Oliver Cromwell’s posthumous peregrinations

Much has been written about Cromwell’s life including his descent from Thomas Cromwell‘s sister, his childhood, his rise and service as Lord Protector, after Charles I‘s execution, whilst refusing the crown. Here, as part of his afterlife, Allan Barton, on YouTube, discusses the fate of his corpse. This includes his beheading, alongside the other deceased…

Elisabeth Brooke, Marchioness of Northampton.

Elisabeth Brooke had a very eventful life! My attention was drawn to her as she was a descendant of Constance of York and Thomas Despenser through their daughter Isabelle’s first marriage to Richard Beauchamp – the Richard Beauchamp who became Earl of Worcester as opposed to her second husband, also Richard Beauchamp, the Earl of…

Another interesting article from Academia

This one, by Lorraine C. Attreed, is entitled An Indenture between Richard Duke of Gloucester and the Scrope Family of Masham and Upsall, one of the two noble branches of the Scropes, the other being those of Bolton. The indenture, a copy of which serves as an appendix, dates from mid-January 1476 shortly after the…

King Richard and the Duke of Gloucester….

There are two instances (of which I know) involving a Duke of Gloucester and a king called Richard. The one that is best known to Ricardians is Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who became Richard III. But there was another instance in the previous century, when Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, made the life of…

Rebellion in the Middle Ages

This is the latest of Matthew Lewis’ books and covers a longer period than any of the others, from Hereward the Wake’s emergence after Hastings to the beginning of the Wars of the Roses, almost as long a period as this book. Lewis is already an expert on “The Anarchy” (chapter 2) and the Roses…

The price of one royal progress….

  King Charles III’s fleeting visits to the separate nations of the United Kingdom have been the modern equivalent of the royal progresses of the past. From very early times each new monarch embarked on a progress through their realm, to show themselves to their people. As their only transport was the horse, it took…

Bad grammar and untruths, not just about Richard III….

  Oh dear, Gloucestershire Live has been very sloppy. In this article about Dukes of Gloucester, Richard of Gloucester did away with George of Clarence! Then we get “When Henry IV dies, his brother Richard becomes protector and puts the two princes in safekeeping in the Tower of London. And they are never seen again.” If…

Richard III is third, Edward V is second….

This article is, I fear, another case of piercing Richard III in the back with that stealthy weapon, the hidden judgement. The attack isn’t open, but hidden behind the deceptive cloak of dark suggestion. Some might say, having read the article, that Richard’s short reign was poetic justice. More sensible folk, being acquainted with the…

Lucy Worsley “proves” Richard III murdered his nephews….!

  Episode 3 of Lucy Worsley‘s latest TV series is about The Princes in the Tower, and from the outset it’s clear that Lucy is Lady Dracula, because she goes for Richard III’s jugular at every opportunity. The thought that he might be innocent doesn’t seem to occur to her because she’s utterly convinced of…

The complete, utterly biased dissing of the House of York….

  When I recorded the first episode of the Sky series Royal Bastards: Rise of the Tudors, I watched it on 23rd November, which is the anniversary of the day in 1450 when Richard 3rd Duke of York returned to London [and Parliament] with his sword unsheathed to claim his right. The docudrama series kicks…