Princes of Wales

Caernarfon Castle, one of Wales’s great historic sites….

Jul 7, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law, travel

“Tudors”, Afon Seiont, Anglesey, Caernarfon Castle, castles, Charles “III”, Country Life, Edward I, Edward II, Gwynedd, investiture, Menai Strait, Princes of Wales, Roman forts, tourism, Wales, William Prince of Wales

The great fortresses built by Edward I to subdue the rebellious Welsh are all spectacular and have survived the centuries. Now they are considered beautiful examples of medieval workmanship and have become great tourist attractions, which isn’t really what old Longshanks ever intended! One of the finest of these fortresses is Caernarfon which is always…
CROWN IN EXILE: A NOVEL OF RICHARD AND EDWARD IN BURGUNDY

Jun 27, 2023

anniversaries, art, battles, travel

“Beauforts”, Anthony Wydville, Barnet, Belgium, Bruges, Burgundy, Charles the Bold, Crown in Exile, Edward IV, Edward of Lancaster, exile, George Duke of Clarence, Gruuthuse, Henry IV, Jehan de Wavrin, John Ashdown-Hill, King’s Lynn, Lord Hendrik van Borselen, Louis de Groothouse, Louis XI, Margaret of Burgundy, museums, Netherlands, novels, Princes of Wales, publishing, Ravenspur, Readeption, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, William Caxton, William Lord Hastings, York

A part of Richard III’s life often overlooked in fiction is the brief time he spent in exile with his brother, Edward IV, from October 1470 to March 1471. Usually, this event is a mere footnote in most novels, no doubt because it might be seen as ‘slowing down the action’ and also…
Henry VII’s lavish gift to his daughter….

Mar 1, 2021

anniversaries, battles, The play’s the thing

“Tudors”, Battle of Bosworth, Crecy, daffodils, david Lloyd George, Ebeneezer Scrooge, Edward the Black Prince, Edward VIII, Elizabeth I, Food, Henry V, Henry VII, investiture, leeks, Margaret “Tudor”, Mary “Tudor”, parsimony, Princes of Wales, Shakespeare, St. David’s Day, vegetables, Wales

Oh dear, how very Henry VII. I’ve just read in this link that because the leek was the emblem of the Welsh, on one St David’s Day he presented a leek to his daughter. A real leek, that is, not one studded with precious stones. Talk about a cheap gift! I’m sure she was thrilled.…
Was the lost coronet/crown of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, really the lost crown of King Arthur. . .?

Dec 11, 2018

anniversaries, battles, buildings

Arthur, Builth Wells, Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor, crown jewels, crowns, Cymer Abbey, Edward I, Henry III, jewellery, Llewellyn the Last, Oliver Cromwell, Orewin Bridge, Princes of Wales, Talaith Llewellyn, Tower of London, Wales, Westminster Abbey

The above illustration is of the British Crown Jewels as we know them now, but there were predecessors, long gone now, thanks to the efforts of Oliver Cromwell, who had no truck with such baubles. We are inclined to forget that there was a Welsh crown too, until it was seized by Edward I in…
Richard III, Henry VII and the City of York….

Jul 31, 2018

buildings, sources, The play’s the thing

“Lambert Simnel”, Anne Neville, Archbishop Scrope, Berwick Castle, british History Online, Christmas, Corpus Christi Guild, Council of the North, Creed Play, Earl of Northumberland, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Wydeville, entertainment, Fishergate Bar, fishgarths, Henry VII, James IV, John Brackenbury, John Vavasour, Lammas, Lord Clifford, Lord Scrope of Bolton, Margaret “Tudor”, Micklegate Bar, Miles Metcalf, Nicholas Lancaster, Ouse, Paston Letters, Paul Murray Kendall, Percies, Pontefract, Princes of Wales, Richard Green, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, riots, Scarborough Castle, Scotland, Shakespeare, Sheriff Hutton, Sir John Egremont, The Ainsty, Thomas Earl of Surrey, Thomas Wrangwissh, Three Estates, Walmgate Bar, York, York Castle, York Guildhall

This is not my work, but has been lifted entirely from British History Online. My contribution is the illustrations. It is a sensible assessment of the relationship of both Richard and Henry Tudor with the great city of York. :- York, Richard of Gloucester, and Henry VII There was much that was new in…
A sword made for Richard’s son….?

Jun 2, 2016

Uncategorized

Council of Wales and the Marches, Earls of March, Edward I, Edward II, Edward of Lancaster, Edward of Middleham, Edward V, Henry VI, Ludlow, Mortimer History Society, Princes of Wales, swords

The following is taken from an item in one of the Mortimer History Society newsletters. It was by a member, Stefan Zachary, and concerns a sword of state in the British Museum. Mortimer Heraldry on a Sword of State This sword is dated c1460-70 and it is said to be a ceremonial sword of the…
Another little boy who went into the Tower and never came out. (As far as we know.)

Sep 11, 2015

battles, buildings

Catrin ferch Owain, Earls of March, Gwladys Dhu, Gwynedd, Harlech Castle, Henry IV, Henry Pole the Younger, Henry V, Lionel Mortimer, Llewellyn Fawr, Mortimers, Owain Glyndwr, Princes of Wales, Sir Edmund Mortimer, St. Swithin’s Church, Tower of London

After the fall of Harlech Castle in February 1409, various members of Owain Glyndwr’s family were taken to the Tower. Among them was his grandson, Lionel ap Edmund (or Lionel Mortimer) the young son of Sir Edmund Mortimer and his wife Catrin ferch Owain. This boy cannot have been older than six at the uttermost,…
Dan Jones (again)

Apr 26, 2015

buildings, television reviews

Caernarvon, Dan Jones, Dover, Edward II, John, Owain Glyndwr, Owain Tudor, Princes of Wales, Richard III, Starkey, Stirling, Tower of London, Wales

His current Channel Five series (Secrets of Great British Castles, Fridays, 20:00) is quite informative in parts. However, as a Starkey protege, Jones relies on fairly simplistic views and with his pre-selected one-dimensional heroes and villains, the latter including John (from the opener on Dover) as well as Edward II (mentioned in at least three…