Year: 2018

Happy Birthday to Christian IX of Demark, Direct Ancestor of BOTH Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

April 8, 2018kyra 1 Comment

The future Christian IX of Demark was born on 8 April 1818, the fourth son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck and Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse. Although he was not really in line for any throne, the newborn was related six ways to Sunday to the crowned heads of Europe. Among other connections, his… Read more Happy Birthday to Christian IX of Demark, Direct Ancestor of BOTH Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

A Lionheart is No Substitute for Antibiotics

April 6, 2018kyra

Richard I of England, more famously known by his moniker Richard the Lionheart, died on 6 April 1199 as the result of an infected arrow wound. One of the enduring mysteries to me is WHY Richard was such a popular king in his lifetime. In the decade of his reign he spent about 6 months… Read more A Lionheart is No Substitute for Antibiotics

The Merry Monarch Returns

April 4, 2018kyra 2 Comments

Today is a seldom remarked-upon but important date in English history, resulting in the return of the monarchy. On 4 April 1660 Charles II of Great Britain issued the Declaration of Breda, promising a general pardon for crimes committed against royalist forces and the crown during the English Civil War and the Interregnum. Since one of… Read more The Merry Monarch Returns

RIP Elizabeth Boleyn

April 3, 2018kyra

Lady Elizabeth Howard Boleyn, the Countess of Wiltshire, died on 3 April 1538 … having lived long enough to see two of her three adult children murders by King Henry VIII. The Anne Boleyn Files did an excellent post on the potential cause of her death, and I cannot help but think she was grateful… Read more RIP Elizabeth Boleyn

The Death of Arthur Tudor

April 2, 2018kyra 24 Comments

Arthur Tudor died at the young age of 15 on 2 April 1502 at Ludlow Castle, on what was considered the Welsh boarder at the time. It is springtime here in south Wales, and hills are covered with wildflowers and fields full of woolly little lambs. It seems exceptionally sad that Arthur died at this… Read more The Death of Arthur Tudor

A Warning for Haman

April 1, 2018kyra

On 2 April 1536, Passion Sunday, Anne Boleyn’s almoner, John Skip (Skyppe), fired a broadside at Thomas Cromwell from the pulpit of the king’s chapel. His sermon “on the text Quis ex vobis arguet me de peccato?” was a strong defense of the clergy from the attacks of “their defamers and from the immoderate zeal… Read more A Warning for Haman

Happy Birthday, Blossom

March 29, 2018kyra 4 Comments

My baby girl is 13 years old now. I am a so proud of the wonderful teen girl she has become. She is brave, and kind-hearted, and has enough love to fill the world. She loathes injustice and is not shy about vociferously defending that which she thinks is right. She will stand up to… Read more Happy Birthday, Blossom

St Illtud, Welsh Saint and Scholar

March 28, 2018kyra

St Illtud was one of the most famous scholar-saints in pre-Norman Wales and throughout Medieval Britain, having founded a renowned monastery and school of divinity in Wales during the 6th century. St Illtud was devoted to spreading the teachings of Christianity, and for centuries his monastery was the epicenter of Celtic Christianity in Sub-Roman Britain.… Read more St Illtud, Welsh Saint and Scholar

The Admirable Sophia Dorothea of Hanover

March 26, 2018kyra

Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, the only daughter of King George I of Britain, was born on 16 March 1687, a date that was changed to the 26 March after the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750. She was treated dismissively by her father, and loathed by her brother, due to suspicions she was actually the biological… Read more The Admirable Sophia Dorothea of Hanover

Moonset: The Death of Cynthia

March 24, 2018kyra 7 Comments

Queen Elizabeth I was a charismatic leader who inspired a cult around her unmarried status and continues to fascinate historians and history buffs to the the present day. She was often associated with the virginal Roman goddess of the moon and hunting, Diana, and was often called by one of Diana’s more celestial alternate titles, Cynthia,… Read more Moonset: The Death of Cynthia