elizabeth i

Revision of Last Will and Testament: Henry VIII

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After the death of an English monarch in the 14th and 15th centuries there was general chaos surrounding the throne. Different factions believed their person should indeed be King of England. This was really highlighted after Richard II handed over his crown to his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, aka Henry IV. The Wars of the Roses then helped to decimate the remaining pool of contestants to only a few. An act of succession was always an important to a ruling monarch and Henry [More]

Lettice Knollys: Cousin vs Queen (Part 4 – The Conclusion)

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Guest article by Karlie aka History Gal Robert Devereux, the 2nd Earl of Essex, was known throughout the court for his military prowess, good looks and charisma. These qualities made him popular with the Queen and with the English people. The titles and adulation that was heaped on Essex undoubtedly inflated the young Earl’s massive ego and made him hungry for more power and glory. More than anything else, Essex wanted to be the head of a great and victoriou [More]

Symbolism in Elizabeth’s Portraits

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Symbolism in Elizabeth's portraits has been there all along, but some of us have chosen not to see it until now. It wasn't until I recently watched a documentary that talked about the symbolism in Elizabeth's "Rainbow" portrait that I started looking for them. In this article I will cover three portraits with obvious symbols. If you happen to find more portraits with symbols please feel free to share with me! Elizabeth "Rainbow" Portrait Elizabeth had lots of [More]

Keeping Up Appearances: Tudor Style

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Guest article written by Wendy J. Dunn There is one thing I rediscover over and over in my research of the Tudors: "The past is another country; they do things differently there"(Hartley 1997, p.5). Yes - the people of the past lived very differently to us. As a writer, I am fascinated by these differences and use them to enrich my storytelling. I am particularly fascinated by the daily life of my Tudor people. This involves an adventure of research. Learning about Tudor [More]

Queens: The Three Elizabeths

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From 1461 to 1603 there were three Elizabeths with the title of Queen - granted two were Queen consorts and one was Queen regnant, but regardless, for the sake of this post they were all queens. Queen Elizabeth Woodville (c. 1437 - 1492) - the consort of King Edward IV Queen Elizabeth of York (1466 - 1503) - the consort of King Henry VII Queen Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603) - Queen regnant of England The first Elizabeth, Elizabeth Woodville, was a commone [More]

Dishing with the Tudors: My Adventures in Renaissance Comedy

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Guest Article by: JoAnn Spears Dishing with the Tudors:  My adventures in Renaissance comedy I am one of those people who ‘reads out’ a subject or author of interest. That took some doing with Jean Plaidy’s canon of eighty-odd historical fiction novels.  Having started in on the task at the age of twelve, with The Captive Queen of Scots, I was actually able to exhaust all that Plaidy had to offer before I was out of my twenties.   My favorite sub [More]

Lettice Knollys: Cousin vs. Queen (Part 1)

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Guest article by: Karlie aka History Gal It was in the early hours of the morning on September 21st 1578, when a woman of 34 years and a man of 46 years were joined together in holy matrimony. The setting of the ceremony was idyllic: at a country manor called Wanstead Hall, in Essex. The bride was dressed simply and looked demure in a ‘loose [fitting] gown’. The chaplain, a learned and pious man named Humphrey Tyndall, was there to officiate the nuptials. To witne [More]

Why Queen Elizabeth Never Married

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We know Queen Elizabeth I never married, but do we truly understand why? Imagine being the daughter of a king who couldn't settle on a wife, and then going from Princess to Lady overnight. Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn only had a couple of  years with her young  daughter.  Elizabeth most likely had no memory of her mother because of her untimely end. Anne Boleyn was vilified as a witch -- she supposedly seduced Henry VIII into doing things that he norma [More]

Portraits of a Queen: Elizabeth Tudor

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  Elizabeth Tudor, Queen Elizabeth I of England is by far one of the most recognizable monarchs in history. From birth she was the apple of her father's eye and expected to be the sister of Henry's longed for male heir with Anne Boleyn. Unfortunately, two and a half years after her birth, her mother was executed and her father re-married declaring her a bastard. “The birth of Elizabeth on 7 September 1533 was a bitter disappointment to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn [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]