On This Day in Tudor History

November 17, 1558 was monumental day in Tudor—and for that matter—English history.

It was on this day that Queen Mary I died at St. James Palace and her half sister, Elizabeth I, succeeded her to the throne, beginning the fashionable, creative, amazing Elizabethan Era in England. (think Shakespeare!)Against all odds, the daughter of Queen Anne Boleyn would become one of the greatest monarchs of all time.

Mary reigned only five years but left a legacy that would always be remembered as one of persecution and execution, leaving her with the sobriquet "Bloody Mary."

Elizabeth became queen at the age of 25, and upon hearing of her accession to the throne, she is reputed to have quoted the 118th Psalm's twenty-third line, in Latin: "A Dominum factum est illud, et est mirabile in oculis notris" - "It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes."

On This Day in Tudor History

On October 16, 1555, under Queen Mary I, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake he was burnt at the stake, becoming one of the three Oxford Martyrs of Anglicanism and the U.S. Episcopal Church.
Latimer was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, Bishop of Worcester before the Reformation, and later chaplain to Henry VIII's son, King Edward VI. He also served as chaplain to Katherine Duchess of Suffolk until Edward VI's sister, Mary I, came to the throne, he was tried for his beliefs and teachings in Oxford and imprisoned. Ridley was also an English Bishop of London who was tried for his teachings and his support of Lady Jane Grey.

They were both burned at the stake outside Balliol College, Oxford.

The deaths of Latimer, Ridley and later Thomas Cranmer — now known as the Oxford Martyrs — are commemorated in Oxford by the Victorian Martyrs' Memorial which is located near the actual execution site. The Latimer room in Clare College, Cambridge is named after him.

On This Day in Tudor History

On September 22, 1515, Anna von Jülich-Kleve-Berg was born in Germany. She is better known as Anne of Cleves, the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540.


The marriage was never consummated, and she was never crowned queen consort. Following the annulment of their marriage, Anne was given a generous settlement by the king, and thereafter referred to as the "King's Beloved Sister."

Henry was convinced to make the match with Anne by his chancellor, Thomas Cromwell. It would prove to be Cromwell's undoing.

Anne's divorce settlement included Richmond Palace and Hever Castle -- home of Henry's former in-laws, the Boleyns. Her name and initials can still be seen throughout the house, such as on a fire screen in a sitting room.

Anne was invited to court often and had a close relationship with Henry's daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. In 1553, Anne was present at Mary I's coronation at Westminster. As the new Queen was a strict Catholic, Anne converted her religion for the second time, now becoming a Roman Catholic.

Anne's health began to fail in 1557, so Mary allowed her to live at Chelsea Old Manor, where Henry's widow Catherine Parr, lived after her remarriage. Here, in the middle of July 1557, Anne dictated her last will. In it, she mentions her brother, sister and sister-in-law, as well as the future Queen Elizabeth, the Duchess of Norfolk and the Countess of Arundel. She left money to her servants and asked Mary and Elizabeth to employ them in their households.

Anne died at Chelsea Old Manor on 16 July 1557, a few weeks before her forty-second birthday. The cause of her death was most likely cancer. She is buried in Westminster Abbey, on the opposite side of Edward the Confessor's shrine and slightly above eye level for a person of average height.

She is the only wife of Henry VIII to be buried in the Abbey and also has the distinction of being the last of Henry VIII's wives to die. She outlived Catherine Parr by 9 years.


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On This Date in Tudor History

On July 19, 1553, King Henry VIII's daughter, Mary, was proclaimed Queen of England after Edward VI's chosen successor, Lady Jane Grey, who had claimed the monarchy for nine days, was deposed. After initially being forgiven by Queen Mary I, Lady Jane Grey and her husband were imprisoned and later executed for high treason.


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On this Day in Tudor History:

On February 14, 1556, Despite several recantations produced between the end of January and mid-February, Thomas Cranmer submitted himself to the authority of the king and queen and recognised the pope as head of the church.
On 14 February 1556, he was degraded from holy orders and returned to Bocardo Prison, having been declared a heretic by Rome and tried for treason by Queen Mary I.
On March 21, 1556, Cranmer withdrew his recantations and was burned at the stake where Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were also martyred six months earlier.
Besides being a Protestant and major player in the English split from Rome, Cranmer was made Archbishop of Canterbury by Anne Boleyn and her family and was the one to declare the marriage of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon null and void. So when Mary Tudor came to the throne, Cranmer never stood a chance!

