Death of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor (Henry VII).

Tags: Henry Tudor, Margaret Beaufort

Birth of Henry (later Henry VIII) at Greenwich Palace, sixth child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York (daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville).  He became heir to the throne after the death of his brother Arthur in 1502, and became king on his father’s death on 21 April 1509.

Illustration:  Henry VIII, 1509, by an unknown artist. The Denver Art Museum.

Tags: Elizabeth of York, Henry Tudor

A review of John Ashdown-Hill’s latest book, The Last Days of Richard III, is now available on our website.  You can find it in the “Must Read” section on our Book Shelf or click here.

Tags: Anne Neville, Bosworth, Henry Tudor, Medieval Life, Richard III

As explained in yesterday’s  post about St Albans, during the Cousins’ War (or War of the Roses)  the abbey showed strong Yorkist sympathies under the leadership of Abbot Wheathampstead with dire consequences after the Second Battle of St Albans.

Wheathampstead’s successor but one, William Wallingford, had a serious disagreement with the then Archbishop of Canterbury, John Morton, in 1490.  So according to the motto “My enemy’s enemies are my friends” I started digging and found that many ingredients in this story remind me of Richard III and his reputation under the Tudors. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Books, Henry Tudor, Hertfordshire, John Morton, Religious Life, Richard III

The March issue of the BBC History Magazine has finally arrived on Australian shelves.  As I had heard that  it contains extensive coverage of the new location of the Battle of Bosworth it was impatiently awaited.  So when I popped into my local newsagent the other day, the first thing that caught my eye was the picture of our man – Richard III – on the cover of the magazine.

The magazine shows the most important finds like the silver gilt boar badge, which might show the area where Richard fell, as well as others.  There is also a discussion about the use of guns in the battle and a description of how the actual location was found (with maps).

Other articles which caught my eye in the magazine is an evaluation by Leanda de Lisle (The Sisters Who Would Be Queen) of Jane Grey, where the author argues that it was her firm religious stance that sealed her fate.  Linda Porter examines the relationship between Henry VIII and his last wife, Katherine Parr.  And there are several articles covering the 16ooth anniversary of the end of Roman Britain in 410 AD.

This issue is certainly well worth buying and keeping.

Tags: Artillery, Battles, Bosworth, Henry Tudor, Richard III

Julia reviewed The Final Act of Mr Shakespeare by Robert Winder.  This is a fascinating novel about William Shakespeare continuing his cycle of history plays by writing about Henry VII.  A book not to be missed.

You can find her review on our Bookshelf in the Medieval Library or just click  here.

Tags: Book Review, Henry Tudor, Shakespeare, Theatre

Death of Henry VII (Tudor) at Richmond Palace.  Buried in Westminster Abbey.

Tags: Henry Tudor

Death of Arthur, Prince of Wales, first son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York (daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville) at Ludlow Castle, Shropshire, buried in Worcester Cathedral.

Tags: Elizabeth of York, Henry Tudor

Not much on the face of it, that’s why an article mentioning both aroused my curiosity.  It’s on a blog called Conservative History Journal.  The blogger’s political convictions do not come into this article, so any Ricardian, irrespective of  your own political sympathies, can enjoy its message on King Richard III.

The blogger, who calls himself Tory Historian, tells us that he went a while ago to Leicester to visit an exhibition of German Expressionist works and also explored the city.  While we know that the city of York remembered with “great heaviness” “our good king Richard [who was] piteously slain and murdered”, we learn that King Richard III also enjoys a lot of loyal following in the city where his body was taken after the Battle of Bosworth.   We don’t know where the body ended up after the dissolution of the monasteries and it might have been “thrown into the ditch just outside [the city] in the charming way those Tudors behaved”.  Ricardians can surely share that sentiment towards the Tudors!

Our blogger goes on to report that there are several memorials as well as streets and schools named after the last Plantagenet King.  His comment in describing the Richard III statue without any sign of a hump is:  “Eat your heart out, Will.”

He also tells us about a board, put up in 1985, at the 500th anniversary of the year when two kings visited Leicester.  Here he tells us:

It is quite clear which one the city saw and still sees as the rightful one: Richard III is described as King of England who rode into Leicester some time before the fateful battle of Bosworth Field; Henry VII came to the city on the evening of August 22, after he had “vanquished” Richard and brought his body with him. One can imagine the sullen burghers of Leicester watching the arrogant invader as he rode in with the body of the rightful King in the baggage van.

Thank you to Tudor Historian for telling us about this and thank you to the citizens of Leicester for their loyalty.  And should you be able to visit Leicester before 3 May of this year, go and have a look at the exhibition as well, it promises to be a real treat.

Tags: Art, Bosworth, Henry Tudor, Richard III