illegitimacy
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Well, according to the Romford Recorder Henry VIII very nearly gave us Henry IX. This would have been his illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy, born to the king’s mistress Elizabeth Blount. Henry Fitzroy is not fiction, but was born in 1519 in the Jericho Priory (see above image) at Blackmore, ten miles north of Romford. The…
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In case you don’t know, there is a new book out by Thomas Penn – he of the excellent The Winter King, about Henry VII. His new book, The Brothers York, is about about the three sons of Richard, 3rd Duke of York: Edward IV, George of Clarence and Richard of Gloucester/Richard III, has been…
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They are: Edward IV, Charles II (buried today in 1685) and William IV, all of whom had a large number of illegitimate children, but none left a legitimate heir. Edward IV (1442-83) had twelve to fifteen children by various mistresses, including Elizabeth Wydville, but none by Lady Eleanor Talbot, his only legal wife, whose probable…
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Matthew Lewis on YouTube: 1) More
“Princes”, “withered arm”, allegory, Arthur “Tudor”, Calais, council meeting, David Starkey, Dighton, Edmund de la Pole, Edward IV, Elizabeth Lucy, Henry VI, Henry VII, illegitimacy, Lady Eleanor Talbot, London Guildhall, Mancini, Miles Forest, More, Morton, pre-contract, Richard III, Sir James Tyrrell, Sir Robert Brackenbury, Stanley, Tower of London, Tyrrell “confession”I’ve decided to have a little go at some YouTube stuff. My first foray is a breakdown of my Top 10 problems with Sir Thomas More’s story of Richard III. It’s so full of problems that I’m left dismayed that academic historians I speak to still insist on relying on More’s evidence even today. There…
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Yes, of course the Tudors dismissed the fact that Eleanor Talbot (Butler) was Edward IV’s first wife. Well, only wife, as it happens, because she was still alive when he “married” Elizabeth Woodville, whom he never did wed legally. In law, she was little more than a glorified mistress, and as a consequence, all the…
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Matthew Lewis on YouTube: 2) Mancini
“I know nothing”, “Princes”, Armstrong, Arthur “Tudor”, Beaugency, bigamy, Charles VIII, Crowland Chronicle, Domenico Mancini, Dr. John Argentine, Duke of Orleans, Edward IV, evidence, executions, feuds, France, George Duke of Clarence, gossip, Hastings, Henry VII, illegitimacy, Italian merchants, Italy, Lady Eleanor Talbot, language, Lord High Admiral, Lord High Constable, Lord Protector of the Realm, Louis XI, minority kings, Parliament, plots, pre-contract, propaganda, Robert Stillington, sickness, Stony Stratford, translation, WydevillesHere is the second in my series of Top 10’s. This one is focussing on Dominic Mancini’s account of the events of 1483. It’s a hugely problematical source, both in terms of Mancini himself, who spoke no English, had no grasp of English politics and very limited sources, and in terms of the current translation…
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Confusion in Cairo: Sean Cunningham and the “Princes”
“Perkin”, Anne Sutton, bigamy, Cecily Duchess of York, clothes, coronations, denialists, Duchy of Norfolk, Edward IV, Edward V, executions, George Duke of Clarence, Great Wardrobe, Henry VII, illegitimacy, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, National Archives, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, Sean Cunningham, titles, Tower of LondonNot content with accusing Richard III of the death of nearly every notable in 15th century England, it seems of late there has been more ‘confusion in Cairo’ as the the traditionalists attempt to drag in Richard’s friends and relatives in order to back up their position. Recently, the loyal John Howard, Duke of Norfolk,…
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The Death of Robert, Earl of Gloucester
Adela of Normandy, Arundel Castle, Battle of Lincoln, books, Bristol Castle, Faversham Abbey, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Henry I, illegitimacy, Matilda, Matthew Lewis, Reading Abbey, Robert of Gloucester, St. James’ Priory Bristol, Stephen, The Anarchy, White Ship Disaster, William I, William II, William of MalmesburyIn writing Stephen and Matilda: Cousins of Anarchy, I was keen to apply the same narrow-eyed pursuit of solid facts that I hope comes across in my books on the Wars of the Roses. More than being about battles and, well, anarchy, I wanted to discover the real personalities behind the stories, the people who…
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The Bishop, the MP, the scientist, the historian and the brewer
brewing, chaplains, clerical celibacy, de heretico comburendo, Edward IV, Edward VI, Essex, executions, Henry VIII, Hugh Latimer, illegitimacy, Jasper Ridley, JD Wetherspoon, John Knox, Mary I, Matt Ridley, MPs, Nicholas Ridley, Nicholas Ridley MP, Northumbria, Old St. Paul’s, Oxford, Professor Jane Ridley, Ralph Shaa, sermons, Sir Edwin Lutyens, Tewkesbury, Thomas Cranmer, University of Buckingham, VictoriaThe preacher at St. Paul’s stated that the late King’s surviving issue were illegitimate. On this occasion, it wasn’t Dr. Ralph Shaa on 22nd June 1483 about Edward IV’s sons but Rt. Rev. Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London and Westminster, on 9 July 1553 about Henry VIII’s daughters, at which time Jane was proclaimed. As…