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...
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...
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 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...
Why are the Tudors so captivating?
My dear friends and readers! I'm pleased to inform you that I’m currently having a book tour, in which I’m visiting various blogs and discussing Anne Boleyn for my new book "Between Two Kings". Today, my new article was published in Sarah Bryson’s research blog (you can find it here)....
The Doomed Romance of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII
My dear friends and readers! I am delighted to inform you that I’m currently having a book tour, in which I’m visiting various blogs and discussing Anne Boleyn for my new book Between Two Kings. Today, this new article was published in Kyra Kramer’s research blog “Through the Eyes of Anne...
Pope Clement VII prohibits Henry VIII from remarrying
Throughout many years, King Henry VIII was loyal to Roman Catholicism, and his publication of Assertio Septem Sacramentorum (“Defence of the Seven Sacraments”) in 1521 earned him the title of Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith) from Pope Leo X. Catherine of Aragon failed to give the king a male heir, and Henry decided to...
Henry VIII’s meeting with Anne of Cleves
On the 1st of January 1540, King Henry VIII met Anne of Cleves for the first time in Rochester, where she was having a short rest during her journey to Greenwich. Henry wanted to surprise his wife-to-be, not knowing how negatively surprised he himself would be after this meeting. After...
Henry VIII’s last appearance before Parliament
On 24th December 1545, Henry VIII appeared before Parliament and made his final speech, where Henry mixes threats and flattery as he chastises the Lords and the Commons for the absence of religious unity in England and for some other things. Henry comes across as a belligerent and absolute monarch, who...
Henry VIII’s excommunication
On this day in history, on 17th December 1538, Pope Paul III excommunicated King Henry VIII of England. Pope Clement VII threatened the king with excommunication in March 1530, when Henry wasn’t married to Anne Boleyn. Henry didn’t abandon Catherine and continued courting Anne, and soon he banished his aging...
Birth of Catherine of Aragon
On 16th December 1485, Catherine of Aragon, a daughter of Spanish monarchs King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Castile, was born at Alcala de Hernares, near Madrid, the capital of Spain. She was the youngest of the five royal children, the others being Isabella, Juan, Juana, and Maria. Catherine’s...