James II
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As this excellent article reminds us, there were eight pre-union Stewart monarchs, or nine if you exclude James VI, who had already reigned in Scotland for nearly forty years before inheriting the English throne. Of these, excepting the two Roberts, only two turned up for a pitched battle with against an English army and only…
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Richard III’s body is brought back to Leicester. Artwork by Victor Ambrus We all know the grim, but glorious way poor Richard met his death, his body maltreated at the callous behest of Henry Tudor – who was destined to die in his own bed. He isn’t listed in the link below, but his was…
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If you have watched …
Arundel Castle, Black Dinner, Cardiff, castles, Catherine de Valois, Channel Five, city records, Clifford’s Tower, Dan Jones, denialists, Douglas clan, Edinburgh, Edward II, Eleanor Cobham, Elizabeth I, Henry Earl of Huntingdon, Henry of Huntingdon, Henry VI, Henry VIII, Hugh le Despenser, James II, Joan of Navarre, John, John Spooner, Lancaster Castle, Leeds Castle, Llywellyn Bren, Marc Morris, Margaret Clitherow, Owen Tudor, Robert Aske, Robert Curthose, Ronald Hutton, television reviews, Tobias Capwell, witchcraft, York… Channel Five’s http://www.channel5.com/show/secrets-of-great-british-castles, let me reassure you of something. There really was a king named Richard III and Dan Jones has simply forgotten to mention him. Episode 2 was about Cardiff Castle, where Richard and Anne have a window devoted to them (seasons-greetings-2016-a-2). Episode 3 was about the structure at York, or Clifford’s Tower…
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More Royal marital irregularity
anniversaries, Avignon popes, Blackfriars, David Duke of Rothesay, david II, dispensations, Edward III, Edward IV, Elizabeth Mure, Euphemia Ross, executions, Falkland Palace, Guardian of Scotland, Henry V, Henry VII, House of Stewart, James I, James II, James IV, Jean Stewart, Joan “Beaufort”, Joan of the Tower, Legitimacy, Margaret “Tudor”, Margaret Drummond, mediaeval canon law, Murdoch Duke of Albany, Neville’s Cross, Paisley Abbey, Perth, Queen Mother, Robert Duke of Albany, Robert II, Robert III, royal marriages, Scotland, siege of Berwick, Sir John Lyon, torture, Tower of London, Treaty of Berwick, Walter Earl of AthollEdward IV was not the only British late mediaeval king to play fast and loose with canon law. The other case dates from a century and a quarter before 8 June 1461 and had consequences for that king’s heirs; in particular his grandson: Today in 1337, a first son, John, was born to Sir Robert…
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At the time of Whitelaw’s memorable meeting with Richard III, he was nearly seventy. He had already been a scholar, a teacher, a cleric and a diplomat in the service of James II, James III and his regents, having negotiated the unusual Stewart-York treaty that preceded the siege of Roxburgh. He had already enjoyed up…
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Today marks the 555th anniversary of the dramatic conclusion of this siege, being a Bank Holiday in most of Scotland. Tomorrow in 1900, the late Queen Mother was born, in London or Hitchin, but of Scottish parentage. We posted about the siege last year but what about the underlying events? James II’s mother was Joan…
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Three weeks after Northampton, a Scottish army gathered in the grounds of Roxburgh Castle, determined to add to Lancastrian woes. The castle had been in English hands almost continuously since Edward I’s time, although it was not in good condition. James I had attempted to take it on several occasions but his assassination in…
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