The Tudors' Princess Mary: On the Market!

I'm finally moved into my new townhouse and able to do something other than unpack and call Comcast to fix my persistently non-functioning cable TV. I am just starting to catch up on all the Tudor news and happenings and found a lovely piece on www.Herald.ie on another of my favorite Tudor's actresses: Sarah Bolger.

Although she was linked romantically with the handsome son of the former US ambassador to Ireland, Tom Foley Jr., the 18 year old Bolger says they are actually best friends and that she is still single and available on the romantic market.

Sarah insists that she's too busy concentrating on her career to date. One of the stars of the Oscar-nominated movie In America, she has also been nominated for an IFTA for her role as Princess Mary Tudor, the future Mary I, on The Tudors.

Despite her tender years, she says her parents have no problem with her co-starring in such a saucy series detailing the exploits of her bed-hopping father, King Henry VIII,


"I have to admit, my character is the least sexually active! I had dresses that were buttoned up the whole way to the neck so I was quite modest -- but the Tudors is what it is. It's like the historical soap opera of the TV world -- I loved working on it. They have been like a family to me for the last three years."

The year ahead is also going to be a busy one for Sarah, as she will be making a new movie with Mary Harren, the director of American Psycho.

I STILL want Michael Hirst to do a mini-series on Bloody Mary starring Sarah Bolger for Showtime. (hint hint)

On This Day in Tudor History:

July 12, 1543, Henry VIII married his sixth and final wife: Kateryn Parr at Hampton Court Palace. Kateryn was Henry's queen consort upon his death in January 1547.

As Queen, Kateryn was partially responsible for reconciling Henry with his daughters from his first two marriages, who would later become Queens Regnant, Mary and Elizabeth. She also developed a good relationship with Henry's son Edward, King Edward VI, and Lady Jane Grey, The "Nine Days Queen," lived with Princess Elizabeth and Dowager Queen Kateryn at Chelsea.

Kateryn Parr (the wife who "survived" in the famous mnemonic) only outlived Henry VIII by a year and a half, dying of childbed fever after giving birth to her daughter, Mary, by fourth husband, Thomas Seymour.

(Bloody) Mary

Good Morning! I always did like starting a Saturday morning with a Bloody Mary! (Okay, not the drink this time) I finally finished reading The Children of Henry VIII last night and like most of Alison Weir's books I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book I read just before it, Six WIves by David Starkey, was a bit dry and repetitive in comparison. As much as I love reading about the wives, Starkey's style left me wanting so I turned back to Weir.

I admit, I have little interest in Henry VIII's son by Jane Seymour, Edward VI, but I am still curious about Mary and Lady Jane Grey. Weir's book chronicled Lady Jane's pathetic 9 days as queen but didn't delve very deeply into her abusive family life or her relationship with her husband, Guilford Dudley. Clearly, I must now buy the books on Jane. However, Weir did go into great detail on the reign of Mary I.

Certainly, I will have to read accounts by other historians, but I was left with such a terrible dislike of Mary. Now, I wasn't the most objective reader to begin - being such a fan of Anne Boleyn - but I was open to learning about Mary's good qualities or noble deeds as Queen of England. I was to be disappointed. Perhaps it is not right for me to judge a woman's devotion to her religion especially more than 400 years ago. But as I read about other women of the time who seem to be able to weigh their faith with common sense I can't help but feel that Mary was weak and used her Catholicism not as a comfort, but as a crutch. By the end of her life, she was attending mass nine times a day! How can you get anything else done?

According to Weir, with each tragedy that befell her and her country (phantom pregnancy, famine, etc...) she stepped up the burning of heretics (Protestants). The number of burnings in her short reign in comparison to the rest of the Tudor Dynasty is staggering. But Mary continually felt that G-d was showing his displeasure on her because she was not doing enough to root-out heresy. Even when she was advised to be more merciful by her husband Philip II, Pole and Gardiner she refused to listen. When it came to G-d and Catholicism, she was fanatical.

