Who was Catherine Howard, King Henry VIII’s fifth wife?

The 13th of February 1541 was another anniversary of the execution of Catherine Howard, the 5th wife of King Henry VIII of England. Catherine had been stripped of her title as queen in November 1541 and confined to the Syon Abbey in Middlesex. She remained there throughout the winter of...

Anne Boleyn’s Education and Life at the French Court

In 1522, a young, sophisticated woman arrived at the English court after spending most of her life in two continental courts. Intelligent, educated, and stylish beyond the typical English lady, Anne Boleyn dazzled the court and set herself on a path that would lead to the heights of power before...

The novel ‘Between Two Kings’ is out! Anne Boleyn lives!

Dear friends and subscribers! The novel ‘Between Two Kings’ is out! Anne Boleyn lives in my new Historical Fiction Alternate Aeries about Anne Boleyn! My novel ‘Between Two Kings’ is finally out! It was rewritten in my new style, and new plotlines were added. I hope you will enjoy this...

Thomas Wyatt: an admirer of Anne Boleyn, an English literature genius

To my great grief, Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder passed away on the 11th of October 1542 at Clifton Maybank House, Dorset, England.  He breathed his last at the age of 38-39 – still young, capable of writing more beautiful sonnets which he introduced to the English literature.  He is...

Anne von Cleves: a victim of Henry VIII’s health issues on the wedding night

Anne von Cleves (Anna von Kleve) was born in Schloss Burg, near Düsseldorf, on the 22nd of September 1515.  Her parents were John III, Duke of Cleves and Count of Mark, known as the Peaceful (der Friedfertige), and his wife, Maria of Jülich-Berg.  Anne had 3 siblings: Sibylle, William, and...

The visit of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to England in 1522

On the 26th of May 1522, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V arrived at the English city-port of Dover.  Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York, as well as his entourage of approximately 300 Englishmen, specially selected for this occasion in advance, greeted the Habsburg emperor.  At the time of the emperor’s...

“The Field of the Cloth of Gold”

On the 7th of June 1520, the sensational meeting of Kings of England and France occurred near Calais that was to become known to history as “The Field of the Cloth of Gold”. This luxurious meeting became the standards to which international peace treaties were measured in many years to...