“Tudors”
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This was quite a delightful programme and both Drs. Worsley and Starkey were in top form: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04yg2hr/britains-tudor-treasure-a-night-at-hampton-court Edward VI is the one “Tudor” whose life and actions cannot be held to have offended many people. It is also admirable to celebrate the birth of a healthy legitimate male heir although it is sad that so…
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I was interested to read this book, first of all, because it seemed to me that the title is expressing the view of many Ricardians, who find it baffling that Richard III is seen by many as the archetypal murderous tyrant when clearly Henry VIII was far more murderous and tyrannical. The book begins by…
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Why lineage still matters in battle
“Beauforts”, “Tudors”, Battle of Bosworth, Blanche of Lancaster, Cnut, Earl of Oxford, Edmund Mortimer, Edward I, Edward IV, Edward VI, Emma of Normandy, Ethelred II, Hastings, Henry I, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VII, House of York, James VII/II, Jane, Joan of Acre, Mary I, Matilda, Richard II, Richard III, Stephen, William I, William IIIThe crown of England, among others, has often been claimed in battle or by other forceful means. However, to exercise such a claim, it is necessary to persuade a challenger’s military followers that he has a dynastic claim of sorts, even when this is greatly exaggerated or totally spurious. Thus William I, the Conqueror or…
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I was lucky enough to get a board game for Christmas from my 29 year old son, Jim, who is a board game fanatic! Luckily his wife, Kat, is too! Anyway, this one is a bit special because it is called “Richard IIITM – The Wars of the Roses” by Columbia Games, Inc. (Incidentally, I’m…
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It is well known that John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, was one of the principal opponents of Henry VIII’s attempt to divorce Catherine of Aragon. The boiling to death of his cook for the alleged crime of attempting to poison him is less familiar. The facts are that a number of people in the bishop’s…
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http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/141202/ncomms6631/full/ncomms6631.html It seems from this that there is a Y-chromosome mismatch between Richard III (as confirmed by his mtDNA, age, scoliosis etc), and the present Duke of Beaufort. There are various possibilities and our piece “A genealogical mystery deepens” outlined one – that Sir Hugh Swynford fathered the first “Beaufort”, making the Dukes of Somerset,…
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http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliamentandireland/overview/poynings-law/ This should be considered along with: Edmund Mortimer’s service in Ireland before the Southampton Plot, Richard Duke of York as Lord Lieutenant in the 1440s/50s, where George of Clarence was born, The coronation of “Lambert Simnel” in Dublin, to be clarified next month.
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Today is the annniversary of the death in 1416 of Constance of York, Lady Despenser and (for a time) Countess of Gloucester. She was one of many people of various conditions in life who inexplicably preferred the ‘tyranny’ of Richard II to the rule of Henry IV, and put their lives at risk to do…
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Now then, I look at the above portraits and do not see Henry VII of England (1457-1509) on the right or below. The portrait on the above left is Henry. The general consensus is that the other two more resemble Vlad the Impaler. Well, the one on the right does, while the clothing of the one below…
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Some people who are fond of Wales are also fond of the dynasty founded by Henry VII because they perceive it as ‘Welsh’. They tend to overlook that Edward IV and Richard III were descended from a real Welsh Prince, Llywelyn ap Iorwerth. This was recognised at the time by Welsh commentators in the case…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 