On the 24th March of 1603, Queen Elizabeth I, the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, died at Richmond Palace. She ruled England for almost 45 years. Often called the Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the second queen regnant in England, one of England’s...
An AU scenario: Spanish invasion in England
One of my readers asked me the question what would have happened if Holy Roman Emperor Charles V had invaded England and had dethroned King Henry VIII. First of all, I want to say that it is highly unlikely that the emperor would have decided to invade England. The Imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys, who was...
Anne Boleyn: an official debut – the Château Vert pageant
On the 4th of March 1522, the English court enjoyed a masked ball and pageant in honour of the Imperial ambassadors. This event is traditionally considered the day of Anne Boleyn’s official debut at the court. Anne had grown up in the Low Countries and France for many years before she...
Did Mary Queen of Scots have her “last laugh” despite being executed by Elizabeth I?
One of my readers asked me a question what I think about Mary Queen of Scots "getting the last laugh” over Queen Elizabeth I because Mary's son James became the king, even though Elizabeth ordered Mary’s death. Therefore, I feel obliged to write this post, as I absolutely disagree with this...
King François I’s worst defeat: the Battle of Pavia and captivity
Today is another anniversary of the Battle of Pavia. It was fought on the morning of the 24th of February 1525 near the Imperial-controlled city of Pavia in Lombardy, Italy. The French kingdom of King François I of France was unfortunately vanquished by the Habsburg empire of Emperor Charles V,...
Death of Catherine of Aragon’s first son
On the 22nd of February, 1511, Prince Henry, the Duke of Cornwall, suddenly died only after only 52 days of life. He was born on the 1st of January 1511 at Richmond Palace, eighteen months after his parents’ wedding and their joint coronation. Little Henry was the first son and first...
Mary Queen of Scots: “a perpetual incumbrance” for Elizabeth I of England
I received several questions about Mary Stuart’s relationship with Elizabeth Tudor, and this article is aiming to respond to each of them and cover the hot topic of why Mary wasn’t Elizabeth’s heir. Elizabeth I’s strained relationship dominated English and Scottish politics for many years, and one might easily question...
Birth of Princess Mary Tudor, the future Queen Mary I of England
Princess Mary Tudor, the only surviving daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, was born in the early hours of 18th February 1516, at Greenwich Palace. Mary was Catherine’s fifth pregnancy, after four previous unsuccessful pregnancies which had resulted in the birth of a stillborn daughter and three short-lived or...
Mary, Queen of Scots: “In my end is my beginning”
On the 8th of February 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots, the only surviving legitimate child of King James V of Scotland and his second wife Marie de Guise (a French-born noblewoman from the powerful House of Guise), was executed after 19 years of her imprisonment in England. Mary was beheaded...
The mystery of the poem “O Death, Rock Me Asleep”
Like many historians, researches, readers of historical fiction, and Anne Boleyn fans, I like thinking that Anne wrote the poem/song “O Death, Rock Me Asleep” on the eve of her execution on the 19th of May 1536. It is a great and beautiful poem that conveys a tremendous wealth of “dark” emotions – agonizing torment, mental...
The tragic end of some Januaries for Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon
In various years of the 16th century, the end of January was quite a tragic time for Henry VIII’s two wives – Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon. It was a time of unhappiness, distress, loss, and tragedy for both Catherine and Anne. The end of January 1535 was the official...
Anne Boleyn’s marriage to Henry VIII: what is the true date?
In many biographies and historical books, we find that Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn on 25th January, 1533, after long years of fierce struggle against Catherine of Aragon, the pope, England, and the whole world. Anne’s romance with Henry truly became an outrageous scandal throughout Christendom! The traditional version of events...
The relationship of Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard
Henry VIII didn’t like Anne of Cleves from the very beginning, and an annulment of their marriage was inevitable; it was just a matter of time. At first, Anne was shocked by the news which the king’s delegation brought to her visiting her at Richmond Palace, where she had gone...
Elizabeth I’s coronation
On 15th January, 1559, Elizabeth I, the second queen regent in England and Henry VIII’s daughter by Anne Boleyn, was crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey. She inherited the throne from her elder sister, Queen Mary I, who died on 17th November 1558. In those times, it was very...
Olivia Longueville’s interview with Claire Ridgway, the Anne Boleyn Files
Yesterday, I stopped by the Anne Boleyn files on the last day of my book tour for my alternative history novel Between Two Kings. Thank you very much for staying with me throughout the last few days! It was published on the Anne Boleyn Files (the link is here). Interview with...