Jane Austen actively detested the Prince Regent, as many people did. In her case it was particularly acute, because she not only found him lacking in moral rectitude or any worthy quality she admired, he was a decided political thorn in the side of the Tory party, which the Austen family strongly favored over the… Read more Jane Austen and the Prince Regent
King Henry VIII married his sixth and final wife, Kateryn Parr, on 12 July 1543. The widowed Lady Latimer was well known for her piety and virtue at court. Her mother had been a lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherina of Aragon, and as fate would have it, Henry’s last wife was probably his first wife’s goddaughter… Read more The 6th Time is the Charm?
Four alleged co-conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln — George Atzerodt, David Herold, Lewis Powell, and Mary Surratt – were “hanged by the neck until dead” at the Old Arsenal Penitentiary on 7 July 1865. Mary Surratt was the first woman executed by the US government, and the subject of Susan Higginbotham’s excellent book,… Read more Hanging Mary by Susan Higginbotham
King Louis XI of France was the original Machiavellian monarch, although ironically Niccolò Machiavelli stoutly criticized Louis in Chapter 13 of The Prince, “calling him shortsighted and imprudent for abolishing his own infantry in favor of Swiss mercenaries”. Nonetheless, Louis had a gift for turning situations to his advantage, duplicity, formulating conspiracies, and laying false… Read more Louis the Cunning, the Prudent, the Universal Spider, the Tudors’ Best Friend
Thomas Kranmer was born on 2 July 1489, and for his birthday I am reviewing an excellent novella-length book, Thomas Cranmer in a Nutshell by Beth Von Staats. “In Thomas Cranmer in a Nutshell, Beth von Staats discusses the fascinating life of Thomas Cranmer, from his early education, through his appointment to Archbishop of Canterbury,… Read more Review: Thomas Cranmer in a Nutshell by Beth Von Staats
There was as good reason Henry VII forbid his son Henry from jousting – it was dangerous as hell. The minute Henry VII died and the new King Henry VIII was in charge of his own life, he took up jousting in spite of the risk. Why? Because it was COOL, baby! Rock-star level coolness… Read more OUCH! A Splinter Takes Out King Henri II of France’s Eye in a Jousting Accident
Edward IV, the first Yorkist king, was crowned on 28 June 1461 after proclaiming himself king following the bloodbath at the Battle of Towton in Yorkshire the previous March. The young usurper was only nineteen years old and had just lost his father, Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York. Nonetheless, Edward was commanding and a… Read more The Coronation of Edward IV
This weekend my husband and I took the kids to Tenby, Wales to see some seals and some historical sights, and it was a richly rewarding experience on all fronts. As to be expected from a seafront village whose Anglicized name comes from the Welsh title Dinbych-y-pysgod, meaning “little fort of the fish”, there was… Read more Geniuses from Tenby, Wales!
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the younger brother of King Edward IV, began his reign as King Richard III on 26 June 1483, although he wouldn’t have his coronation until 6 July. Richard III became king during one of the vicious times in English royal history. Seriously, it makes the fictional Game of Thrones look a… Read more Becoming Richard III
The only thing in the world that Napoléon Bonaparte loved as much as coffee and military victory was his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais. Napoleon’s love was born on 22 June 1763, the eldest daughter of a French Creole sugar plantation owner in the Caribbean, either at his estate on Martinique or the one on… Read more A Rose Named Joséphine