In defense of Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wilshire, and Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk

Fiction and popular culture try to make us believe that two iron-hearted villains – their relatives –used Mary and Anne Boleyn to elevate themselves at the court of King Henry VIII. Nonetheless, it is a product of fiction without credible historical evidence. First of all, there is no proof that...

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...

Death of Queen Mary I of England

On 17th of November 1558, Queen Mary I of England, the only surviving daughter of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, breathed her last at St James’s Palace, London.   Mary passed away childless at the age of 42, without her husband, Philip of Spain, by her...

Birth of the English Gloriana and Her Mother’s Miscarriages

On the 7th of September 1533, Anne Boleyn birthed a daughter – the future Queen Elizabeth I of England.  It happened at Greenwich Palace, where Queen Elizabeth of York had given birth to King Henry VIII.  At first, Anne’s pregnancy had been without any complications, and the proud mother coped...

Marriage of Mary I of England and Philip II of Spain

On the 25th of July 1554, Queen Mary I of England married Philip II of Spain at Winchester Cathedral.  Catherine of Aragon’s dream came true: at the age of 37, Mary Tudor became the first queen regnant in England and turned her attention to finding a husband.  The match was...

A goddess to fill the royal nursery with Tudor sons

King Henry VIII met Anne von Cleves privately on New Year’s Day 1540 at Rochester Abbey on her journey from Dover.  The king, accompanied by his few courtiers, arrived at the abbey with the intention to woo his bride with courtly love.  He went to Anne’s rooms disguised, so Anne,...

A New Tudor Royal Wedding less than two weeks after Anne Boleyn’s execution

On the 30th of May 1536, King Henry VIII of England and Lady Jane Seymour were married at Whitehall palace at the Queen’s Closet.  Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, who had married Jane’s predecessor, now dead Anne Boleyn, and the Tudor monarch in the winter of 1533, conducted the quiet...

Day of mourning: executions of George Boleyn and the other men unjustly condemned

Today is a day of mourning for historians and Tudor enthusiasts.  On the early morning of the 17th of May 1536, several men, among them the queen’s own brother, were escorted out of the western entrance of the Tower under heavy guard.  They were George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, as well...

The 2nd of May 1536: Anne Boleyn is apprehended

The second of May in the year 1536 began for Queen Anne Boleyn as any routine day.  Accompanied by her inner circle, Anne watched a game of tennis at Greenwich Palace.  Then the king’s messenger approached and apprised her of her husband’s order to present herself before the Privy Council....

Young Henry FitzRoy’s death: tinged in selfish and painful hues for King Henry VIII

On the 22nd or 23rd of July 1536, Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, died at St James’s Palace in London.  Although Henry VIII took enough mistresses in his date, he had only one acknowledged illegitimate son – Henry FitzRoy, whose mother was his mistress, Lady Elizabeth Blount.   As...

A royal speech pulling at your heartstrings

On the 21st of June 1529, Catherine of Aragon spoke her famous speech at the Legatine Court at Blackfriars.  After years of Henry VIII’s unsuccessful attempts to annul his union with Catherine, Cardinal Wolsey convened an ecclesiastical court in England with a representative of the Pope presiding – Cardinal Campeggio. ...

Henry FitzRoy: a product of Henry VIII’s lust for Bessie Blount

Henry FitzRoy, the only acknowledged illegitimate son of Henry VIII, was born on the 15th of June 1519.  As Cardinal Wolsey sent the boy’s mother, Lady Elizabeth Blount, to live in the prior’s house of the Priory of St Lawrence in Blackmore, Essex, before her pregnancy became visible to court,...