Tag: weddings

The wedding of Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, and the head of Simon Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury….

The reason for this post is not that on 14 June 1381 Simon Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury, was executed by the mob in the Peasants’ Revolt . The rebels had actually cornered him—and the others mentioned above—in the Tower of London itself. No mean feat, and there has long been a suspicion that the rebels… Continue reading The wedding of Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, and the head of Simon Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury….

A review of Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors….

I have now watched all of the Channel 5 series Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors, which is so packed with information that I hardly know where to begin with this review. Aha, did I hear you say the beginning might be a good idea? You’re right, so here goes with a selection of descriptions from… Continue reading A review of Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors….

The Royal Mews in Richard’s time….

So tomorrow’s royal wedding will involve a fleet of carriages – should be great to see, and I really hope the weather comes up trumps for the occasion. In this article, I noticed the following passage:- “….The original Mews was built at Charing Cross to house King Richard II’s hawks in 1377, and was named… Continue reading The Royal Mews in Richard’s time….

A GREENWOOD WEDDING ?

May 1 has just gone past–a date known in ancient Britain as the Feast of Beltaine, the ‘Fires of Bel (the Shining One)’. Of  all the old important pre-Christian dates, this is the one that the Church was never able to Christianise in any obvious way, retainings its traditions of merriment, dancing and bawdiness right… Continue reading A GREENWOOD WEDDING ?

A Plantagenet’s genetic revenge?

We all know how the Plantagenet genes of Richard’s three nieces were hijacked by Henry VII and his relatives (John Viscount Welles was his uncle and Sir Richard Pole was the Weasel’s first cousin) in the immediate aftermath of Bosworth. It took over four centuries for a “Plantagenet” man to marry a “Tudor” woman. This… Continue reading A Plantagenet’s genetic revenge?