Queens

Catherine of Aragon and Elizabeth I (Guest Post)

Leave a Comment

Guest article by Samantha K Cohen Catherine of Aragon was born on December 16th 1485, the year Henry VII established the Tudor dynasty. Elizabeth I died March 24th 1603, the year James VI of Scotland became James I of England.   As a child of three, Catherine of Aragon, the youngest daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile was betrothed to Henry VII’s heir, three year old Prince Arthur. In 1501, Catherine and Arthur both fifteen, were married. In 1502 [More]

“Divers Children,” The Many Pregnancies of Katharine of Aragon

Leave a Comment

Guest article by Lissa Bryan On June 21, 1529 Katharine of Aragon entered a courtroom at Blackfriars. A hearing had been convened by papal agents to rule on the question of the legitimacy of her marriage to King Henry VIII. Henry claimed he had sinned by marrying his brother’s widow and was enduring the curse in Leviticus 20:21:  And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be [More]

“My Selfe Most Tru” (Guest Post)

Leave a Comment

Guest article by Pamela A. Marks, PhD "My Selfe Most Tru": Subtext and Survival in Two Early Letters of Elizabeth Tudor When examining the reign of Elizabeth I, and in particular her path to the throne, the student of literature and its history finds ample evidence that Elizabeth nearly lost her chance at the monarchy. In fact, she was in danger of losing her life during the reign of her half-sister Mary, the sad queen who has come down to us through the centuries as [More]

The Other Seymours: Dorothy Seymour Smith Leventhorpe

Leave a Comment

Written by Rebecca Larson In my previous post about Sir Henry Seymour, I briefly mentioned another sister called Dorothy. As far as all the living Seymour siblings go it is Henry and Dorothy that we know very little about. When I decided to write an article the lesser known Seymour daughter I hoped that I could come across something that had never been published about her - that I would find some contemporary evidence that would give a glimpse at who she was as a person. [More]

Tudor Rivals: The Scorned Rose and England’s Precious Jewel

1 Comment

Guest article by Anthony Ruggiero  The Tudor Dynasty of England, spanning from the late fifteenth century into the early seventeenth century, was a fascinating drama, filled with intrigue, lust and murder. The dynasty’s monarchs were its main characters whose relationships impacted the country socially, economically and politically. Such relationships included Queen Mary I and King Edward VI. Mary Tudor, the daughter of King Henry VIII and his first wife, ruled over [More]

The Other Lady: Jane Seymour

1 Comment

While this should not be considered an in-depth research of the time period (as that would take the time to write another book), this should be seen as a way to follow Jane Seymour’s rise as the other lady in Henry VIII’s life, just before the execution of Anne Boleyn. In this article I follow the trail of gossip through Imperial ambassador, Eustace Chapuys as well as a letter from Henry to Jane, up to December 1536, when it is suspected that Jane Seymour was [More]

The Mysterious Nan Cobham

2 Comments

The downfall of Anne Boleyn is one of the most talked about pieces of Tudor history. Her execution is the one event that all Tudor lovers are aware familiar with – people are fascinated by her because she was unjustly executed. Most of us can agree that she did not deserve the end she met, but that is not what this article is about. This article touches base on the three women who may have been responsible for the events to take motion, but in particular, we want to look [More]

The Disappearance of Lady Mary Seymour

Leave a Comment

Born At Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire on 30 August 1548, Lady Mary Seymour was the long-awaited child of dowager queen Kateryn Parr, and her fourth husband Sir Thomas, Baron Seymour of Sudeley. The unexpected pregnancy left both parents overjoyed. In a letter from 9 June 1548, Thomas Seymour writes to his wife: I do desyer your hignes to kepe the letell knaue so leanne and gantte with your good dyett and walkynge that he may be so small that he may krepe owt of a [More]

The Unvirgin Queen

25 Comments

Okay, okay, before you start throwing things at your screen hear me out a minute. For centuries, there have been rumors regarding Queen Elizabeth I of England (the Virgin Queen) having illegitimate children. These rumors began as early as 1549, when Elizabeth was just a teenager, during the reign of her brother King Edward VI. The After Effects of Henry VIII's Death At some point after the death of her father, Elizabeth moved in with her step-mother, Kateryn Parr at Chelsea [More]

Coat of Arms, Badge and Signature of the Six Tudor Queens

4 Comments

      Katherine of Aragon         Anne Boleyn           Jane Seymour           Anne of Cleves             Katheryn Howard           Kateryn [More]