I must say that I was disappointed that Mary showed little of the strength of her mother or her father. She was descended from two of the bravest lines of princes in the history of the world and she couldn't pluck up the strength to properly reign over England when her husband left the country?!?! I may not be a big fan of hers, but I expected to read about her tenacity, not her pathetic weeping and inability to function without a man who neither loved her nor wanted to even be near her or her country.
Perhaps I seem harsh, but this is a woman who didn't marry until she was nearly 40 years old. More than that, this is a queen! She knew that this was her calling but seemed to shrink from the task.

To be fair, I will read further and perhaps I will find something to like about Mary Tudor.

Thoughts on Hever

I was looking back through my photos of Hever Castle and felt the need to blog about a few things I found there which disappointed me. There is so much rich, colorful history behind this castle that they can be in no shortage of things to exhibit to visitors. Besides Anne and Mary Boleyn having grown up at Hever, there are always Henry VIII's visits, Anne of Cleves, other relics of the 16th century and those of the life of former owner, William Waldorf Astor. Not to mention, Anne was mother to Elizabeth I and there is no lack of items from her reign.

Yet those in charge of running the castle have chosen to exhibit a portrait of Mary I in the Staircase Gallery adjacent to that of Anne's daughter, Elizabeth. Besides the animosity between Anne and Mary during Anne's lifetime, there is also the uneasy history of Mary and Elizabeth. Mary came very close - on more than one occasion - to ordering Elizabeth's execution. I found it completely inappropriate that there be a portrait of her in Anne's home.

Once I got my dander up about this, I felt a bit put-out by the portrait and representations of Jane Seymour there as well. Even Catherine of Aragon's portrait probably does not belong! Upstairs in the Long Gallery, there is a display of six mannequins to portray all six of Henry's wives. This didn't bother me quite as much. It is fine to see history represented and the key figures involved, but not individual portraits hung in remembrance of women who brought the house's inhabitants such pain!

Tell me what you think!
Have you ever been to Hever and if so, did these portraits bother you at all?
Do you think it's good that they include portraits of those who influenced Anne and her family?

Upcoming Tudor Events (in England)

One of my favorite Tudor historians, Alison Weir, is participating in some incredible events this fall and next spring. Kinda wishing I didn't already take my trip to England!

On September 9, 2009:
In order to launch her new book, The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn, Alison will accompany visitors on a tour of The Tower of London, walking the route that Anne strode to the Queen's Apartments. Then she will join author Tracy Borman for a presentation called "The Whore and the Virgin," along with drinks, canapes and a book signing session.
Then the ladies will escort visitors on tours of the Queen's Apartments and the Tower Green where Anne was executed.
Tickets will be available through the Historical Royal Palaces.

And the biggie...

TOUR OF TUDOR ENGLAND

In the Spring of 2010, Alison will be Study Leader on a tour of Tudor England organised by The Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. Details are as follows:

A Tudor Tapestry
11 Days - April 6-16, 2010

Tudor England - the England of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and William Shakespeare -comes alive as best-selling author Alison Weir and other historical experts escort you on a journey into the past. At Windsor Castle and Hampton Court, major exhibitions mark the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession to the throne. At the Tower of London, learn about Arbella Stuart's famous and daring escape and see the spot where Anne Boleyn and other Tudor victims were beheaded. Enjoy special tours of castles steeped in Tudor history, as Hever, Leeds and Sudeley, as well as Eltham Palace and Acton Court. In Portsmouth, home to the Royal Navy, view the remains of Henry VIII’s flagship, The Mary Rose, and visit Winchester, where Mary Tudor married Philip of Spain.

Alison Weir will accompany the tour and her lively narratives will help bring to life the dramatic lives of the Tudors.
Meet historians Sarah Gristwood, Tracy Borman, and Kate Williams, who together with Alison Weir, form The History Girls, who have created events for BBC radio and are currently developing a major television series.
Enjoy connoisseur tours and private openings at historic castles and gardens.
Take private tours of two major exhibitions dedicated to Henry VIII’s Quincentenary.
Itinerary:

April 6: Depart US for London.

