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Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex – Tudor Rebel (Guest Post)

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Guest post by Tony Riches Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, is one of the most intriguing men of the Elizabethan period. Tall and handsome, he soon becomes a ‘favourite’ at court, so close to the queen many wonder if they are lovers. The truth is, of course, far more complex, as each has what the other yearns for. Robert Devereux longs for recognition, wealth and influence. His flamboyant naïveté amuses the ageing Queen Elizabeth, like the son she never had, and his [More]

Elizabeth’s Master of the Horse (Guest Post)

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Guest article by Samantha K. Cohen On Monday, November 28, 1558, Queen Elizabeth rode in procession to the Tower, her Master of the Horse riding close behind her. He was athletic, accomplished, brilliant, witty, extremely handsome, and Elizabeth was in love with him. He was Robert Dudley, the future Earl of Leicester. Robert Dudley’s appointment as Master of the Horse raised eyebrows and roused jealousy, but no one who knew him could doubt he was in every [More]

Book Review: Mary Queen of Scots’ Secretary by Robert Stedall

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Book Review by Sarah J. Hodder, This book centres around William Maitland, secretary to Mary Queen of Scots and one of the men around her who both supported her and, it seems, played a large part in engineering her downfall. I have long had an interest in Mary as a character, who seems to have been an incredibly strong woman who made some incredibly bad decisions. But I knew nothing about Maitland, other than perhaps his name, so was keen to find out how more about him and [More]

The York Princesses – What Could Have Been

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Guest post by Sarah J. Hodder Many of us are familiar with the concept of ‘sliding doors’, the notion that during our lifetime small moments occur which change the course of our lives in sometimes dramatic ways. These sliding door moments can sometimes be the result of a decision made, but more often than not are a fleeting event that may be so small that it is not even noteworthy. But the consequences can be huge. You just happened to miss the train that you take every [More]

Book Review: Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders by Nathen Amin

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Guest Review by Heidi Malagisi of Adventures of a Tudor Nerd August 22, 1485, marked the end of the Plantagenet Dynasty with the death of King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. The man who succeeded him as King of England after his death was young Henry Tudor, whose dynasty would live in infamy in English history, thought that he was done fighting on the battlefield for his right to rule. This was only the beginning of a decades-long war against those who [More]

Farewell the Flanders Mare (Guest Post)

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Guest post by Rebecca Lyon Deep dish pizza, the Higgs bosun and swimming pool floaties all make an appearance in my new play for kids to perform, Anne of Cleves, Super Queen! Aspects of the play are very fictional and very silly. Although I would not have been able to write it without the meticulous scholarship of historians, it is interesting to consider how our responsibilities – those of historians and those of writers of historical fiction – are [More]