Sometime in January of 1502, Arthur Tudor and his bride, Katherina of Aragon, arrived at Ludlow Castle. There the young prince was to begin learning kingship by governing Wales, and to officially have some time to honeymoon with his spouse. But did Arthur consummate his marriage while they were together? According to Katherina, he did… Read more Did Arthur Tudor Consummate his Marriage?
Elizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surrey, was the wife of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey and the mother of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. She was also grandmother of two of King Henry VIII’s queens, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, and two of his known mistresses, Elizabeth Carew and Mary Boleyn Carey. Moreover, through her… Read more Elizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surrey, Grandmother of Queens
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, judicially murdered his own brother, Thomas Seymour, in the name of their nephew King Edward VI on 20 March 1549. Why did the duke do something so vile as to kill a sibling? To keep as much power as he could all to himself for as long as possible.… Read more The Death of Thomas Seymour
Harri Tudur, heir to the (7th) Earldom of Richmond, was born to the frighteningly young Margaret Beaufort on 28 January 1457. Through his paternal grandfather, Owain Tudur, the baby was a descendant of of Llywelyn the Great, and through his paternal grandmother, Catherine of Valois, a great-grandson of King Charles VI of France. Those lineages,… Read more Henry VII: Better King Than Kingly
Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu. was a living, breathing threat to the Tudor throne. He was the grandson of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and thus the nephew of the York kings Edward IV and Richard III. In his veins flowed the blood of King Edward III’s second surviving son, Lionel of Antwerp, Duke… Read more Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, was almost certainly a more rightful claimant to the throne of England than his cousin, King Henry VI. York was the descendant of King Edward III’s second son, Lionel of Antwerp, while Henry VI was the great-grandson of King Edward’s third surviving son, John of Gaunt. The Duke of… Read more The Death of the 3rd Duke of York
John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor of England, supporter of King Henry VI, eventual ambassador for Edward IV, ardent foe of King Richard III, and crucial ally of King Henry VII, passed away on 15 September 1500. Although Bishop Morton was a devout Lancastrian, when all hope was gone – after the deaths… Read more Archbishop John Morton
The Battle of Sampford Courtenay, the fifth and final battle of the Prayer Book Rebellion, took place on 17 August 1549. Centered in Devon and Cornwall, the Prayer Book Rebellion was spurred by the Catholic and West Country dislike of the new Anglican Book of Common Prayer they were forced to adopt. Archbishop Cranmer’s liturgical… Read more The Last Battle of the Prayer Book Rebellion
Philippa of Clarence, the only legitimate child of Lionel of Antwerp and his wife Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster, was born on 13 August 1355. She was the maternal ancestress that gave the Yorks their claim to the English throne, and the unsuspecting progenitor of the Wars of the Roses. Lionel of Antwerp… Read more Philippa of Clarence
Henry VIII was born 28 June 1491 at the Palace of Placentia the third child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. As hard as is it to believe, considering the stir he would make in the historical record, the little prince was an extremely second fiddle to his elder brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales.… Read more The Incredible Life of Henry VIII