Month: Jun 2016

DNA is used to determine legitimacy

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3650613/Accountant-Buckinghamshire-beats-East-Sussex-businessman-Scottish-baron-Queen-asks-judges-rule-case.html The Utah lawyer would, of course be wasting his time claiming the throne through George IV. Any secret marriage between that future monarch and Mrs. Fitzherbert would fail under the 1772 Royal Marriages Act. As Royal Marriage Secrets (pp.167-175) confirms, they may have had two illegitimate children but both were daughters, meaning that the… Continue reading DNA is used to determine legitimacy

ARTHUR AND ELEANOR-TRAGIC SIBLINGS

A tragic but  often overlooked  story of a prince and princess and a wicked uncle is that of Arthur and Eleanor of Brittany. (Two later boys who may or may not have  been killed seem to elicit much  more sympathy, probably at least in part due to  a certain  play and some maudlin Victorian art!)… Continue reading ARTHUR AND ELEANOR-TRAGIC SIBLINGS

Macbeth – Michael Fassbender’s flawed hero king.

Originally posted on Giaconda's Blog:
I’m always intrigued to see how a Shakespeare play will be approached, particularly when the constraints of the stage are removed and a director is given free rein to adapt and interpret through the medium of film. I had read a few reviews of the 2015 version of Macbeth,…

A little tale of mediaeval sleeping….

Isn’t it strange the little stories one comes upon while researching? I was trawling through Stow’s Survey of London when I found this, concerning an incident in the Tower:- “William Foxley slept in the tower 14 days & more without waking. “In the yeare 1546. the 27 of April, being Tuesday in Easter weeke, William Foxley,… Continue reading A little tale of mediaeval sleeping….

A puzzle from the reign of the Richard before ours…

Here is a writer’s dilemma, concerning an incident from the reign of Richard II. So, not our Richard, but the one before him. At Christmas 1389, which the court celebrated at Woodstock, there was a tournament. Or at least, jousting. One of those taking part was 17-year-old John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke. He was… Continue reading A puzzle from the reign of the Richard before ours…

Richard’s reinterment journey remembered in Queen’s Birthday Honours….

The woman who oversaw Richard’s route through Leicestershire and Leicester in 2014 has been recognized in the Queen’s birthday honours. Well done, Margaret Shutt! The following article also includes a ‘parade’ of excellent photographs from that memorable time, starting with the crown commissioned by John Ashdown-Hill. http://www.hinckleytimes.net/news/local-news/queen-honours-hinckley-sporting-champion-11474837

Richard at Stony Stratford, 21st-century style….

There was a great concert on Sunday, 12th June at the Cock Hotel in Stony Stratford. The Legendary Ten Seconds just get better and better and were in fine feather! I don’t know the band at bottom right, but they were playing at nearby Furzton Lake! The weather just about held off, although we were… Continue reading Richard at Stony Stratford, 21st-century style….

Richard just HAD to be one of the seven….!

http://www.historyextra.com/article/richard-iii/7-medieval-kings-you-should-know-about Richard HAD to be one of the seven. He may have only reigned for a couple of years, but what years they were. And if he’d won at Bosworth, what a wonderful age his reign would have been. The legislation passed at his parliament was a mere taste of what he wanted to do… Continue reading Richard just HAD to be one of the seven….!