On This Day in Tudor History

On September 5, 1548, queen Catherine (Kateryn) Parr died of puerperal fever at the age of 35.

Following the death of King Henry VIII on 28 January 1547, Catherine was given an allowance of ₤7,000 per year, befitting her station. Henry had further ordered, after his death, though a queen dowager, she be given the respect of a Queen of England, as if he was still alive.

Catherine was able to marry her old love, Lord Seymour of Sudeley (Sir Thomas Seymour). As they married within six months of the old king's death, they had to obtain King Edward VI's permission for the match. When their union became public knowledge, it caused a small scandal. Catherine became pregnant by Seymour at age thirty-five. This pregnancy was a surprise as Catherine had not conceived a child during her first three marriages (however, two of her husbands had been much older than she).




Catherine gave birth to her only child — a daughter, Mary Seymour, named after her stepdaughter, Queen Mary I of England — on 30 August 1548, and died only six days later, on 5 September 1548, at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire, from what is thought to be puerperal fever or puerperal sepsis, also called childbed fever. Coincidentally, this was also the illness that killed Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour. It was not uncommon, due to the lack of hygiene around childbirth.

Catherine's widower, Lord Seymour of Sudeley, was beheaded for treason less than a year later, and the infant Mary was taken to live with the Dowager Duchess of Suffolk, a close friend of Catherine. After a year and a half, Mary's property was restored to her by an Act of Parliament, easing the burden of the infant's household on the duchess. The last recorded mention of Mary Seymour is on her second birthday, and although stories circulated that she eventually married and had children, most historians believe she died as a child.


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On This Day in Tudor History:

On February 20, 1547, Prince Edward is crowned King Edward VI of England at the tender age of 9.
Edward was the long awaited son of Henry VIII with his third wife, Jane Seymour. Edward was England's first sovereign to be raised a full Protestant.
Sadly, Edward's reign was marked by economic and social unrest. Of course, Edward only ever ruled through a Regency Council because he never reached maturity.
Edward fell ill in January 1553, and when it was discovered to be terminal, he and his Council attempted to prevent the country being returned to Catholicism by naming his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, as his heir and excluding his half sisters, Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. This would doom Lady Jane to execution by Queen Mary I.

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:

On August 14, 1473, Lady Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury was born - the last legitimate member of the House of Plantagenet.
Lady Salisbury was Godmother and sponsor to King Henry VIII's daughter with Katherine of Aragon, Princess Mary, later Queen Mary I. She was also appointed Mary's Governess until Henry had Mary declared illegitimate and placed in Princess Elizabeth's household.
After Margaret's son, Reginald Cardinal Pole, published a treatise critical of Henry for leaving Katherine and marrying Anne Boleyn, the King systematically dismantled and executed the Poles while Reginald stayed safe over seas.
On My 28th, 1541, Lady Salisbury was executed on the Tower Green.
According to some accounts, Lady Salisbury, who was 67 years old, frail and ill, was dragged to the block, but refused to lay her head on it, having to be forced down. As she struggled, the inexperienced executioner's first blow made a gash in her shoulder rather than her neck. Ten additional blows were required to complete the execution. A less reputable account states that she leapt from the block after the first clumsy blow and ran, pursued by the executioner, being struck eleven times before she died. She was buried at the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula and beatified a martyr by the Catholic Church.

Fixing The Tudors?

About a week ago the Primetime Emmy Nominations were announced in Los Angeles. Now, I don't want to take anything away from the crew of the Showtime series The Tudors, so I will first congratulate them on these noms:

* Outstanding Art Direction For A Single-Camera Series
* Outstanding Casting For A Drama Series
* Outstanding Cinematography For A One Hour Series
* Outstanding Costumes For A Series
* Outstanding Hairstyling For A Single-Camera Series

I have made no secret of the fact that I was not at all satisfied with this past season of the Tudors (Season 3 in America). I am not at ALL surprised to see the lack of acting nods. This was not the finest hour for the show nor for the cast. I still believe many of them capable of delivering great performances, but this season's scripts just didn't deliver the juicy, clever story lines to which we have become accustomed.

To my great surprise, I was recently contacted about these opinions by those looking to make season 4 a greater success. Unfortunately, I cannot go into detail, as I signed a confidentiality agreement. I will say only that clearly, I am NOT alone in noticing the departure this past season and wishing for the Tudors we saw in seasons 1 & 2. (It can never be the same without the brilliant story involving Anne Boleyn and actress Natalie Dormer, but I have no doubt that writer Michael Hirst can recapture the magic!)

In my opinion, focusing too much on the Pilgrimage of Grace and other uprisings is alienating The Tudors' core audience: women. You cannot take a series for which you built a following of mainly women by focusing on a love triangle and shift it entirely to warfare and politics in season 3! It seems quite obvious to me, but we will have to see if Hirst & Co. have learned their lesson for season 4.

** On a side note, although I was - at first - understanding of the decision to not fatten Henry in the series, I have since changed my mind and believe it to be a BIG mistake.