Henry VII and his “striking blue eyes”….!

This Times article has a quaint way of describing Henry VII : “Tall, with striking blue eyes, Henry was the only child of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, and Margaret Beaufort…” Striking blue eyes? Well, yes…except that they looked in opposite directions. Which I suppose counts as striking! I’m not so sure about the blue,… Continue reading Henry VII and his “striking blue eyes”….!

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?

WHERE HENRY MET JANE:THE REAL WOLF HALL FOUND

Many of us watched the TV version of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, showing  a nicely unsanitised view of the Tudor world. Wolf Hall itself, of course, is the grand manor where Henry met his third wife, Jane Seymour–the one often described as ‘mousy’ but the ‘only one Henry loved’ (because she gave him a living… Continue reading WHERE HENRY MET JANE:THE REAL WOLF HALL FOUND

A dead ringer for Henry VII….

While browsing for a particular portrait, I came upon the picture above. It’s Anton Lesser as Thomas More, from the TV production of ‘Wolf Hall’, but in this particular shot he is a dead ringer for Henry VII. Before I read further, I actually did think it was a portrayal of Henry. It doesn’t make… Continue reading A dead ringer for Henry VII….