Content warning: This post considers issues of sexual assault and child sexual assault. In 1536, Henry VIII had his wife, Anne Boleyn, executed for adultery and treason. They had been married for only three years after a six year courtship that had turned the country on its head and forever changed the religious landscape of… Read More Condemning Katherine Howard
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 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
Elizabeth of York and Henry VII had the very model of a courtly marriage. Their marriage was not only stable but actually affectionate. I’ve speculated in the past that it was because of their genuine feeling for each other that their own children went on to have such tumultuous experiences with marriage, possibly seeking the… Read More “More dirty than queenly”: The Marriages of Mary Tudor
Season 3 of ‘The Tudors‘ shows the death of Jane Seymour and the subsequent madness of Henry VIII. Beside himself with grief, Henry retreats to his private chambers with no one but his fool, Will Somers, to attend him. The very first thing he does in this aggrieved and almost unhinged state is design a… Read More Nonsuch Palace: “a fantasy work”
I recently wrote a piece on Henry VII and Elizabeth of York where I suggested that we could see their love for each other reflected in the actions of their children. Arthur Tudor was tender even considering the realms of courtly romance to Catherine of Aragon. Henry VIII famously fell in love with numerous women and… Read More The Marriages of Margaret Tudor: “A shame and disgrace to all her family.”
The most frequently asked question of 2017 (on this blog at least, I missed it at Prime Minister’s Questions) was: Did Henry VIII have sex with Anne Boleyn? Now I’m assuming that this refers to premarital sex as we can say with some certainty that they slept together after Anne became Henry’s Queen in 1533.… Read More Did Henry VIII sleep with Anne Boleyn?
The Royal Family have announced that the Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant with her third child. As with her previous pregnancies, the Duke and Duchess were forced to announce the news earlier than they intended (when the Duchess required medical attention for hyperemesis gravidarum). As a result of legislation passed in 2013, regardless of whether the… Read More Third-borns who took the throne
