On this day in history, the 16th July 1557 (some sources say the 15th), Henry VIII’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves died at her home, Chelsea Old Manor, the former home of Catherine Parr. She was only 41 but she was the last surviving wife of Henry VIII and on the 3rd August 1557 Anne was taken from Chelsea to Westminster to be buried. She is the only one of Henry VIII’s wives to be buried at Westminster Abbey and her tomb is on the south side of the High Altar. It is decorated with carvings of a crown and her initials, AC, skulls and crossed bones, and a lion’s head. It is a sad fact that Anne, as Elizabeth Norton points out, “is often portrayed as the least significant of Henry’s wives” but that she was actually “an international figure of some prominence” and a woman who used her intelligence to survive the English court and become an independent woman. Just like Catherine of Aragon, she did not accept the annulment of her marriage and still thought of herself as Henry’s wife and Queen, and subsequently his widow, but she made the best out of the situation. [x]
(( 1000+ Followers Celebration POST ))
Henry/Elizabeth + a political union turning eventually into a loving marriage
T H E R O S E A N D H E R D R A G O N
It could be debated whether or not Henry VII was a great King, but he was clearly a successful King. He had several goals that he had accomplished by the end of his reign. He had established a new dynasty after 30 years of struggle, he had strengthened the judicial system as well as the treasury and had successfully denied all the other claimants to his throne. The monarchy that he left to his son was a fairly secure one and most definitely a wealthy one. [x] Henry unfortunately was always overshadowed by either his predecessor Richard III or his son and successor Henry VIII who were to become two of England’s most infamous Kings.
Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 - 24 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Also known as Good Queen Bess, The Virgin Queen or Gloriana, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Her half brother Edward VI and half-sister Mary I held the throne before her. Known for her relative religious tolerance, one of Elizabeth’s first actions as Queen was to create an English Protestant church, of which she was Supreme Governor. Elizabeth’s rivalry with Mary, Queen of Scots became infamous as many saw the two Queens as symbols for Protestantism and Catholicism respectively. Mary was imprisoned by Elizabeth in May 1568 and was eventually beheaded in 1587. In politics, she was more moderate than her father and half-siblings had been, one of her mottos being video et taceo (“I see, and say nothing”). In foreign policy she was also moderate, carefully manoeuvring between the great powers of France and Spain. However, by the mid-1580s war with Spain became inevitable, and Elizabeth’s rousing speech at Tilbury on 8 August 1558 is credited as helping England defeat the Spanish Armada: “…I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.” Elizabeth’s reign is known as the Elizabethan era, and is famous for producing some of the greatest English writers including William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. Elizabeth, as a female monarch, is acknowledged as being a powerful and charismatic performer who carefully negotiated her public image. Elizabeth would never marry and produced no heir, giving rise to her nickname The Virgin Queen. Elizabeth’s 44 years on the throne provided stability for England and created a new sense of national identity.
Featured as Elizabeth I: Laoise Murray (The Tudors, 2010), Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth, 1998 and Elizabeth: The Golden Age, 2007), and Vanessa Redgrave (Anonymous, 2011).
On this day in history, 28th January 1457, Henry VII was born at Pembroke Castle in Wales. His parents were Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond and son of Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois, and his 13 year old wife, Margaret Beaufort, great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress (and later wife) Katherine Swynford. It was through this Beaufort side, going back to John of Gaunt, that Henry VII derived his claim to the throne of England and he became King after defeating Richard III and his troops at the Battle of Bosworth on the 22nd August 1485.
“Henry’s had been a remarkable success story. Here was a fatherless boy and penniless exile with the name of a humble Welsh farmer who had nonetheless become a king. Henry had been shaped profoundly by his years on the run. With his life dependent on the whims of a frivolous Breton duke he had found consolation in his religious faith, and when his fortunes changed he had looked to God for an explanation. As king, Henry had aspired to be the redeemer-hero of chivalric romance; he had been a faithful husband, a devoted father, and had continued to win his battles both on the field and off it.” (x) (x)
PERIOD DRAMA MEME: five female characters - Margaret Tudor (The Tudors)
Henry VII one of the best sort of wonders: a wonder for wise men. He professed always to love and seek peace. For his arms, either in foreign or civil wars, were never unfortunate. He was of a high mind, and loved his own way; as one that revered himself, and would reign indeed. It could be debated whether or not he was a great King, but we un-doubtfully know that he was clearly a successful King. [insp]
KING HENRY VIII.
DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, and historical pariah.
that’s how a w f u l the loss is. (x)King Henry VII and his wife Queen Elizabeth of York lost four of their seven children, outliving the Princes Arthur & Edmund, and the Princesses Elizabeth & Katherine.
hainaults-deactivated20150823:
You stabbed me a thousand times and then acted like you were the one that was bleeding.
1485 – 1509
“During the last six years of his life, Henry VII became a virtual recluse in a “court grim and sombre”, his reputation for miserliness and paranoia growing markedly worse. The reign was plunged into crisis: in a short period of three years he lost his heir, Prince Arthur; his wife, Queen Elizabeth of York; a baby Princess, Katherine; his most trusted advisor since the beginning of his reign, Cardinal John Morton; and a loyal friend and counselor, Reginald Bray. Rarely visible, he seemed not to want to be seen. For those who caught a glimpse of him, he seemed to be more dead than alive…”
michael marcus as young!henry, and sharlto copley as old!henry [insp]
♔ The D O W N F A L L of A N N E B O L E Y N.
- January 29th 1536 - Anne Boleyn suffered a tragic miscarriage, losing a baby boy, which she is believed to have carried for but fifteen weeks.
- March 1536 - Anne Boleyn argued with Thomas Cromwell, stating that monastic assets should be redistributed to charitable and educational causes.
- April 1st 1536 - Henry VIII sent Jane Seymour a letter and purse of gold, which she asked to be given to her only when she made an honourable match.
- April 2nd 1536 - Anne Boleyn’s almoner, John Skip, preached a sermon that attacked Cromwell’s ideas about the dissolution of the monasteries.
- April 24th 1536 - Thomas Cromwell and Sir Thomas Audley set up two commissions of oyer and terminer to investigate alleged acts of treason.
- April 26th 1536 - Anne Boleyn entrusted her chaplain, Matthew Parker, with the spiritual care of her little daughter, should anything happen to her.
- April 29th 1536 - Anne Boleyn quarrelled with Sir Henry Norris, accusing him of being in love with her, and thus looking for “dead men’s shoes”.
- April 30th 1536 - Carrying her infant daughter in her arms, Anne Boleyn made her final, most desperate appeal to her estranged husband.
- May 1st 1536 - Henry VIII received a letter at the May Day joust, which led him to abruptly leave Anne Boleyn at the joust, and interrogate Sir Henry Norris.
- May 2nd 1536 - Accused of committing adultery with at least three different men, Anne Boleyn was arrested, and thus imprisoned in the Tower of London.