Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon

Today is another anniversary of Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon.  Henry married his brother’s widow nearly six years after they had originally been betrothed, and almost 7 years after Prince Arthur’s death.  The wedding took place in a private ceremony in the queen’s closet at Greenwich Palace, and...

“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...

Poems of Anne Boleyn’s feelings before and after her coronation

During the coronation procession as Anne sees the people’s gloomy faces What shall this day bring to me, June?  A brilliance with every summer hue:  The cloud-white dream of happiness, Shot with the primrose sunshine through… Or shall my coronation bring me pain, People do not want me, their stillness...

Coronation of Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn emerged from the Tower of London at 5pm on Saturday the 31st of May 1533.  She had spent the previous several days in the queen’s chambers in the Tower.  According to contemporary sources, the last day of spring was sunny, bright, and warm, and the sky was an unbroken...

A Tudor Tragedy: death of Little Prince Hal

On the 22nd of February, 1511, Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, experienced a devastating loss. Their infant son – Henry, Duke of Cornwall – died, suddenly and expectedly, at the age of only fifty-two days at Richmond Palace. The cause of his death was not recorded....

The Shrovetide joust: ‘Declare I dare not’

In 1526, Shrove Tuesday (the 7th of February) was celebrated with a traditional solemn joust at Greenwich Palace.  Jousting was one of Henry's favorite sports.  The Shrovetide joust was a special event for Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII, as the English monarch’s motto tentatively reflected that he had found...

A fatal love triangle untangled: Execution of Anne Boleyn, the 19th of May 1536

the links to part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5 of the series “A fatal love triangle: King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and Jane Seymour After Anne’s trial and her condemnation, events were happening at a breakneck speed. On the 16th of May 1536, Archbishop Cranmer visited the condemned Anne...

A fatal love triangle: King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and Jane Seymour (part 5)

the links to part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4 of the series “A fatal love triangle: King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and Jane Seymour On the 15th of May 1536, a fatal love triangle was finally untangled. To end Anne Boleyn’s marriage to King Henry quickly, only a legal solution would suffice.  Henry...

A fatal love triangle: King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and Jane Seymour (part 4)

the links to part 1, part 2, and part 3 of the series “A fatal love triangle: King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and Jane Seymour After the arrests of Anne and George Boleyn, and her other alleged paramours, tension was rising in the air, and the royal court froze in anticipation of the appalling...