William Cecil

NEW SEASON: Tracy Borman, Jane Boleyn and Lady Anne Clifford

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It's been awhile since I've shared my podcast with all of you - in case you didn't know, I supplemented my website with a podcast in February 2017. I told a lot of stories about people and events in Tudor England, and then I moved to interviewing authors and historians. THIS season, I step it up with a 3-segment show! Please take a listen to my most recent episode featuring Tracy Borman. Adrienne Dillard answers listener questions about Jane Boelyn, Lady Rochford during 'Ask [More]

Elizabeth, Queen of England (Part Six) – Two Queens, One Island

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They were both female, both royal by birth and both queens in their own right, but being cousins is what caused the most havoc in the lives of these two women. I am of course speaking of Elizabeth Tudor and Mary Stuart. It wasn't only the fact that the cousins practiced different religions but that one was declared illegitimate in 1536 after the execution of her mother, Anne Boleyn. Had Henry VIII legitimized both Mary and Elizabeth Tudor when he added them to the line of [More]

Elizabeth, Queen of England (Part Two)

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In the last article of this series we ended with the death of Thomas Seymour in 1549, but before we move forward I'd like to step back a bit to get a bigger picture of what was to come in Elizabeth's future.  Listen to Part One Here: Read Part One Here: Elizabeth Tudor, Queen of England – Part One When King Henry VIII died on the 28th of January 1547, Elizabeth and her brother Edward were both at Ashridge when they received the news. The children clung to one [More]

The Scandalous Life of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford

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Raised in the home of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Edward de Vere became a ward of Queen Elizabeth I. Edward was born 12 April 1550, at Hedingham Castle, England to John de Vere, 16th earl of Oxford, and Margery Golding. At the age of twelve, Edward's father died and he inherited the titles of Lord Great Chamberlain and 17th Earl of Oxford. Having grown up in the household of Lord Burghley, Edward de Vere eventually married his daughter Anne Cecil in 1571. Ann [More]

Walsingham: Elizabethan Spymaster

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Guest article written by: Alan Freer  Throughout Elizabeth I’s reign England was in constant danger both from external and internal threats. Spain and France looked north and regarded the country as heretic and a potential enemy to their expanding empires. At home, the supporters of Mary Tudor, the late Queen, looked to another Mary, Mary, Queen of Scots, as a Catholic heir to replace the Protestant Elizabeth. In times of crisis a government needs good, accurate a [More]

Great Houses – The Age of Gloriana

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The reign of Elizabeth I (the last Tudor monarch) is often associated with a golden age in English history - The age of Gloriana. Burghley House "Sir William Cecil built his extravagant 'prodigy house' on the Burghley estate, which his father, Richard Cecil, had purchased after it had been seized from Peterborough Abbey on the Dissolution of Monasteries under Henry Vlll. Construction too 32 years, from 1555 to 1587. During this period, Cecil proved an [More]