April 7: London.
Arrive in London this morning and check into the centrally located Hotel Rubens in St James’s. Gather for a welcome reception and introductory talk on the Tudors by Alison Weir.

April 8: Westminster Abbey/Tower of London.
Take a short walk to Westminster Abbey, which houses the tombs of Henry VII, Elizabeth of York, Anne of Cleves, Edward VI, Mary I, Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots. At the Tower of London , hear about Arbella Stuart’s daring escape from the Tower, and see where Anne Boleyn was beheaded. This evening’s presentation by Alison Weir and Tracy Borman is entitled The Whore and the Virgin: Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I.

April 9: Winchester/Portsmouth.
Journey south to Portsmouth , home to the British Royal Navy, via Winchester . Visit the cathedral where Mary I married Philip of Spain and see Wolvesey Castle where they enjoyed their wedding breakfast. At the Portsmouth Royal Dockyards, visit Henry VIII’s flagship, the Mary Rose and learn about life in the Tudor navy. On the return journey, listen to a talk on The Virgin Queen: Aspects of Elizabeth.

April 10: Leeds Castle/Hever Castle.
Today discover two beautiful castles in the Kent countryside. Leeds Castle was the dower property of medieval queens and was owned by Henry VIII. At Hever Castle , former home of Anne Boleyn, view the many Tudor items on display and wander through the gardens. This evening, Alison Weir will talk about The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

April 11: Eltham Palace.
Time at leisure before traveling to Eltham Palace , where Henry VIII spent much of his childhood. Admire the medieval great hall and archaeological remains in the gardens. Henry VIII: King and Court is the title of Alison’s talk this evening.

April 12: Sudeley Castle/Acton Court.
Journey west to Gloucestershire and see Sudeley Castle , the last home and burial place of Katherine Parr. After lunch in Winchcombe, take a private tour of the well-preserved Acton Court, visited by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Enjoy an elegant dinner at historic Thornbury Castle tonight. Overnight at The Close Hotel, Tetbury.

April 13: Kenilworth/Stratford-upon-Avon.
Elizabeth I visited the Earl of Leicester at Kenilworth Castle in 1575 for nineteen days of pageantry, the magnificent “Princely Pleasures”. Visit the extensive ruins and Leicester 's newly recreated garden. Spend the afternoon at Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon, where you can visit houses associated with him before continuing to Anne Hathaway's Cottage, the home of his wife. Return to The Close Hotel and listen to Sarah Gristwood’s talk on Elizabeth and Leicester.

April 14: Windsor Castle.
Alison Weir will guide you through the special exhibition commemorating Henry VIII's quincentenary. After lunch, take a guided tour of the State Apartments and St George’s Chapel where Henry VIII is buried, then enjoy some free time to explore the castle and town. During this evening's talk, Deadly Rivals: Treason, Intrigue and Threats to the Tudor Throne, five historians will give engaging presentations.

April 15: Hampton Court.
Spend a full day at delightful Hampton Court Palace on the River Thames. Siobhan Clarke is your authentically-costumed Tudor guide, and will lead you on a fascinating tour of the palace. Visit the Henry VIII Heads and Hearts exhibition, see the gardens or get lost in the maze! This evening, enjoy a lively debate, with audience participation, on Dramatising the Tudors. Our guest speakers will discuss the merits – or otherwise – of films and TV series on the Tudor period. A light-hearted Tudor quiz follows a festive farewell dinner.

April 16: Return to the US

Hotels:
The Rubens Hotel is an elegant four-star hotel in the heart of London.

Set in the delightful Cotswolds market town of Tetbury, the boutique Close Hotel was originally built during the reign of Henry VIII. Rooms are individually furnished and comfortable. There is a charming garden restaurant with an original Adam ceiling and views of the walled garden.

Booking:
This tour, inclusive of return air fares, costs from $5,695 per person.

Anyone wishing to book a place must first become a member of The Smithsonian Institute. Anyone can become a member, and it costs from $26. This can be arranged at the time of booking. Cause $5,695 DOESN'T INCLUDE MEMBERSHIP!?!?

The website is www.smithsonianjourneys.org. Tour details will appear there shortly.
The phone number to call (202) 349-0677