royal deaths

Edward IV’s “weird” death is listed…but his pointy shoes are even weirder…!

Oct 21, 2022

anniversaries, art, law

cartoons, Edward IV, executions, George Duke of Clarence, Malmsey, Poulaine shoes, royal deaths

An interesting article which includes George of Clarence and that butt of Malmsley. It also includes a (modernish) illustration of Edward IV that I hadn’t seen. I know I’ve written about pointy shoes before, but boy, those are SOME examples he’s wearing!
The death of Richard III’s consort….

Mar 16, 2022

anniversaries, battles, law, sources

“Tudor” propaganda, Anne Neville, Barrie Williams, Battle of Bosworth, Countess of Oxford, eclipse, Edward IV, Edward of Lancaster, Edward of Middleham, Elizabeth of York, George Duke of Clarence, Hastings Execution, Henry VI, Portuguese marriage plans, Richard III, royal deaths

Today in 1485 Anne Neville died, leaving the king a childless widower. Well, without legitimate children, for Richard had at least two illegitimate children, born before his marriage. The only trueborn child, Edward of Middleham had died almost exactly a year before, on 9 April 1484. Richard had to marry again after Anne—kings need…
Long live the King

Sep 21, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, Book Reviews, buildings, genealogy, Science, sources

“Perkin”, Archbishop William Melton, Auramala Project, Avignon, Barrie Williams, Berkeley Castle, Corfe Castle, de la Pole family, Earl of Mar, Edmund Earl of Kent, Edward II, Edward III, Edward the Martyr, executions, Ferdinand and Isabella, Fieschi Letter, Flanders, France, Germany, Gloucester Cathedral, Ian Mortimer, Ireland, Isabelle de France, Italy, James IV, Joanna, John XXII, Kathryn Warner, Koblenz, Leicester, Lombardy, Lord Richard de la Pole, Manuel Duke of Beja, Manuele Fieschi, Maximilian I, Melton Letter, Montpellier archives, mtDNA evidence, parallels, Pavia, Poles, popes, Portuguese archives, Richard III, Roger Mortimer, royal deaths, royal mysteries, Sant Alberto di Butrio, Titulus Regius, William le Galeys

This interesting tome has finally appeared in paperback. The opening Parts read like an abridged biography of the story familiar to us through Warner’s The Unconventional King, but to be read with an open mind as to whether Edward II survived his “official death” today in 1327 or not. The reader will re-learn the events…
It’s all in the blood….

Jul 6, 2021

anniversaries, art, genealogy, Science

“Tudors”, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, Henry VII, Henry VIII, John Ashdown-Hill, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Mary I, royal deaths, royal portraits, Swynfords

Seeing family likenesses is always irresistible, and few can deny that Henry VII and his mother are practically identical…well, except that as far as I know he wasn’t inclined to dress up to resemble a nun! From this I conclude that Beaufort blood is the key. Just how much Beaufort blood is arguable, of course.…
A bearded Henry VII….?

Apr 21, 2020

anniversaries, art, films

beards, fiction, Henry VII, portraits, royal deaths, The Spanish Princess

Here is an interesting link about the death of Henry VII. It includes an illustration from the TV series The Spanish Princess, in which Henry seems to have sprouted a beard. Really? I don’t think so, somehow. All his portraits show him clean-shaven, including one painted when he was getting on in years. But…
The royal art of hoping to die in your bed….

Aug 2, 2018

anniversaries, art, sources

Bayeux Tapestry, Gutenberg Project, monarchs, portraits, royal deaths, royal tombs

Well, I was at a temporary loose end, pondering what to do to while away a Saturday afternoon…and what did I come up with? Why, assembling scenes of the deaths of monarchs of England. Of course. The devil makes work for idle hands, and mine were indeed idle. So here are our kings and queens,…
A C20 peacetime high treason case?

Jan 20, 2018

anniversaries, law

diseases, George V, high treason, Lord Dawson, newspapers, royal deaths

Today in 1936, George V died and it is not at question that he was terminally ill from a combination of lung conditions, most notably bronchitis. The timing of his death is another matter. Articles dating from 1986, when the matter was revealed, suggest that this was brought forward, via quantities of morphine and cocaine,…