Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, was born on 29 November 1338, the second surviving son of King Edward III and Philippa of Hainault. Although he died at the age of 30 and had only one child – his daughter Philippa – he is the genetic precursor to the modern English monarchy. He was the great-great-grandfather of Kings Edward… Read more Was Lionel of Antwerp Poisoned?
William Blake was born on 28 November 1757 in London, the third child of a working class hosier. He would remain an obscure artist and poet while he lived, but would be posthumously recognized as one of the leading artistic figures of the Romantic Age. When he was 11 years old Blake’s parents paid £52.10… Read more In Praise of William Blake
Margaret Tudor was born on 28 November 1489, the oldest surviving daughter of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and she was destined from birth for a dynastic marriage. When she was 13 years old she married King James IV of Scotland on 25 January 1503 by proxy, and was sent north to… Read more Happy Birthday to Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots
On 27 November 1810 on of the Regency era’s most famous ‘practical jokes’ occurred — the Berners Street Hoax. Although it is almost wholly forgotten now, it created a huge sensation at the time, reported in all the papers and a “fervent hue and cry” to find the person responsible. Like 99.9% of practical jokes,… Read more The Berners Street Hoax
Blanche of Castile, Queen of France and the warrior-regent who held the kingdom for her young son, King Louis IX, passed away on 27 November 1252, and it truly was a loss to the whole nation. Blanche was born on 4 March 1188, the third surviving daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor… Read more The White Queen of France, Blanche of Castile
Isabella I of Castile, co-ruler of Aragon and queen of most of the Iberian peninsula, passed away on 26 November 1504, causing a major shake-up of European politics — especially in Britain. Queen Isabella’s death was a terrible blow to her daughter, Katherina of Aragon, the widow of King Henry VII’s eldest son, Prince Arthur… Read more Isabella of Castile’s Death
Perkin Warbeck first came to international attention in 1490, when he showed up at the court of Burgundy claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the second-born son of King Edward IV. He said he had miraculously escaped from the Tower after his older brother, King Edward V, was murdered because his captors took pity on his youth.… Read more Perkin Warbeck
I recently read a really good book, Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant. It is a follow up to her equally awesome novella, Rolling in the Deep, and it is scary as hell. It takes place above the Mariana Trench, and it involves mermaids. Terrifying mermaids. Jaws meets one of H. P. Lovecraft’s beasties… Read more Dragon’s Triangle; Devil’s Sea
Queen Mary I of England, daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, Katherina of Aragon, came to the end of her uncharmed life on 17 November 1558. The abdominal pain that had plagued her since menarche had revealed itself to be not the stirring of new life, but the growth of a deadly cancer.… Read more The Sad Reign of Mary I Comes to an End
King Henry III died of a lingering illness on the evening of 16 November 1272, at the Palace of Westminster, his loving wife of more than three decades, Queen Eleanor of Provence, at his side. He had had been the crowned head of England for 56 years, and had been an ineffectual, weak monarch for… Read more A Good Man, A Bad King