This post is for the lovely lady who admins the Tudor Fan Page on Facebook, who wanted to give her readers a quick & dirty summation of the theory that Henry VIII’s blood was positive for the Kell antigen and that he subsequently developed McLeod syndrome. Most people don’t know it, but red blood cells… Read more Hello Tudor Fan Page!
Although the general public remembers Henry VIII as a tart-chasing tartar, many modern historians such as Lacey Baldwin Smith have defended the king as a rather “prudish” man with more wives than mistresses. In her new book, The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women’s Stories, Amy Licence disagrees. She argues that… Read more The Six Wives & Many Mistresses of Henry VIII: The Women’s Stories
Trim Castle, in County Meath, is a very picturesque pile of ruins nowadays: However, in it’s heyday (the 12th to 16th centuries; so a paltry 400+ years) it was the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland. It held a strategically important position because stood guard over a fording point across the River Boyne. The River… Read more Trim Castle & St. Mary’s Abbey
A friend of mine, Claire Ridgway, who writes non-fiction books about the Anne and George Boleyn and who does not agree with the Kell/McCloud syndrome theory but is a nice person nonetheless, has launched The Tudor Society. It is “an exclusive membership club for all those who love Tudor history and who want to keep… Read more The Tudor Society
I am a big fan of author Jeannie Lin. She writes fiction set in Imperial China and it is hella well done. My favorite of her books are The Lotus Palace and The Jade Temptress. I cannot heap enough praise on them. Not only is she an excellent wordsmith, she is one of the rare… Read more Tudor China?
Those of you who are old enough to have enjoyed the music of the 80s doubtlessly remember Culture Club’s hit Karma Chameleon. I couldn’t resist the pun, and now I cannot resist describing Cromwell’s career trajectory as red, gold, and green. Yes, there is something wrong with my mind. Red: Although Anne Boleyn had been… Read more Karma Cromwellian
Henry Fitzroy, the king’s only living son at the time, died on July 22, 1536 from what has been commonly reported to have been tuberculosis. There’s some doubt about that diagnosis, though. There had been no sign that Fitzroy had been ill in the spring, which doesn’t fit the long, drawn-out death suffered by… Read more Henry Fitzroy’s Early Death
On this day in history during 1536 the Parliament of England “passed An Act Extinguishing the Authority of the Bishop of Rome. This Act was wordily insulting to the pope, but contained within it the power to punish anybody defending his authority in Britain. It was a step that for Henry’s reign at least ended… Read more Bye-Bye “Bishop of Rome”
Lady Jane Grey Dudley ruled England from July 10 – July 19, 1553. One of the best biographies of her life and reign that I have ever read, Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery, was by the incomparable Eric Ives and I strongly, strongly recommend it. Queen Jane was named as the heir to the… Read more Day 2 of the Nine Days Queen
On this day in history Henry VIII annulled his marriage to Anna of Cleves, a woman who is often remembered for the horrible nickname he gave her – The Great Flanders Mare. Henry’s side of the story was that she wasn’t pretty enough, but the reality is she just busted his ego up something fierce.… Read more The Great Flanders Mare