Tag: James V

Royal burial places

This post in the Times details the final resting place of every English and then British monarch since 1066, although Harold II (probably Waltham Abbey) is omitted. Note from the interactive map that there are four (plus the Empress Matilda) burials in France and one in Germany. There are none in Scotland, Wales, Ireland or… Continue reading Royal burial places

A Bruce mystery

Here is a Daily Record article about a rather nice Scottish castle for sale, that was apparently built for Laurence Bruce, half-brother of Robert I … except that we can find no evidence that he ever existed. By both the same parents, Robert’s brothers were Thomas, Alexander, Neil (all executed in 1306-7) and Edward, the… Continue reading A Bruce mystery

The Inspirational Borders and Lothians

via The Inspirational Borders and Lothians

Britain’s Most Historic Towns (2)

This excellent Channel Four programme, presented by Professor Alice Roberts, with Dr. Ben Robinson in the helicopter, has returned for a new series. The early venues were Dover (World War Two, visiting the underground base, concentrating on the retreat from Dunkirk and subsequent Channel defence, meeting some survivors, wearing ATS uniform and riding in a… Continue reading Britain’s Most Historic Towns (2)

The Royal martyr

If you wish to visit the site of a heresy execution or a memorial to a victim in England and Wales, there are several options, most of which date from Mary I’s reign. Aldham Common in Hadleigh commemorates the town’s Rector, Rowland Tayler. Oxford marks an Archbishop, Cranmer, together with Bishops Latimer and Ridley, whilst… Continue reading The Royal martyr

The man who would be King

This is Anthony William Hall, a former Shropshire police inspector. In 1931, he claimed to be the rightful King of England, descended from an illegitimate son of Henry VIII whilst James VI/I had been an impostor, thereby disqualifying all of his descendents down to George V, whom Hall sought to supplant. The chief obstacles to… Continue reading The man who would be King

Those accident-prone Stewarts

As this excellent article reminds us, there were eight pre-union Stewart monarchs, or nine if you exclude James VI, who had already reigned in Scotland for nearly forty years before inheriting the English throne. Of these, excepting the two Roberts, only two turned up for a pitched battle with against an English army and only… Continue reading Those accident-prone Stewarts

A Scottish Consort is identified

Late last year, we showed how James VI/I’s grandfathers, James V and Matthew Earl of Lennox, shared the same Y-chromosome. Now there is some facial reconstruction news about his father, Henry Lord Darnley: A student at the University of Dundee, which reconstructed Richard’s face after his identification, has provided the same service for Darnley (above).… Continue reading A Scottish Consort is identified

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

A dramatic change

Something happened to the British kingdoms just half a century after Bosworth. From 1536, the second “Tudor” (and his like-minded nephew James V) began to execute women for political offences, a practice unknown hitherto. There had been exceptions such as the St. Brice’s Day Massacre in 1002, although Ethelred had neither judged nor attainted his… Continue reading A dramatic change