Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone asked for this, given the “accuracy” of Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth. In fact, I was asked the very same day I published Everything wrong with Elizabeth, so if anything I’m just sorry it took so long to write. While Elizabeth took historical revisionism and… Read More Everything wrong with Elizabeth: The Golden Age
A long, long time ago, I wrote that it would take too long to detail the very many historical inaccuracies present in Elizabeth (1998) and as I recently found my copy of it and have a mighty need to throw it away, that particular article just begged to be written. Described by reviewers as an… Read More Everything wrong with Elizabeth (1998)
Elizabeth I’s sharp tongue was legendary. Her ladies and courtiers alike were keen to avoid her displeasure for she was well known for her verbal dressing downs, and among her household was feared as much for the lingual blows she would deal on those who displeased her as the physical ones. This is a selection… Read More Quotes in Context: Elizabeth I
Anne Vavasour came to the court of Elizabeth I in the new year of 1580, probably with her sister Frances as a lady of the bedchamber. Anne quickly became a maid of honour but would be dismissed from the position in 1581 marking the permanent end of her court career. ‘Maid of Honour’ she was… Read More ‘The subject of much mirth and merriment’: The loves and life of Anne Vavasour
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester is famously known as the favourite of Elizabeth I. His reputation in history is that of an ambitious womaniser and though he hardly had a slew of lovers, what relationships he did have were certainly dramatic This was mostly because they were conducted in the court of a Queen who considered… Read More Leicester’s Love Triangle
While Elizabeth I’s reputation as the Virgin Queen has been in question since her own lifetime, the ladies around her certainly didn’t aspire to the virginal state, despite their mistresses repeated lectures on the matter. It’s not known exactly why Elizabeth shied away from taking a husband, though theories range from witnessing her father’s violently… Read More The Virgin Queen’s “Virgins”
21 months ago I posted this as we waited for the announcement of the royal baby’s name. They beat me to it this year though, and last week we heard that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have named their daughter Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. Recent changes to the law assure that Charlotte’s place in the succession… Read More The Second-Borns who took the Throne
Conspiracy theories are a way of life, they’re everywhere. Chances are you could find a conspiracy theory about anything and the Tudors are no exception. Forget wondering whether Elizabeth and Leicester were an item, here we see how not only were they an item, but parents to, amongst others, Shakespeare himself. These are not the… Read More Was Elizabeth I a man and other theories…
Happy New Year all! This month is history on film month, because I have decreed it, and what better way to start than looking at the most filmed British monarch; Elizabeth I. Here is a selection of the more modern filmic depictions of Gloriana (and one early one) and whether they are worth a watch.
Reign, a period drama created for The CW, is two episodes in and is gaining a fair amount of mixed reviews. There are those who are quite happy to ignore the history behind the piece and enjoy the drama and entertainment value, while many are criticising the absurd acting and arguing that it is simply… Read More Reign: The “Story” of Mary, Queen of Scots
