For Elizabeth I, the insult that she might not be chaste lasted until the very latest years of her reign. The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 put paid to the idea that her queenship was in any way diminished by the lack of a husband, and marriage negotiations had not been seriously considered… Read More Was the Virgin Queen a Virgin? Pt III: Raleigh, Essex, et al
When considering the question of Elizabeth I’s virginity, one name comes to mind immediately and before all others: Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. If Elizabeth had sex with anyone it would surely have been him. He was, after all, the great love of her life and those feelings were certainly requited. He was at her… Read More Was the Virgin Queen a Virgin? Part II: Robert Dudley
And albeit it might please almighty God to continue me still in this mind to live out of the state of marriage, yet it is not to be feared but He will so work in my heart and in your wisdom as good provision by his help may be made in convenient time, whereby the… Read More Was The Virgin Queen a Virgin? Part I: Thomas Seymour
At the risk of making myself immensely unpopular, I finally watched Reign and I enjoyed it. There, I said it. It bears no resemblance to history, the costumes are ridiculously anachronistic, more than half of the characters never actually existed, the storylines are insane, there isn’t a chaperone to be found, and yet, I love… Read More Everything Wrong with Reign (Season 1)
Philippa Gregory’s The Other Boleyn Girl written in 2001 arguably turned an entire generation onto historical fiction. It prompted a slew of novels written about the royal court, specifically the overlooked women who are forever relegated to the sidelines. The Other Boleyn Girl follows the life of Mary Boleyn, the lesser known sister of Anne… Read More Everything Wrong with The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
The first season of The Spanish Princess ends with the death of Henry VII and thus the accession of Henry VIII. In typical Starz style, there isn’t a simple transition of power between a monarch and his heir. Oh no, there is drama! In brief: Henry VII dies suddenly forcing his mother, Margaret Beaufort, to… Read More The History of the Spanish Princess: The King is Dead, Long Live the King
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Not so long ago, I was talking about how I was really impressed with The Spanish Princess and how well it dramatized events. I said that it altered ages and compressed events in the name of a good story, but that nothing about it had made my historian lizard… Read More The History of The Spanish Princess: Katherine’s Road to the Crown
I decided to do a sort of concise overview of the various deaths that affected the Tudor dynasty. Even though they were the ruling monarchs, the causes of their deaths is often unknown and limited by sixteenth century knowledge of medicine. Most of them died of an illness, or quietly in their sleep, at odds… Read More How did the Tudors die?
I really didn’t expect to be enjoying The Spanish Princess nearly as much as I am. I’m not just enjoying the drama but I’m actually living for the way they’ve dramatized history. At the end of each episode comes a disclaimer that events have been dramatized which usually means ‘we’ve taken these historical characters and… Read More The History of the Spanish Princess: Three deaths and a curse
By request, I have begun watching The Spanish Princess. The show, by its own admission, takes dramatic licence with history for the sake of creating a dramatic story. I was surprised then to see just how much of the show is rooted in actual history. Characters are aged up (or down) in places, but then… Read More The History of the Spanish Princess: Katherine arrives in England
