Might she have been Queen Elizabeth II….?

Well here’s something interesting. I confess that the Stuart period isn’t one of my strongpoints, and I know very little about Elizabeth Stuart, but the above portrait of her is very intriguing. Is she wearing the same crown that appears in the pictures beneath the main portrait? The crown in the little illustration on the…

Richard the Lionheart….or Richard the pain in the you-know-what….

Well, my first introduction to Richard the Lionheart was in the 1950s…one of the many Robin Hood movies of that period, He was noble and chivalrous (George Sanders, as I recall, see below), while Prince John was a Blue Meanie of the highest order. Nothing much has changed since then. My opinion of both men…

Another mystery solved?

So, has the case of “The Man in the Iron Mask” been solved at last? The 1998 film suggested that, in accordance with Voltaire’s theory (via Dumas), he was Louis XIV‘s unknown elder twin, imprisoned since birth – in the same way that James II had a twin, Alexander, who died after a few hours.…

Henry Tudor was Medieval, not Renaissance….!

You can take your pick of our medieval monarchs at this site ! Although I’m sure Henry Tiddler wouldn’t appreciate being included as Medieval. He was Renaissance, indeed, he started that whole shebang – ask any Tudorite!  

What really happened when the monasteries were suppressed….?

“….Despite being described by many as ‘an eyewitness account’, the Falle [of the Religiouse Howses] is nothing of the sort; in June 1538, when Roche was suppressed, Sherbrook was no more than four years of age. Instead, we must look to the motivation behind Sherbrook’s words, written three decades after the event….” Good heavens, this might almost…

Margaret Beaufort was so hard-done-by, and she was such an angel of righteousness….

What crud! This article  claims that Margaret Beaufort “almost died at the hands of Richard III”? Eh? Richard didn’t once threaten her life, nor would he, he was too soft where women were concerned. He was a man of principal, with values completely beyond anyone remotely Tudor. Murdering/executing women was a Tudor invention, to which…

Richard III and the dirty Tudors….?

  “…8…Richard III and dirty Tudors…“…Rotting vegetation, dung heaps and overflowing cesspits were just some of the unpleasant daily realities faced by ordinary people in 16th-century England. Here, Pamela Hartshorne discusses the challenges Tudors faced when trying to keep their cities clean and hygienic. Also in this episode, Chris Skidmore tells us how his research…

A list of unsolved historical mysteries…yes, including the boys in the Tower….

Here is another list of unsolved mysteries from the past. Yes, Richard and his nephews crop up again. Did he? Didn’t he? Well, it’s suggested that Henry VII was the more likely culprit. Hooray! I mean, look at the fellow. I wouldn’t believe a word he said! And he certainly had more reason than Richard…

Look who’s coming to dinner….

The following is taken from this interview in History Extra “Q: Which three historical figures would you invite to a dinner party and why? “Queen Anne Neville. Frustratingly little is known of her life. I’d love to know if Anne was happily married to Richard III and how she felt about the events of 1483,…

The ten worst Britons in history?

This is a very entertaining and well-illustrated 2006 article, choosing one arch-villain for each century from the eleventh to the twentieth. The all-male list includes just one King but two Archbishops of Canterbury. So what do you think?