Advertisement Showing Queen Mary I as a Zombie Banned in England

A poster advertising a show at the London Dungeon has been banned after terrifying children by showing Queen Mary I of England turning into a flesh-eating zombie.

The digital poster, which was placed on escalators on the London Underground, showed the infamous Queen sitting passively on a chair before suddenly turning into a member of the undead and turning to face towards tube passengers.
Four people complained that the zombie - complete with bloody gashes on her face, rotting teeth and red eyes - had terrified their children.



One man said his eight-year-old child was left terrified by the moving digital poster and another complainant said he had watched scores of kids reel in horror when they saw the poster.

The London Dungeon in south London was promoting a new show called 'Bloody Mary' - the daughter of Henry VIII who reigned between 1553 until 1558.
During that time she had 300 religious dissenters burned at the stake, earning her the title 'Bloody Mary', and dungeon bosses said the object of the ad was to 'show the dark side of her personality and portray her as a villain'.

But the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the poster ad should not be used again as it had 'terrified' children and breached fear and distress guidelines.

It said: "We considered that the morphing image, and the juxtaposition of a calm face with a very scary one, were likely to startle and frighten young children."
"We noted the switch between the passive and frightening face occurred suddenly and unexpectedly, which could increase the shock value.

"We also considered that when the face morphed into the scary character, the bloody gashes, white flesh, rotting teeth, red eyes and the threatening expression meant it was not suitable for young children to see.

"We were of the view that the ad seemed to be setting out to scare and had overstepped the limit of acceptability in doing so because, although not frightening for adults, the image was likely to be shocking to young children and to cause them fear or distress without good reason.

"We concluded that the ad was inappropriate for display in an untargeted medium."
Richard Sampson, 43, a father-of-two from Islington, north London, said: "These posters are totally unsuitable for children to see.

"They are effectively mini-horror movies showing a perfectly normal looking woman suddenly turn into a zombie."

A spokesman for the London Dungeon said that it had planned to use the digital poster during the rest of summer and Halloween, adding: "Bloody Mary killed over 300 heretics during her reign but was one of Britain's lesser known villainous figures, overshadowed by her notorious father Henry VIII.

"The object of the advertising was to show the dark side of her personality and portray her as a villain."


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A Tudor-era Business Closes After Almost 500 Years

A 480-year-old British shop announced last week it will close it's doors forever. This shop has survived two depressions, two world wars as well as three
recessions. On Friday, the Daily Mail reported that King Henry VIII was the
reigning monarch when the Gill & Company established its foundations as the
first ironmongers of the country in the year 1530. The shop had its base in
Oxford. Since then it has made a mark and retained the same in terms of one of
the oldest hardware stores of the country. A victim of worldwide recession, it
will be closing down next month month.

Being a native citizen of such an immature country, it is still difficult for me to wrap my brain around modern day people and institutions existing in ancient countries. Likewise, growing up and watching businesses be established, sell
their wares, and shutter their doors--sometimes within a year--makes the mere existence of a Gill & Co. a miracle to me. It sparks my imagination and entertains my brain.

Being human, we can never hope to meet historical figures from 1530, unless there is one hell of a fulfilling afterlife, complete with all our hypothetical dinner party guests. That's why visiting places and touching things that Henry
VIII and Anne Boleyn *may* have touched gives me such a thrill. It's the closest I can get to knowing them.

Gill & Co. began iron mongering in 1530. Let me give you a little perspective in terms of Tudor history, besides just "Henry VIII was the reigning monarch".

In 1530, Henry VIII was wildly in love with Anne Boleyn, lady-in-waiting to his wife, Queen Katherine of Aragon. He had petitioned Pope Clement VII for an annulment and was denied. It was at this time Henry began to consider breaking from Rome and would subsequently name himself head of the Church of England, initiating The Protestant Reformation.

Katherine of Aragon's nephew, Charles V, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1530, further threatening Henry's dream of repudiating his wife and having a legitimate son and heir with Anne. Katherine would live only one more year in the palaces of England.

For her part, Anne had been allowing the king to court her--never giving in to his advances--for the past five years. She survived a bout of the deadly sweating sickness and was now accompanying Henry on progress and hunting. Her greatest political
accomplishment had already taken place in the form of supplanting Cardinal Thomas Wolsey as Henry's closest confidant. Had Wolsey not died of illness in 1530, he likely would have been executed for treason.

It fascinates me that people who lived and reigned in 1530 could have known of Gill & Co. They could not, of course, imagine that almost 500 years later we, too,would know of Gill & Co. and the impending end of their historical business.

New Royal Role for Anne Boleyn

HollywoodNews.com: Madonna has cast Natalie Dormer as Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, in a new film on the 1936 Edward VIII abdication crisis, said to be critical of the Queen and sympathetic toward Wallis Simpson, the American woman Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry, the Telegraph reports.

Dormer, known for her portrayal of Henry VIII’s second and arguably most infamous wife, Anne Boleyn, on Showtime’s “The Tudors”, says of her real-life character, “This country tends to remember the Queen Mother as a rather wrinkly 97 year-old, but I am playing her when she was quite an enchanting, engaging twenty and thirty-something. She was quite a savage and savvy game player.” Quite like Anne Boleyn, then–clearly this is a role that Dormer will be right at home in playing.

The Trials of Anne & George Boleyn

Within hours of each other, siblings Anne and George Boleyn would stand trial on charges of treason in King's Hall at the Tower of London. Both would be declared guilty and condemned to death.

One year ago this week, I made my first journey to England and changed my life. The trip would forever alter my outlook, mood and attitude for the better. Upon my return, I found myself refreshed, renewed and ready to face all new challenges.

In some strange way, it was the unimagined strength of Queen Anne Boleyn to face her doom with poise and dignity that enabled me to come back to the U.S. and carry on despite my grave fear of the unknown future that lay ahead. I have always felt this kinship with Anne and I am proud to say I used it to my advantage over this past year. (Something I believe Anne, herself, would find a way to do as well!)

The way Anne behaved and lived her life -- always true to herself -- has so often been used as an explanation of her downfall and the reason so many people disliked her. I use it as a model for the way I intend to continue to behave and live my own life -- come what may. In this way, Anne's spirit will live on, through me.

On This Day in Tudor History:

On April 21, 1509, King Henry VII died of tuberculosis leaving his second son to become King Henry VIII. Thus begins the reign of one of the world's most famous monarchs.

Anne Boleyn as Cover Art

Courtney Love's band Hole is coming out with a new album which features two tragic queens on the cover. Although the front cover of Hole, "Nobody's Daughter" shows a painting of a woman only from the neck down, it is obviously French Queen, Marie Antoinette. Likewise, the back cover is the bodice portion of the most famous portrait of Anne Boleyn.
Impossible to miss the obvious headless references.

I forgive you for season 3, Michael Hirst...