The art of marrying in secret

So now we examine the case of the artist Raphael (d’Urbino), who lived from 1483-1520. He was officially betrothed, in 1514, to Maria Bibbiena, the niece of a Cardinal (left, painted in 1516), which implies the need for some propriety in the relationship. Canon law would definitely apply and the chance of secretly marrying her…

In case you haven’t noticed …

… we like our anniversaries here at Murrey and Blue. Having received this book about anniversaries as a birthday present, I found a substantial amount of unfamiliar information and several new cases, but there were two noticeable lacunae: (14th June on the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt): “Sudbury‘s skull survives, in St. Gregory’s Church in Norwich …”…

Visit the Chalke Valley History Festival….!

  “….a forensic reconstruction of how Richard III lost his life at Bosworth….” I don’t know what the above extract entails, and to find out I need a ticket! The reconstruction  is one of the many attractions at the forthcoming . Chalke Valley History Festival  It all sounds excellent and I hope the crowds pour…

Of a well-connected art expert …

After a few Archbishops of Canterbury and an Archdeacon (perhaps), we now come to an expert on art – Old Masters and Jacobite art in particular. Dr. Bendor Grosvenor, as seen in this BBC2 series when he has identified portraits such as the first Villiers Duke of Buckingham, is descended from the Cheshire family that…

Someone else who clearly didn’t marry in secret

Here she is, joining the list with Edward IV (twice), Louis XIV, John Lennon, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, Sir Andre Previn, Ed Sheeran, Dan Snow and Adele. Never mind the evidence, the judicial decisions and the legislation, it just didn’t happen (as they say in Cairo).

More Secret Marriages!

Back in 2010, historian Dan Snow was married in secret to Lady Edwina Grosvenor, daughter of the Duke of Westminster. I’ve looked but I can’t see that Dan mentions Edward IV‘s probable ‘secret marriage’ to Eleanor Talbot in any of his Twitter or other postings on history. (He did once post a very entertaining picture…

A new documentary about Shakespeare….

Dan Snow (who married in secret, although nobody has ever done that) and Alice Loxton have been filming  in Stratford-upon-Avon for a new documentary about Shakespeare, to be released in September. I do hope it’s sensible!

So here is the challenge:

Dan Snow (LLoyd George knew his great-grandmother) said (punctuation corrected): “I thought twitter was full of Richard III fans. So, WATSON, why in the name of usurping cadet branches has the Henry V hoodie has massive outsold the Richard III one.”  “Where are you, Ricardians?” We can do something about it here.