This enthralling programme has returned, but made a dubious claim in the third epsode. Apparently, Jack Ketch was so hopeless at swinging an axe in a straight line, you would be better off as a commoner if facing execution, because almost anyone could be reasonably competent at short drop hanging, where breaking the subject’s neck… Continue reading Secrets of the Royal Palaces (series 3)
Tag: James of Monmouth
Another interesting hypothesis
On Thursday, we published a presentation by “Useful Charts”, showing how the English throne may have descended had Henry VIII’s will been followed after 1603 as it had beforehand. Of course, the family in question may have fared differently anyway if Lady Katherine Grey, her Seymour husband, and son and Arbella Stuart, the latter’s wife,… Continue reading Another interesting hypothesis
Three unlucky kings?
They are: Edward IV, Charles II (buried today in 1685) and William IV, all of whom had a large number of illegitimate children, but none left a legitimate heir. Edward IV (1442-83) had twelve to fifteen children by various mistresses, including Elizabeth Wydville, but none by Lady Eleanor Talbot, his only legal wife, whose probable… Continue reading Three unlucky kings?
A new interpretation of 1580s events
We all know that Mary Stuart was beheaded at Fotheringhay on 8 February 1587 and that the Spanish Armada sailed to facilitate a Catholic invasion of England in the following year, leaving Lisbon on 28 May and fighting naval battles in late July, at Plymouth and Portland. The traditional view is that Mary Stuart’s execution… Continue reading A new interpretation of 1580s events
The Howards, Talbots and Seymours – England’s auxilliary royal families?
This document shows the descent of the known “wives”, secret wives, mistresses, illegal wives and alleged partners of five English and British kings, taken from Ashdown-Hill’s Royal Marriage Secrets: thosehowardsagain As a bonus, Laura Culme-Seymour, from a naval family, including Admiral Thomas Lord Seymour; Admiral Rodney and the first three Culme-Seymour baronets, has a famous… Continue reading The Howards, Talbots and Seymours – England’s auxilliary royal families?
Bloody tales of the Tower….
I have only just found the series Bloody Tales of the Tower, previously on National Geographic and now on Channel 5 (http://www.channel5.com/show/bloody-tales-of-the-tower and http://www.natgeotv.com/za/bloody-tales-of-the-tower), and have to say that I enjoyed it very much. The presenters, Suzannah Lipscomb and Joe Crowley, are at ease in their roles and with each other, and do not adopt… Continue reading Bloody tales of the Tower….
Another DNA case
The father of James Duke of Monmouth is usually assumed to be the future Charles II, who freely acknowledged his resonsibility. There exists a scientific proof, as published on p.36 of Beauclerk-Powell and Dewar’s Royal Bastards, through Y-chromosome tests comparing Monmouth’s male line descendants the Dukes of Buccleuch with the Dukes of Grafton, St. Albans… Continue reading Another DNA case
Is this a new Richard film? Or not…..?
http://www.blackmorevale.co.uk/Extras-sought-Somerset-appear-major-Hollywood/story-26757962-detail/story.html http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Long-haired-men-requested-extras-Hollywood-film/story-26744545-detail/story.html Before you examine the above links, let me say that the following tale of woe demonstrates the hazards of taking a press article at face value. Beware of doing so, for it can lead you up the garden path. . . Right. To the links. They require some wading through a clutter of… Continue reading Is this a new Richard film? Or not…..?
Stephen Lark’s book on the Battle of Sedgemoor….
The Battle of Sedgemoor 1685 by Stephen Lark (Bretwalda Battles Book 19) [Kindle Edition] ASIN: B00TEAO11G Driving the M5 today, across the Somerset Levels, it is hard to imagine what the landscape used to be like, before rhynes and ditches drained much of the water. The rhynes were there in the 17th century, but they… Continue reading Stephen Lark’s book on the Battle of Sedgemoor….
C17 deja vu all over again
Consider the following coincidences: 1) The Mortimer-York army in 1458-60 was led by the Duke of York, two sons, a brother-in-law and a nephew. Charles I’s principal commanders were himself, two sons and two nephews. 2) Richard of York had four healthy sons, one named after himself who became King. Charles I had three healthy… Continue reading C17 deja vu all over again
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