Henry VIII

Good name, bad name, which monarch gets what….

Oct 25, 2022

anniversaries, law, religion

“wives”, Exmouth Journal, Henry VI, Henry VIII, James VII/II, John, Mary I, Mary II, monarchs, reputations, Richard III, Stephen, William III

Here is a shortish article about monarchs with a bad name. No prizes for predicting that it will include Richard III. However, it also deals with others. Stephen’s reign, for instance, was “an unmitigated disaster”, and Henry VI was also a disaster. Enough said about John. Henry VIII is remembered only for his six…
L’Erber – London Home to Warwick the Kingmaker and George Duke of Clarence

Oct 17, 2022

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

Anne Neville, Barnet, Checkers Yard, Coldharbour, Crowland Chronicle, Dowgate Hill, Earl of Oxford, Edward IV, executions, George Duke of Clarence, Great Fire of London, Henry Lord Montagu, Henry VIII, high treason, Isobel Neville, John Strype, Kingsford, l’Erber, London, Margaret of Salisbury, Nevilles, past maps, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, Reformation, Reginald Cardinal Pole, Richard III, Richard III Society, Richard of Salisbury, Richard of Warwick, River Thames, sanctuary, Sir Francis Drake, St. Martin’s, Stow’s Survey, Thames Street, Tower of London, Visscher Panorama of London, Wars of the Roses, Warwick Lane, William Latimer

My latest A Medieval Potpourri @sparkypus.com post London before the Great Fire and much as Richard Neville ‘The Kingmaker’ and his family would have known it… L’Erber stood slightly to the north west of Coldharbour which is the large house seen here in middle of the picture and facing the Thames. No depiction of L’Erber…
Henry VIII, a turkey leg and the Mandela Effect….

Oct 12, 2022

anniversaries, culture, Science

false memory syndrome, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Mandela effect

I’d never heard of the Mandela effect. Apparently it occurs when a person believes that their distorted memories are, in fact, accurate recollections. They can clearly remember events that happened differently or events that never occurred at all. The bottom line is that the Mandela Effect does not involve lying or deception, it’s genuine. I’d…
The house owned by Sir Thomas Wyatt, the man accused of being Anne Boleyn’s lover….

Oct 11, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, law, religion

adultery, Anne Boleyn, Country Life, Court Lodge, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Hasted, Henry VIII, High Sheriffs, Hunton Court, Kent, poets, property sales, Sir Thomas Wyatt, Tower of London

Here is another fine old house for sale, although way out of my price bracket. I’ve learned of it courtesy of Country Life magazine. Hunton Court, formerly Court Lodge, is tucked away near Maidstone in Kent and you can read about it here. There is a link to the estate agent’s details of the property,…
Anne of Cleves’ House

Sep 22, 2022

anniversaries, art, buildings, law, religion

Anne of Cleves, Anne of Cleves’ House, annulments, Archbishop Cranmer, car homes, Chelsea Old Manor, Greenwich Palace, Hans Holbein, Haverhill, Henry VIII, Jedburgh, John Ashdown-Hill, london overspill towns, Mary Queen of Scots’ House, non-consummation, physiotherapists, Rochester Abbey, Royal Marriage Secrets, Suffolk, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Hardy

Here it is, the house in Haverhill that the “sister” of Henry VIII lived in for a few years, as part of their non-consummation annulment settlement, only six months after the “marriage” in Greenwich to follow a betrothal at Rochester. She outlived Henry, Holbein who painted her, Cromwell who arranged the wedding, Cranmer who presided…
Richard III’s mystery daughter….

Sep 7, 2022

anniversaries, genealogy, law, religion, travel

“Queen Elizabeth”, Edward IV, executions, Henry VIII, Mynydd Maen, mysteries, Penarth, priests, Richard III, Wales

Here is an extract from this article: “….Apparently a priest lived there [Mynydd Maen] during the Middle Ages and after an argument with Queen Elizabeth who was the daughter of King Richard III, he was hanged on the moor….” Eh? When did Richard beget a Queen Elizabeth???????? Which one? Elizabeth of York or Elizabeth…
Would YOU include some of these in a list of all-time best historical films…?

Aug 14, 2022

battles, films, humour, The play’s the thing

A Man for all Seasons, Amanda Barrie, Anastasia, Azincourt, Carry On Cleo, Cleopatra, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II, Henry V, Henry VIII, Kenneth Branagh, Kenneth Williams, Liz Taylor, More, musicals, Nicholas II, Paul Scofield, Peter O’Toole, Rasputin, Richard Burton, Richard III, Romanovs, Russian Revolution, Sid James, Sir Ian McKellen, The King, The King and I, The Lion in Winter, The Other Boleyn Girl, Timothee Chalomet

Here’s an interesting list of the “best historical royalty” films. Interesting….and peculiar. As well as some excellent period-based movies we have the likes of The King and I, the animated Anastasia musical and the Taylor-Burton Cleopatra. Maybe the latter will be acceptable to many, but to me it was a circus because of what…
Henry VIII’s mistresses….

Jul 28, 2022

anniversaries, art, genealogy, law, religion

“Beauforts”, “wives”, Arthur “Tudor”, Bessie Blount, Careys, Edward VI, Henry Fitzroy, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Jasper “Tudor”, Mary Boleyn, mistresses

We’re accustomed to reading about Henry VIII’s six wives, but his mistresses aren’t quite as well known. This article (by Amy Licence) is all about these ladies—at least, about the ones of whom we’re aware. I suspect that Henry was a man of huge appetites and that his little black book was much scribbled…
Clearing up a French genealogical mystery (2)

Jul 14, 2022

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, law

“Louis XX”, Bonapartists, Bourbons, Charles X, claimants, Edward III, Elizabeth II, England, Felipe VI, France, Francisco Franco, Henry VIII, India, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Napoleon III, Orleanists, Salic Law, Spain, wills

Just over six years ago, we published an article about the claimants to the French throne. They divide into three lines: BOURBONS: Charles X’s male line, comprising the entire legitimate male line of Louis XIV with one proviso, became extinct in 1883. The exceptions are the Spanish Borbons, with their habit of…
Might she have been Queen Elizabeth II….?

Jun 17, 2022

anniversaries, art, genealogy, religion

Bohemia, Charles I, coronations, crowns, Elizabeth Stuart, Frederick of Bohemia, Henry VII, Henry VIII, History Extra, James VI/I, royal portraits, Stuarts, velvet, Winter Queen

Well here’s something interesting. I confess that the Stuart period isn’t one of my strongpoints, and I know very little about Elizabeth Stuart, but the above portrait of her is very intriguing. Is she wearing the same crown that appears in the pictures beneath the main portrait? The crown in the little illustration on the…