Eustace Chapuys

The Other Lady: Jane Seymour

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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]

Notes on Anne Boleyn’s Trial (Guest Post)

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Part Three: Notes on Anne Boleyn’s Trial            Guest post by Pat Deegan Part Two - Anne Boleyn: Triumph to Failure Part One - Anne Boleyn: The Rise Due to personal circumstances, I never did get around to completing a comprehensive examination of Anne’s fall from grace – from being the Queen of England, and mother of the heiress to the throne of England and Wales, to a treasonous and adulterous concubine facing death. Her fall is kind of difficult [More]

Anne Boleyn’s Last Pregnancy: The Beginning of the End?

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When Anne Boleyn miscarried what her midwife called a boy it was also reported by the midwife that the child was malformed*. In Tudor England, at the time, a malformed baby meant that the mother had gravely sinned, whether it be witchcraft, adultery or incest. Are these the events that began the downfall of Anne Boleyn? Henry was an extremely religious man and this miscarriage caused him to question everything. What had he done wrong to not be given a healthy, legitimate [More]

The Last Days of Katherine of Aragon (Guest Post)

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Guest Post by Sarah Clement In 1531 Henry VIII formally separated from his wife of over twenty years, Katherine of Aragon. For some time, he had been bringing pressure upon her to accept a divorce or take holy orders so that he may marry someone else. In this case, Anne Boleyn. Katherine's refusal to do so and her insistence that they were man and wife even after their marriage had been annulled and Henry had married Anne Boleyn would cause her no end of problems. The [More]

The Life of Jane Seymour – Third Wife of Henry VIII

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Described by Polydore Vergil as “A woman of the utmost charm both in appearance and character” and Sir John Russell as, “the fairest of all his wives”. Eustace Chapuys described Jane as “of middle stature and no great beauty”. Jane was of a natural sweet-nature, unlike her predecessor Anne Boleyn and had also been considered virtuous. Before you continue reading, if you'd prefer, you can listen to the podcast of this article instead - just click the [More]

Who was responsible for the downfall of Anne Boleyn? (Guest Post)

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Today we take a look at one fan of the Tudor dynasty's take on the downfall of Anne Boleyn. The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the owner of this site. There were no sources included. We post these articles to draw discussion on topics such as the downfall of Anne Boleyn. -- Some believe that Henry VIII was solely responsible for the death of his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Was he really, and did he really want her dead? Long before [More]

For They Deserve Death: Katherine and Mary

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In 1535, the King of England was married to Anne Boleyn and they had a daughter, Princess Elizabeth who was now heir to her father's throne. Elizabeth's half-sister, Mary was now considered illegitimate and was to be referred to as "Lady" Mary. As you'll notice from these letters written by Eustace Chapuys he still referred to her as "Princess" since he was their Spanish ally and believed she was the rightful princess and Katherine the rightful queen. In the first letter [More]

Katherine of Aragon: Near the End

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  The Imperial Ambassador, Eustace Chapuys was a staple at court during the reign of Henry VIII. Chapuys had a close relationship with both Katherine of Aragon and her daughter Mary, because of Katherine's roots in Spain. While researching Eustace Chapuys I came across a story written by a Spanish chronicler that I had to share my take with you. It will give you a little insight into the relationship between Katherine, the Imperial Ambassador and Spain. This story [More]

Anne Boleyn: The Beginning of the End

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Anne Boleyn: The Beginning of the End Guest Article written by: Samia Chebbah The Trial On May 15th, 1536,  because Anne Boleyn was supported in that trial, the only thing she could do, was to keep a low profile. She had to face the twenty-six peers who were there on that day to judge her. Among them, her own uncle Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk and Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland to whom Anne Boleyn had supposedly been betrothed.[1] On May 16th, 1536, Sir Willia [More]