Charles Brandon

Katherine – Tudor Duchess (Guest Post)

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Attractive, wealthy and influential, Katherine Willoughby is one of the most unusual ladies of the Tudor court. A favourite of King Henry VIII, Katherine knows all his six wives, his daughters Mary and Elizabeth, and his son Edward, as well as being related by marriage to Lady Jane Grey. She marries Tudor knight, Sir Charles Brandon, and becomes Duchess of Suffolk at the age of fourteen. Her Spanish mother, Maria de Salinas, is Queen Catherine of Aragon's lady in waiting, [More]

Excerpt from his new book, Brandon – Tudor Knight (Guest Post by Tony Riches)

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  New on Amazon UK and Amazon US From the author of the international bestselling Tudor Trilogy comes a true story of adventure, courtly love and chivalric loyalty.  Handsome, charismatic and a champion jouster, Sir Charles Brandon is the epitome of a Tudor Knight. A favourite of King Henry VIII, Brandon has a secret. He has fallen in love with Henry's sister, Mary Tudor, the beautiful widowed Queen of France, and risks everything to marry her without the [More]

Book Review: “La Reine Blanche” by Sarah Bryson

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Of the two surviving sisters of Henry VIII, his younger sister Mary was by far his favorite. Nothing shows that more than when he forgave her for secretly marrying Charles Brandon before returning from France after the death of her first husband, King Louis XII of France. When I heard that author Sarah Bryson was releasing a book about Mary Tudor I was excited to learn more about the Tudor princess and French queen. She has fascinated me since her amalgamation in [More]

The Princess and the Knight (Guest Post)

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  The Princess and the Knight Guest post by Sarah Bryson The story of Charles Brandon and Mary Tudor reads like a fairy tale. Born in 1496 she was the youngest surviving child of King Henry VII and his beautiful wife Queen Elizabeth. Mary was raised to be the perfect image of a princess. Mary was educated in all the necessities for royal women of the time including singing, dancing, embroidery, and playing a musical instrument. In fact Mary was an excellent [More]

Book Review: “Mary Tudor” by Tony Riches

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Last year I read all three books in the trilogy by author Tony Riches about the Tudor dynasty. Book One was about a Owen Tudor, second husband of Catherine of Valois and stepfather to King Henry VI. Book Two was about Jasper Tudor, half-brother of King Henry VI and uncle of the future Henry VII. The final book, Book Three was about Henry Tudor and his struggle to become King of England. After finishing the trilogy on the Tudor dynasty Riches decided to try his hand at Mary [More]

Evidence Against the Marriage of Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves

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Here we look at all the King's men and their given depositions regarding the validity of the marriage between Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves. It gives us an interesting insight into each of their statements. We recently looked at Thomas Cromwell: Downfall and Execution and the events of his decline - now we look at what happened after his execution. How Henry VIII wished to rid himself of his fourth wife with the help of his closest courtiers: Suffolk, Wriothesley, Audle [More]

Secret Marriage: Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon

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  When Mary Tudor arrived in France she experience a French court that was reasonably well ordered and steadily developing as the trend-setter in French material culture. Louis most definitely spoiled his new, young bride and Mary appears to have done her duty as an English Princess and made the King of France, her husband, very happy. As he said himself, "I can sufficiently praise and express my delight in her." Nearly three months into their marriage, o [More]

Mary Tudor: English Princess, French Queen

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Mary's Motto: “La volenté De Dieu me suffit”  - The will of God is sufficient for me. Princess Mary Tudor was born on 18 March 1496 as the fifth of seven children to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Mary became a beautiful young lady and was considered to be one of the most attractive women in Europe, at the time. This is no surprise as the same was said about her mother, Elizabeth of York. Mary was only seven years old when her mother passed away. As with her si [More]

The Tudor Dynasty

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The Tudor Dynasty began when Henry VII took the throne of England, married Elizabeth of York and had children. You could argue that the Tudor dynasty began with Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor or maybe even Catherine of Valois and Owen Tudor. For now, let's assume it began with Henry and Elizabeth. To make things a little easier to understand I tried to color code: Green: Children of Henry VII & Elizabeth of York (E.o.Y) Purple: Descendants of Margaret Tudor Blue: [More]

Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk (Guest article)

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Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Duchess of Suffolk by Susan Abernethy Website: The Freelance History Writer We would like to continue our series on Tudor queens by examining the life of Mary Tudor, the younger sister of King Henry VIII. She began as a victim of circumstances but ended up marrying the love of her life. Mary was the fifth child of Henry VII, King of England and his wife Elizabeth of York. She was born on March 18, 1496 at Richmond Palace and wa [More]