Henry VIII
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Inside Windsor Castle
ATS, birthplaces, central heating, Channel Five, Charles I, Edward III, Edward VII, Edward VIII, electricity, Elizabeth I, Elizabeth II, English Civil War, Food, George III, George IV, George V, George VI, Henry VIII, House of Windsor, imprisonment, J.J. Chalmers, make-up, Prince Albert, Queen’s Lodge, Raksha Dave, Richard III, security, Stuarts, The Crown Jewels, Victoria, Wallis Simpson, William I, Windsor Castle, Xand van TullekenThis is another new Channel Five series, as they have broadcast about royal palaces before. Xand van Tulleken, Raksha Dave and JJ Chalmers explore the subject well, covering the architecture, health and make-up, but quite a few important monarchs are omitted: William I who conceived it, Edward III who was born there, Richard III who…
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When I first saw this list of monarchs’ nicknames I felt sure I’d have come across them all. But no, I only knew ten of the eleven. No doubt you know them all, but the one on which I came a cropper was number seven, the Be-Sh*tten – James II. Or James the Sh*t. Good…
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This 1527 event, which led to a Charles V inspired papacy ultimately refusing Henry VIII‘s annulment, because Catherine of Aragon was his aunt and Clement VII almost his prisoner, was discussed on “In Our Time” this week. In turn, however, this was inspired by Habsburg mercenaries being unpaid after their victory at the seige of…
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Meet the Brownes
Anne Boleyn, Battle of Northampton, Calais, Edmund de la Pole, Edward IV, elizabeth countess of worcester, Elizabeth Despenser, elizabeth paston, executions, fines, george browne, George Duke of Clarence, Henry VI, Henry VII, Henry VIII, John Neville Marquis of Montagu, kentish rebellion, lucy neville, Merciless Parliament, paranoia, Richard III, Sir Anthony Browne, sir thomas browne, Tewkesbury, Thomas Penn, tong castle, treason, william fitzwilliamSir Thomas Browne (abt. 1402-1460) was a fervid Lancastrian. This is no doubt the reason that after the Battle of Northampton, he was either beheaded or hanged, drawn and quartered. (Sources differ). He was found guilty of High Treason, a bit of a stretch given that Henry VI was still King at the time and…
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“Becoming Elizabeth”
Admiral Thomas Seymour, Alicia von Rittburg, Amy Robsart, Anglo-Scottish Wars, beards, Catherine Parr, Channel Four, David Starkey, Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, executions, Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk, Henry VIII, heresy, Jane, John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, Kett Rebellion, Lord Guildford Dudley, Lord Protector of the Realm, Mary I, Mary Stuart, Norwich, Oliver Zetterstrom, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, ScotlandThis drama series, from Starz but now broadcast on Channel Four, follows the momentous but unheralded reign of Edward VI through the eyes of the future Elizabeth I. It features the literally fratricidal feud between the Seymour brothers as the elder, the Duke of Somerset, becomes Lord Protector but also the King’s governor, powers that…
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I wonder …
“Tudor” rebellions, Anne Boleyn, Charles II, Dukes of Norfolk, Edward I, Edward III, Edward of Buckingham, Edward VI, executions, Henry Earl of Surrey, Henry VIII, James VII/II, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, John of Gaunt, Katherine Howard, Lords Howard of Effingham, poetry, Sir Matthew Pinsent, Sir Thomas Wyatt, St. Edward the Confessor, Strutts, succession, Thomas of Brotherton, Thomas of woodstockWe all know that Sir John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, was descended from Thomas of Brotherton, a younger son of Edward I. Several branches of the Howard family have held the title ever since, except for periods under attainder from 1485-1514, 1547-53 and 1572-1660. Were any of them descended from more recent monarchs? Henry…
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Tyrants – Part 3
“Princes”, “Tudors”, Battle of Bosworth, double standards, Edward IV, Edward of Warwick, evidence, executions, extravagance, francis of assissi, Gandhi, Henry IV, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Idi Amin, Luftwaffe, Parliament, Putin, Richard III, Tewkesbury Abbey, Three Estates, Titulus Regius, tyranny, YorkshireIn some ways, it is surprising that Edward IV is not usually denounced by historians as a ‘tyrant‘. He had, after all, a key qualification, as he was neither a Lancastrian nor a Tudor. Edward also summarily executed the Earl of Oxford and his son after a brief ‘trial’ before the Constable. And some of…
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I am heartily sick of certain historians – or ‘historians’ in some cases – who use the ‘tyrant’ word as a badge to stick on the rulers they dislike as a sort of badge of disgrace. These people invariably gloss over the similar – no, let’s be plain, worse, far worse! – deeds of the…
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An Abbey in Dublin Unearthed
Archbishop of Dublin, bigamy, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Dublin, Earls of Ormond, Earls of Ulster, Earls of Wiltshire, Edward Bruce, Edward IV, executions, Henry VIII, Ireland, James Butler, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Mael Sechnaill mac Maele Ruanaid, pre-contract, Richard Talbot, Robert de Nottingham, St. Mary’s Abbey, Towton, Walter ChampfleurExcavations in Dublin city centre have uncovered the remains of what was once one of Ireland’s most important medieval monasteries. St Mary’s was a House of Benedictines, followed by Savignac monks and then Cistercians, and it was exceedingly wealthy, with the added bonus of being permitted to claim goods from shipwrecks. At times, it was…