MISIDENTIFIED HISTORICAL PORTRAITS INCLUDING TUDOR QUEENS…

Reblogged from MISIDENTIFIED HISTORICAL PORTRAITS INCLUDING TUDOR QUEENS… Does anyone else like me get irritated by misidentified portraits of historical characters?  Is it that difficult to get correct? It’s quite sloppy to be honest as just a quick glance at them tells you something ain’t quite right here!  It’s particularly common around  16th century portraiture when… Continue reading MISIDENTIFIED HISTORICAL PORTRAITS INCLUDING TUDOR QUEENS…

Was Henry VIII contemplating a seventh wife….?

    The prospect of becoming Henry VIII’s seventh wife cannot have been cheering, but it seems possible it was the fate of Katherine Willoughby, who was the widow of Henry’s great friend, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. It seems she’d been ‘in the wings’ so to speak since marrying Brandon, who was well over… Continue reading Was Henry VIII contemplating a seventh wife….?

And I’ve only ever dug up broken clay pipes….!

  Sad to say, when I lived in a country cottage, the only things I ever found in the garden were broken clay pipes (a lot!) and fragments of pottery and china, of which blue and white were by far the main colour. Did I find one coin, let alone 63? Well, a well-worn penny… Continue reading And I’ve only ever dug up broken clay pipes….!

Completing the Set (2) – the female line cousins

In October, we published an updated version of a Bulletin article, showing that all of Henry VIII’s “wives” were descended from Edward I. Thanks to Ann for her comment on the above article, that Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour and Katherine Howard share the same mtDNA, therefore Edward VI and Elizabeth I should do. Having investigated… Continue reading Completing the Set (2) – the female line cousins

Completing the Set (2006) – Henry VIII’s other “wives”

{as adapted from the Ricardian Bulletin: December 2006} Introduction The Ricardian article The Lancastrian claim to the throne (John Ashdown-Hill, 2003) showed Henry’s relationship to Catherine of Aragon, both descended from Blanche of Lancaster, the first wife of John of Gaunt. Genealogical conundrums (Wendy Moorhen, 2006) illustrated the descent of Anne Boleyn, her first cousin… Continue reading Completing the Set (2006) – Henry VIII’s other “wives”

Richard III and the dirty Tudors….?

  “…8…Richard III and dirty Tudors…“…Rotting vegetation, dung heaps and overflowing cesspits were just some of the unpleasant daily realities faced by ordinary people in 16th-century England. Here, Pamela Hartshorne discusses the challenges Tudors faced when trying to keep their cities clean and hygienic. Also in this episode, Chris Skidmore tells us how his research… Continue reading Richard III and the dirty Tudors….?

Why did Richard III allow Elizabeth of York such liberty at his court….?

  Today, 10th August, is my birthday, and on this date in 1485, the last Yorkist king, Richard III, was in Nottingham preparing for the imminent invasion of his realm by his Lancastrian foe, Henry Tudor, who didn’t have much of a blood claim to the throne but touted himself as the last remaining heir… Continue reading Why did Richard III allow Elizabeth of York such liberty at his court….?

Dyer or Dire?

Many of you will remember the episode of “Who do you think you are” in which Danny Dyer was revealed as a descendant of Edward III. In this new two part series, he “meets” a few prominent ancestors, some even more distant. The first episode began with Rollo, ancestor of the Dukes of Normandy, which… Continue reading Dyer or Dire?

THE DEATH OF HENRY VIII

UPDATED POST AT sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri https://sparkypus.com/2020/05/14/henry-viiis-death/ Henry VIII, known as the Hamilton Portrait and once owned by the Duke of Hamilton, this portrait used to be at  Holyroodhouse.  Philip Mould. The deaths of all three Tudor kings were protracted and wretched.  Whether this was down to Karma, bad luck (or good luck depending… Continue reading THE DEATH OF HENRY VIII

Some more Despenser connections

Last year, we showed how Anne Neville (and thus Edward of Middleham) were descended from Hugh Despenser the Elder, Earl of Winchester. Having followed up Kathryn Warner’s suggestion, this file allows us to add another Queen Consort, a King, a Lord Protector and a Lord High Admiral to the list of that Earl’s descendants. This can… Continue reading Some more Despenser connections