Did Nero REALLY fiddle while Rome burned….?

Right, so has Nero been as hard-done-by through history as our Richard III? After first pointing out that Richard was lied about and denounced by his enemies and killers, and that he still has supporters even now, this article certainly wonders about Nero’s legacy. It’s said that Nero’s ambitious mother manipulated him on to the…

This would explain a lot

Next month, David Starkey will be talking about Henry VIII on television again (1). However, in this Telegraph interview, he is compared to Henry in several ways, even suggesting that he is that King’s reincarnation. Sadly, the interviewer seems not to understand which of Henry’s marriage ceremonies were valid, or the difference between divorce and…

Band of Brothers

When Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo began to write their classic Godfather movies, based on Mario Puzo’s pop novel, did they have the Plantagenet Brothers, Edward, George and Richard in mind as the prototypes of Sonny, Fredo and Michael Corleone?  Whether they did or not, the parallels among the characters and their historical counterparts are quite interesting and in several instances, astonishing.…

A guest post from (Professor) Karen Griebling

From time to time I have alluded rather obliquely to the fact that I see strong similarities between late 15th century English politics and early 21st century American politics and that is among the reasons I think that Richard III’s story needs to be told, and told NOW especially. I had been sitting on those…