In early 1515, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, did the unthinkable; he married Henry VIII’s younger sister, Mary Tudor, without the King’s permission. Mary was the Dowager Queen of France, recently widowed following the death of her husband, King Louis XII, just three short months after their marriage. Widowed alone in …
To stand in the centre of Framlingham Castle, surrounded by its nearly 900 year old walls, is to stand in the place where a renewed Catholic era dawned over England. For it was here, in July 1553, that the Lady Mary learnt that she had been accepted as rightful queen, following the death of her …
How well do you think you know Anne of Cleves? We know all about her fated first meeting with Henry VIII, her short tenure as queen and the quick divorce that followed. But what about her character? Who was Anne of Cleves and can we get just that little bit closer to knowing the woman …
Have you ever visited Hampton Court Palace, the Mecca for any Tudor time traveller? Maybe not yet, but you dream of it. Maybe you have; and if that is the case, I bet most of you will have walked straight past some of the most intriguing features of the original, Tudor palace without even …
Have you ever felt just a bit peeved at how Henry VIII treated the women in his life? Have you ever wished you’d just like to give him a piece of your mind? I have. Of course, that is never going to happen; all those characters we know so well, including Henry himself, are …