sources, travel

“Arrivall of Edward IV”, “Princes”, Annales, Anne Neville, Anne Sutton, Black Death, Brecon, Bristol, Buckingham rebellion, Cambridge, Canterbury Cathedral, Catherine de Medici, Charles IX, Chief Justice, Compton Reeves, Cora Schofield, Coventry, Crowland Chronicle, Earl of Kildare, Edmund of Rutland, Edward II, Edward III, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Edward the Black Prince, Eucharist, execution, Fotheringhay, Francis Viscount Lovell, Gainsborough, George Duke of Clarence, George Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury, Gloucester, Gloucester Cathedral, Grantham, Great Chronicle, Great Seal, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VI, Henry VII, investiture, Isabel Neville, Jamestown, John Fortescue, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, John Kendall, John Morton, John of Gloucester, John Russell, Katherine Hastings, Latin, Leicester, Lincoln, Lionel Woodville, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Louis XI, Ludlow, Margaret d’Anjou, Micklegate Bar, Middleham Castle, Minster Lovell, mystery plays, Nottingham, Oxford, Pamela Tudor-Craig, Peter Hammond, Pilgrims’ Way, Pontefract, Reading, reburials, Rhoda Edwards, Richard Duke of York, Richard Earl Rivers, Richard III, Richard of Salisbury, River Ouse, River Severn, River Witham, Rosemary Horrox, Royal Progress, Sandwich, Sir Baldwin Fulford, Sir John Woodville, St. George, Tadcaster, Tewkesbury, Tewkesbury Abbey, Thomas of woodstock, Thomas Rotherham, Thornbury, Titulus Regius, Wakefield, Wales, Warwick, William I, William Lord Hastings, William Waynflete, Windsor Castle, Woodstock, Worcester, York

Following his coronation, Richard III – like all medieval monarchs – went on his “royal progress” through the realm. Along with an entourage in excess of 200 household men, ecclesiastics, supporters, and administrative officials, he visited towns and cities as far west as the River Severn, as far north as the River Ouse, and as…
Was Richard III king by fact or by law….?

Aug 21, 2020

anniversaries, battles, law, religion

backdating, Dukes of York, Henry VII, Parliament, Richard III, Titulus Regius 1486

“….the phrase ‘king by fact, not by law’….rang out again, though in a different choice of words, when Henry VII described Richard III’s reign. Richard III was never rightfully king from the moment he died, as he was succeeded by Henry VII, a man who felt his reign was completely illegitimate. Although Richard III would have…
Why did Richard III allow Elizabeth of York such liberty at his court….?

Aug 10, 2020

battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion

“Beauforts”, “Princes”, “Tudors”, Anne Boleyn, Anne Neville, Battle of Bosworth, bigamy, bones, Bridget of york, Buckingham rebellion, Cecilia, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Edward of Warwick, Edward V, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Woodville, executions, Habsburgs, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Jane Seymour, John Earl of Lincoln, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, John of Gloucester, Katherine Howard, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Lancastrians, Margaret Duchess of Burgundy, Margaret of Salisbury, Mill Bay, Nottingham, pre-contract, re-legitimisation, Rennes Cathedral, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, Robert Stillington, Shakespeare, Sheriff Hutton, Sir Ralph Scrope, Stanleys, Stoke Field, Titulus Regius, Titulus Regius 1486, Viscount Welles, Wales, Westminster Abbey

Today, 10th August, is my birthday, and on this date in 1485, the last Yorkist king, Richard III, was in Nottingham preparing for the imminent invasion of his realm by his Lancastrian foe, Henry Tudor, who didn’t have much of a blood claim to the throne but touted himself as the last remaining heir…
A royal doctor colludes at murder….

Aug 7, 2020

battles, Book Reviews

“Princes”, Battle of Bosworth, Domenico Mancini, Dr. John Argentine, funeral brass, Henry VII, Raymond Lamont-Brown, Richard III, Tower of London

Yes, it’s those poor lost boys again, and maybe someone did do away with them as they slept. But who? According to Merriam-Webster, the verb Collude means “to connive with another : conspire, plot”. Right, that’s clear enough, so what is one to make of the following heading? A ROYAL DOCTOR COLLUDES AT MURDER – like…
Henry VII and his “striking blue eyes”….!

Jul 20, 2020

Science, The play’s the thing

“Tudors”, Claire Foy, cross eyes, Edmund “Tudor”, Henry VII, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Wolf Hall

This Times article has a quaint way of describing Henry VII : “Tall, with striking blue eyes, Henry was the only child of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, and Margaret Beaufort…” Striking blue eyes? Well, yes…except that they looked in opposite directions. Which I suppose counts as striking! I’m not so sure about the blue,…
Lancastrians unfairly condemn another King Richard (Part II)….

Jul 19, 2020

buildings, genealogy

Edward II, Edward III, Geoffrey Chaucer, Gloucester Cathedral, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VII, House of Lancaster, Richard II, Richard III, Terry Jones, tyranny, usurpation

This article Lancs Live article is Part Two of a three-part series concerning the history of the House of Lancaster, which we reviewed earlier. Almost at the beginning (well, three short paragraphs in) I found “…. Edward II whose piety could not make up for his lack of leadership….” Piety? Edward II? Well, he…
This lady struck gold (Henry VII Fine Angel) because she was bored….!

Jul 14, 2020

archaeology, art

coins, Henry VII, Portsmouth

Well, here we go again. Yet another detectorist strikes gold. This time without really meaning to do it! And it’s all hers because she found it on her own land! Well done, Amanda. “….A single mum struck gold when she unearthed a 500-year-old coin worth £2,500 in her back garden. “….Amanda Johnston, 48, was bored…