Henry VIII

Tudor Royals in Portraiture: 1485-1558

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How we know the Tudor Royals from 1485 - 1558; and who painted them. Guest article by Melanie V. Taylor A recent article in various publications, including The Smithsonian magazine, looked at Franny Moyle's suggestion that Holbein left  clues regarding the identification of one of his sitters of his miniatures being of Henry VIII's fourth wife, Anna, Duchess of Cleves.  It is not the first time this possibility has been discussed.  Heather Darsie describes how Anna [More]

When Anna met Henry: The German Account (Guest Post)

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  By Heather R. Darsie, J. D.  Anna von der Mark's travel to England to meet her new husband took much longer than either side expected. The Hereditary Duchess of Cleves and King Henry VIII of England mutually hoped that she would be in her new country and officially married to Henry by Christmas. The couple were originally to wed in Canterbury Cathedral, but those plans were thwarted by the unrelenting bad weather on the English Channel. 

The Political and Religious Influence of France on Anne Boleyn (Guest Post)

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by Olivia Longueville Anne Boleyn was one of the most controversial and captivating women of the Renaissance. For a time, she wielded a surprising level of influence over the volatile King Henry VIII, and her significance as the mother of one of England’s most important monarchs, Elizabeth I, cannot be denied.  This article explores how Anne’s education and experiences in the court of France during her formative years both enabled her to ascend to the heights of [More]

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

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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 childless.