Henry VII
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Reading the previous excellent post, titled “Richard III’s back!” by jrlarner, must have made more of an impression on me than I realized, because I awakened this morning with Richard’s back on my mind. There I lay, too comfortable to get up, and my brain did its usual wandering. That’s why I keep a notebook by…
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Henry “Tudor” was speaking to Santa Claus about his Christmas present. Santa: What would you like for Christmas, Henry?’ Henry: A dragon. Santa: Well, come on, that’s a little unrealistic. How about something just a bit more down-to-earth? Henry: OK, I want my subjects to love me. Santa: What colour dragon would you prefer?
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If there is one thing a lot of people know about Henry VII—apart from his dastardly defeat of Richard III at Bosworth in August 1485—it is that the latter part of his reign was a dreadful time for England. His avarice became almost oxygen to him, and he allowed his ministers to inflict truly dreadful…
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Today is the annniversary of the death in 1416 of Constance of York, Lady Despenser and (for a time) Countess of Gloucester. She was one of many people of various conditions in life who inexplicably preferred the ‘tyranny’ of Richard II to the rule of Henry IV, and put their lives at risk to do…
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We already know that William, Lord Hastings, was one of several people arrested on the morning of 13 June for a conspiracy against the Duke of Gloucester, who was both Constable and Lord Protector. We know that Bishop Morton was among the others but that Hastings alone was executed, that the Constable had the right…
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I have been delving into the world of mediaeval and Tudor portraits, this time in search of Sir William Stanley, the louse who turned traitor on Richard III at Bosworth and cost him his throne, his realm and his life. Sir William’s eventual reward was to be beheaded by the very man he helped so…
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Following on from the blog above, entitled More C17 coincidences, it occurred to me that there is another strange set of coincidences concerning Richard III (1452-1485), and his predecessor and namesake of the previous century, Richard II (1367-1400). And I do not only mean being killed and usurped. Both had a queen named Anne…
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8) Richard III was negotiating to marry the King of Portugal’s sister when he died. Henry VII may also have tried to do so. Charles II did marry the King of Portugal’s sister. 9) Edward IV was paid a secret annuity by Louis XI after 1475. Charles II was paid a secret annuity by Louis…
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Now then, I look at the above portraits and do not see Henry VII of England (1457-1509) on the right or below. The portrait on the above left is Henry. The general consensus is that the other two more resemble Vlad the Impaler. Well, the one on the right does, while the clothing of the one below…
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William Catesby, a Northamptonshire lawyer, was one of only three people executed in the aftermath of Bosworth, the others being a West Country father and son. From this and other circumstantial evidence, we are inexorably drawn to the conclusion that this happened because he was the only surviving layman who knew the details of Edward…