Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester

“Becoming Elizabeth”

Jan 22, 2024

anniversaries, genealogy, law, religion, television reviews

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, Scotland

This 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…
The Royals: A History of Scandals

Jul 2, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, genealogy, law, religion, Science, television reviews

adultery trials, Albert Victor Duke of Clarence, Amy Robsart, animal bones, annulments, Brighton Pavillion, Caroline of Brunswick, Catherine of Aragon, Charles V, Cleveland Street, coronations, corruption, Count Konigsmarck, disappearance, divorce, DNA evidence, Edward VII, Elizabeth I, Ernest Augustus Duke of Cumberland, extravagance, Frederick Duke of York, George I, George III, George IV, Germany, Group Captain Townsend, Hanoverians, Henry VIII, human remains, imprisonment, John Ashdown-Hill, Leine Castle, male brothels, Maria Smythe, More 4, Princess Margaret, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, Royal Marriage Secrets, Royal Marriages Act, royal mistresses, royal murder mysteries, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Suzannah Lipscomb, Sweden, The Royals: A History of Scandals, valets, Victoria, William Cecil

This is a four-part series on More4, presented by Suzannah Lipscomb and with a focus on the Hanoverian era. It started with financial scandals, such as George IV’s extravagance and his brother‘s mistress who sold army commissions. The second episode was about sexual scandals and rumours, such as Edward VII’s mistresses and the male brothel…
Elisabeth Brooke, Marchioness of Northampton.

Apr 2, 2023

anniversaries, genealogy, law, religion

Anne Bourchier, Anne Bray, annulment, attainder, bigamy, cancer, Catherine Parr, Constance of York, Despensers, divorce proceedings, Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset, Edward VI, Elizabeth Brooke, Elizabeth I, executions, George Brooke Lord Cobham, Henry VIII, Isabelle Despencer, Jane, John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, Katherine Howard, King’s Council, Lord Protector of the Realm, Marquessate of Norfolk, Mary I, Netherlands, Richard Beauchamp, Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, royal attendants, secret marriage, separation, Sir William Parr, Thomas Despenser

Elisabeth Brooke had a very eventful life! My attention was drawn to her as she was a descendant of Constance of York and Thomas Despenser through their daughter Isabelle’s first marriage to Richard Beauchamp – the Richard Beauchamp who became Earl of Worcester as opposed to her second husband, also Richard Beauchamp, the Earl of…
More Royal ancestry

Apr 8, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion, Science, television reviews, The play’s the thing

actresses, Alexander Armstrong, Arthur Capell Baron Hadham, astronomy, Barings Bank, Battle of Surbiton, bigamy, burials, Careys, Clare Balding, comedians, Dame Judi Dench, Danny Dyer, Dartmoor, Denmark, Duke of Hamilton, Edict of Nantes, Edward IV, Elsinore, English Civil War, executions, France, Frank Gardner, Groom of the Stool, Guildenstern, Hamlet, Henry Earl of Holland, Henry VIII, Hugenots, illegitimacy, Ireland, Joe Sugg, Josh Widdicombe, Lettice Knollys, Mark Wright, Mary Boleyn, Military Cross, Normandy, Ophelia, religious persecution, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, Rosencrantz, royal palaces, Sabine Baring-Gould, secret marriage, Tom Stoppard, Trenchard Manor, Tycho Brahe, Westminster Abbey, Who do you think you are?, Will Kemp, William Shakespeare

Who do you think you are? has now completed eighteen series as British television’s predominant genealogy programmes. In that time, with an average of eight episodes per series, they have uncovered many celebrities with interesting lineage and some unexpected royal descendants, including Alexander Armstrong, Clare Balding, Danny Dyer, Frank Gardner and Sir Matthew Pinsent. Now…
Walking “Tudor” England

Aug 10, 2021

battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion, television reviews, travel

