On the 16th of July 1486, Andrea del Sarto was born in Florence. Sarto’s family name was likely to be Lanfranchi, and his father seems to have been a tailor. Little is known about his childhood perhaps because they were quite uneventful. With two short exceptions, he lived in Florence....
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...
What of King Edward VI had not died so young?
On the 6th of July 1553, King Edward VI died at Greenwich Palace. The only surviving son of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour, he breathed his last at the age of fifteen, dying from consumption. John Foxe’s account of his death states that Edward’s last words were:...
Struggle for power: Hugh Capet and Lothair of France
Today, on the 3rd of July 987, Hugh Capet was crowned King of France. He was the eldest son of Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks. When his father died in 956, teenaged Hugh inherited his estates, becoming a vassal to the Carolingian king Lothair III (sometimes called Lothair...
In honor of Geneviève Bujold on her birthday
Yesterday was Geneviève Bujold’s birthday. This Canadian actress, who was born the 1st of July, 1942, is best known for her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in film 'Anne of the Thousand Days', for which she received a Golden Globe for Best Actress. Geneviève Bujold as Anne Boleyn in the 1969...