Birth of Henry Tudor, son of Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, and Margaret Beaufort at Pembroke Castle, Wales. Edmund Tudor was the son of Owen Tudor and Henry V’s widow Catherine of Valois (there is no documentation that they were married). Margaret Beaufort, was a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt (third son of Edward III) and his third wife and previous mistress Katherine Swynford. The children of this relationship, the Beauforts, were disinherited by Letters Patent of King Henry IV from any claim to the throne.
Tags: Henry Tudor, Margaret Beaufort
Death of Charlemagne (Karolus Magnus, Karl der Große) at Aachen. He is buried in Aachen Cathedral.
Karl was born some time in the 740s, the exact date or year is not certain, nor do we know where he was born. He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800.
Tags: Charlemagne
For a limited time, Loyalty Binds Me, my second book about Richard III in the 21st-century, is available for free from Amazon, Apple iTunes, Barnes & Nobel , and on Smashwords in all formats.
Although it’s the second book in the series, it was written to be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.
Free (normally $2.99)/Recommended by Midwest Book Reviews and a review on this site.
Should the price on Smashwords not appear as “Free”, readers who will be getting the download from Smashwords, please contact me (on: u2nohoo”AT”gmail.com) and I’ll send you a coupon for 100% off the SW price.
P.S. My first book This Time was nominated General Fiction Finalist of 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Tags: Books, Richard III
Secret marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, possibly at Sopwell Nunnery in St Albans.
(Photograph of the ruins of Sopwell Nunnery © Dorothea Preis)
Tags: Henry VIII, St Albans
Well , at least where history is concerned it seems this is not always the case.
This is the latest example: Last night – after returning from a long weekend in the nation’s capital – I watched the ABC News. There Christopher Pyne (for our readers in other parts of the globe: an Australian opposition MP) declared that the Prime Minister’s stance on the gambling reform was “the most ruthless political act since Richard III disposed of his nephews in the Tower of London” (for a clip click here).
It is understandable that Richard III should come to Mr Pyne’s mind after the successful tour of the production of Shakespeare’s play with Kevin Spacey in Sydney last month, which got a lot of attention in the media.
However, given that Richard III was killed in 1485, it is most unlikely that the gambling reform (or lack thereof) is “the most ruthless political act’ in the last 500 odd years – I am sure most of us can think of much more serious instances. In that respect Mr Pyne’s remark certainly is an “absurd example of hyperbole”.
However, much more seriously, it is also an instance of playing fast and furious with historical facts. The fact is that we do not know happened to the sons of Edward IV. Everything else is conjecture.
At least we have to assume that Mr Pyne refers to the sons of Edward IV, when he talks of Richard III’s nephews. In fact Richard had various other nephews, who are all accounted for and only met their end in Tudor times – with Edward, earl of Warwick (son of Richard III’s elder brother George, duke of Clarence), actually being executed in the Tower of London – in 1499, on the orders of Henry VII.
The sons of Edward IV were declared illegitimate by an act of Parliament, because of questions about the legality of their parents’ marriage. This allowed Richard, duke of Gloucester, to become king as Richard III. The boys were last seen playing in the royal residence of the Tower in the late summer of 1483, but nobody knows for sure what happened then. We can’t say for sure that they were killed and – if they were – when or even less by whom, and they might just as well have outlived Richard III. It is worth noting that two posthumous trials acquitted Richard of this crime.
Rather than blaming Richard for the demise of these nephews, he might very well have been instrumental in protecting their lives, as the appearance of the later pretenders shows.
It would be desirable if politicians of whichever hue were to ascertain their facts, before comparing their opponents with historical persons. More often than not, these comparisons do not achieve the anticipated outcome, but rather backfire.
More info on the trials:
http://www.richardiii.net/tv.htm – click on “Channel 4: The Trial of Richard III (1984)”
http://www.r3.org/learn/poor_richard/trial.html
The Channel 4 programme can be viewed in a number of parts on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-kQoKt2Kf4
Tags: Edward IV, Media, Politics, Richard III
Marriage of Henry VII (Tudor) and Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.
Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Woodville, Henry Tudor
Foundation of the New South Wales Branch of the Richard III Society.Tags: NSW Branch
Joan Szechtman, Loyalty Binds Me. Star Publish, 2011. ISBN 978-1935188254 (also available for Kindle and other ebook readers)
A worthy sequel to Richard in “This Time“. Richard visits the UK with his modern day family to pay his respects at the grave of his first wife, Anne Neville. Basically as soon as he arrives he gets arrested for the murder of his nephews. However, it soon turns out that this is just a smokescreen to get hold of him and that there is more to the case than meets the eye.
It is a fast-paced story and Richard as well as the reader can never be sure who his supporters are, but in the end we realise who is bound by loyalty. Loyalty is – as the title indicates – an important theme in this novel. Given the nature of the official accusations against him, we learn what Richard has to say on the matter of the fate of the princes.
The views of some of the novel’s characters certainly resonate with Ricardians:
“What did I tell you, Flower,” Simon said, “ever since Henry VII won, the law’s gone to hell. Our Richard wouldn’t have allowed people to be held without charge.
Well-written and fun to read. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Have a look at the brilliant trailer on YouTube here.
Tags: Books, Richard III
Marriage of Edward IV’s younger son Richard of Shrewsbury to Anne Mowbray, the only child of John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk (died 17 January 1476) and Elizabeth Talbot (sister of Eleanor Talbot). The wedding took place in St. Stephen’s Chapel, Westminster. The bride was 5 years old, the groom 4. She died on 19 November 1481. Her heirs would normally have been her cousins William, Viscount Berkeley and John, Lord Howard, but by an act of Parliament in January 1483 the rights were given to her husband Richard, with reversion to his descendants, and, failing that, to the descendants of his father Edward IV.
Tags: Edward IV, John Howard, Princes
Death of Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter, second child and eldest surviving daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville, sister of Edward IV and Richard III.
Tags: Richard III
