Henry VIII
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Here we have the poet and hymnwright William Cowper (left), who we referred to in our previous article but couldn’t find the evidence for the Essex anniversary in February. The usual sources have been a little troublesome but we know from Lord David Cecil’s The Stricken Deer that he was the great-nephew of an Earl…
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A ‘new’ late 16th century portrait of Richard III has recently emerged and gone on display at Hever Castle, home of the Boleyn family–and with it appeared the not-so-cuddly figure of the perennially grumpy and bombastic Tudor historian, David Starkey. Since he is not an art expert, the reason why he was commenting is slightly…
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It seems to me that for a royal palace and hunting lodge much frequented by royalty, and within easy reach of London, there is a paucity of illustrations of Havering. Edward III was particularly fond of retreating there, and so was Henry VIII, who even held court there and considered the hunting to be…
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I came upon an interesting Instagram post by Royalty-now where someone had taken the Society of Antiquaries portrait of Richard III, removed his hat and long hair and blended his face with that of a 21st century man. Although I miss the hair personally, I think he scrubbed up rather well! A few folk commenting…
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The discovery in Leicester of the remains of Richard III was surely one of the greatest such event, and since then there have been increased attempts to locate other great figures from our past. Leicester has at least one other such person just waiting to be found, but as yet he’s proving elusive. The location…
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This article may be about how the Tudors came to power, but it sits carefully (and, in general, sensibly) on the fence. By that I mean it doesn’t overload them with ‘golden’ praise. Thank goodness. However, the typos run thick and fast. For instance, The widowed Catherine of Valois is referred to as a ‘window’,…
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Only 500 years or so too late, Karma finally takes its toll of England’s Nero… Strangely, I found this amusing image on the very day I found out my oldest known relative was (according to Wikitree) related to old Henry ‘in the 29th degree’ via Henry’s sister Margaret “Tudor”. I admit I was inconsolable…
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Within walking distance of Hereford Cathedral, stands an imposing hotel called the Green Dragon. That was not always its name, however; in the 15th c it was The White Lyon and was used as the headquarters of Edward of March, soon to be Edward IV, around the time of the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross. It…
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For those interested in such things, Macy’s online is offering a portrait of a ‘man in a decorative hat.’ Ideal for any room…especially your bathroom/washroom/toilet! (Just not the bedroom, please; those little mean eyes would doubtless follow you.) The picture in question happens to be by Holbein…and wait, the ‘man’ depicted, hat or no hat,…