Tudor England

The Early Career of Edward Seymour

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Although Henry VIII’s marriage to Jane Seymour would transform the fortunes of her oldest brother, Edward Seymour was a rising man before his sister caught the eye of the king. Edward was born around 1500 to John and Margery Seymour, …

Posted in Seymour Family | 2 Comments

Angry Monks and Bloody Weapons

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Into nearly every novel about Lady Jane Grey must fall this scene: Jane and her parents, Henry and Frances Grey, Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, are strolling around their home at Sheen when a hand, wielding a bloody axe or …

Posted in Grey Family, Seasonal, Seymour Family | 5 Comments

New Books!

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Good morning! I wanted to start out by mentioning that Leanda de Lisle’s excellent nonfiction book, Tudor: Passion. Manipulation. Murder. The Story of England’s Most Notorious Royal Family is now on sale, both here in the United States and in the UK …

Posted in Grey Family, Me and My Sites, Tudor Royalty, Woodville Family | 8 Comments

The Queen’s Sister: Cecily, Viscountess Welles

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Cecily, the third daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville and the second to survive adolescence, was born at Westminster on 20 March 1469. It seems likely that one of her godmothers was her grandmother, Cecily, Duchess of York. Young …

Posted in Tudor Royalty, Woodville Family | 15 Comments

Arms and the Man: Was Edmund Tudor Illegitimate?

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Recently, historian John Ashdown-Hill published a book called Royal Marriage Secrets, in which he purports to uncover evidence that Edmund Tudor, father of Henry VII, was not the son of Owen Tudor but of Edmund Beaufort—evidence, in short, that would …

Posted in Tudor Royalty, Wars of the Roses | 43 Comments

Guest Post by Sarah: The Martyrdoms of Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley

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My, this blog has been quiet lately! I’ve been busy with the page proofs for The Woodvilles (due out in October in the UK and January in the US), but now that things are quieter I hope to be blogging …

Posted in Guest Posts, Tudor England | 4 Comments

Bridget of York: A Royal Nun

A while back, I wrote a blog post about the christening of Bridget, Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville’s youngest child. Here are a few more details about her life. Bridget, as my post indicated, was born on November 10, 1480, …

Posted in Edward IV, Tudor England | 8 Comments

Ten Reasons to Love the Tudors, and a Giveaway!

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Lately online, I’ve seen people here and there complaining that they’re tired of the Tudors, or simply don’t like them. Some people simply can’t forgive the Tudors for supplanting the gentle, peace-loving, Maypole-dancing Plantagenets (particularly the saintly Richard III), while …

Posted in Humor, Tudor England | 56 Comments

The Maligned Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk

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On November 21, 1559, Frances, Duchess of Suffolk, died, age 42. (Strype gives the date as November 20.) An account of her death and her burial can be found here. When I was doing my blog tour for Her Highness, …

Posted in Grey Family | 12 Comments

Lord Thomas Howard: Died October 31, 1537

Happy Halloween! For Lord Thomas Howard, however, All Hallow’s Eve was not a happy day. Since I shared his story on Facebook, I thought I’d post it here as well. On October 31, 1537, Lord Thomas Howard died in the …

Posted in Howard Family, Margaret Douglas | 3 Comments