Today I learned about the Pyx Chamber at Westminster Abbey….

I had never heard of the Pyx Chamber at Westminster Abbey, and so I made a point of finding out about it online. I discovered it to be a fascinating corner of the abbey….as well as being probably the oldest part. It is also believed to have the most ancient door in England, which for…

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…

Where did the Tudors come from….?

For those of us who may wish to know where the name Tudor comes from, here’s a thorough explanation.  

A numismatic error

  You have heard of badly minted coins or those prepared for a monarch who doesn’t reign for much longer but these Henry III gold pennies were worth more as bullion than currency. Of the eight that are known to remain in existence , one of them will be auctioned in the new year

You only reign twice?

Edward of Caernarvon, who was born in 1284, was king of England for nearly twenty years from 1307 as Edward II. What of his childhood? In about October 1289, he was contracted to Margaret, known as the Maid of Norway and Queen of Scotland since 1286 when her grandfather Alexander III died. She was a year…