Queen Mary I of England wed King Philip II of Spain on 25 July 1554 at Winchester Cathedral, and although she was personally very happy, it was one of the worst political moves should could have made. Mary’s Lord Chancellor, Stephen Gardiner, and the entire House of Commons begged the queen to wed an Englishman… Read more Merry Mary Marries
On 22 July 1298 the English King Edward I decisively defeated a small army of Scots under the command of William Wallace at Falkirk, which resulted in the resignation of Wallace as a Guardian of Scotland and brought Robert the Bruce into the forefront of the First War of Scottish Independence. The English would have… Read more The Battle of Falkirk
The Mary Rose was the prized flagship of King Henry VIII’s navy. She was a carrack-type warship who was in service for 33 years before she sank in action on 19 July 1545. The Mary Rose would slumber in the deeps of the Solent, the straits north of the Isle of Wight, until she was… Read more The Mary Rose Visits Davy Jones
On 18 July 1290 King Edward I issued an Edict of Expulsion decreeing the forcible removal of all Jews from England. The expulsion edict was the law of the land for the next 360-odd years, until 1657, when Oliver Cromwell (of all people!) permitted Jews to return to England. Cromwell only let Jewish people return… Read more Edict of Expulsion 1290
Pity poor Wales, with it’s gorgeous scenery and lovely people, for the Kramers are descending upon it – a ravening horde of Americans intent on seeing every tourist attraction and site of interest contained therein. The house is not yet fully sold (although people are looking and making interested noises) but Sweet Babou’s visa is… Read more Brace Yourself Wales!
King Edward I of England, known as Edward Longshanks, died on 7 July 1307. As I have explained before, Edward’s historical legacy is complicated; he was a good man who did horrible things. Longshanks was on his way to Scotland to battle Robert the Bruce, who had recently rebelled against English rule and had declared… Read more The Death of Edward Longshanks
Countries with a lot of inequality are unstable countries. Without economic stability and security for the populace, countries are prone to unrest and political extremism. Nothing good EVER comes from political extremism. Whether it is fascism in Hitler’s Germany or the communism in Stalin’s Russia, it sucks. Not only does it suck … it ALWAYS… Read more Which Way Forward?
I’ve always been intrigued by the Tunguska event. For those of you not in the know (i.e. anyone who isn’t a big ol’ geek like me), the Tunguska event was huge explosion on 30 June 1908 (Western calendar) in the skies just above the Stony Tunguska River, in Yeniseysk Governorate (now Krasnoyarsk Krai) Russia. We’re… Read more KaBoom
The fiercely maternal and profoundly strong-willed Margaret Beaufort died peacefully in her bed on 29 June 1509. Founder of the Tudor Dynasty, she was buried in Westminster Abbey with every honor and an Italian sculptor was commissioned to create the effigy on her tomb. The famous humanist scholar Erasmus honored her by composing her epitaph,… Read more The Passing of Margaret Beaufort
Apparently, people are startled and horrified that the UK will be leaving the EU even though they voted to Leave … especially since they found out within hours that the promises the Leave camp had made were a tissue of lies and propaganda. Now they are full of regret. Then why did they vote Leave… Read more #Regrexit