“Bloody Mary”, “Tudors”, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, Arthur “Tudor”, Ashdown Forest, attainder, Austin Friars, bear-baiting, Bishops of London, Bridewell Palace, brothels, Cambridge, cannon, Channel Five, Christopher Hatton, Clifford’s Tower, conspiracies, dancing, de heretico comburendo, Dutch refugees, East Midlands, Edmund Bonner, Edward of Buckingham, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, excommunication, executions, exile, fire, Framlingham Castle, Fulham Palace, Greenwich Palace, Grey-Dudley rebellion, Gunpowder Plot, Guy Fawkes, Hampton Court, Henry Earl of Huntingdon, Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk, Henry VIII, Hever Castle, James VI/I, Jane, John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, John Foxe, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, Katherine Howard, Kenilworth Castle, Kenninghall, Kett Rebellion, Leicester, London, Lord Chancellor, Lord Guildford Dudley, Margaret Clitherow, Mary Stuart, Mass, Michelham Priory, naval power, Nicholas Ridley, Northern Earls’ Rebellion, Norwich, Penshurst Place, Pilgrimage of Grace, Pontefract, Portsmouth, recusants, Ripon Cathedral, Robert Aske, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, royal barges, royal hunting estates, Rushton Triangular Lodge, severed heads, Sir Henry Dudley, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Thomas Tresham, Sir Walter Raleigh, Southwark, St. Mary’s Abbey, Stamford, Suzannah Lipscomb, The Globe, Thomas Howard 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Stafford, tobacco, torture, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Will Kemp, William Cecil, William Shakespeare, Wyatt Rebellion, Yorkshire Museum

Suzannah Lipscomb has just completed another series on Channel Five, this time visiting the sites related to the “Tudors”. In the first episode, she concentrated on Henry VIII and the naval power he inherited from John Howard, Duke of Norfolk. The second was principally about the penultimate “Tudor”, Mary I, as well as Edward VI…
The Grafitti of the Tower of London

Jun 24, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy

Dudleys, Elizabeth I, graffiti, Jane, John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, Lord Guildford Dudley, Mary I, Philip Howard Earl of Arundel, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, Royal Mint, Thomas Roper, Tower of London

REBLOGGED FROM A MEDIEVAL POTPOURRI sparkypus.com The graffiti commemorating the Dudleys. Beauchamp Tower. Photo Spitalfieldlife I am, to be honest not a fan of graffiti, also known as graffito, neither do I know anyone who is. However, if you are talking historical graffiti, and from no less than the Tower of London, well that is definitely…
Did Amy Robsart fall or was she pushed….?

Jun 7, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, law, Science

Amy Robsart, Cumnor Place, Elizabeth I, Oxfordshire, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, royal murder mysteries

Not our period, but Amy Robsart’s is a story that has always fascinated me. Did she fall, or was she pushed…? I think we all have our theories. I believe Dudley was behind it and shot himself in the foot, so to speak, because Elizabeth took fright. She already knew she was playing with…
Medieval (sic) Murder Mysteries

Dec 15, 2019

archaeology, law, Science, television reviews

“Princes”, “Tudor” propaganda, Alexander VI, Amy Robsart, Arthur of Brittany, Berkeley Castle, Berkeleys, Borgias, Brittany, Burgundy, cancer, Deptford, Edward II, Elizabeth I, espionage, Falaise Castle, falls, Garden Tower, Geoffrey of Brittany, heresy, John, Marlowe, mysteries, Orsini family, Oxfordshire, Papacy, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, Rome, Sir Walter Raleigh, Tiber, UKTV, William Cecil, yesterday

This is a six-part series, first shown on “Yesterday” (a UKTV channel) in 2015 but is available to view on their website here. The producers used pathologists, coroners, historians, barristers and other writers to form their conclusions, some of which are more reliable than others. The first episode, which surely misses the mediaeval timescale, is…
13 of the biggest mysteries of the British monarchy….

Jul 23, 2019

anniversaries, buildings

Albert Victor Duke of Clarence, Amy Robsart, Edward Duke of Kent, Edward IV, Edward V, Elizabeth I, Ernest Augustus Duke of Cumberland, George V, illegitimacy, Jack the Ripper, John Brown, Joseph Sellis, Lord Dawson, Prince Albert, Prince Alfred, Princess Alice, Princess Louise, Reader’s Digest, Richard III, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, royal mysteries, Three Estates, Tower of London, Victoria, Whitechapel murders

Oh, dear. The fate of Edward V (if he ever was a king) tops the Reader’s Digest list of 13 of the ‘Biggest Mysteries Surrounding the British Royal Family’. Hm. As the following quoted paragraph is a sample of the article’s accuracy, I won’t be bothering to read the other twelve. “….In April 1483, King…
Kenilworth Castle, courtesy of Minecraft….!

Mar 5, 2019

archaeology, buildings

castles, Dover Castle, Elizabeth I, English Heritage, Kenilworth Castle, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, virtual reality

Now we’d like to “see” a few more castles in which we’re interested!