When Anne Boleyn was executed within the precinct of the Tower of London on 19 May 1536, no provision had been made for her burial. She had died a convicted traitor, guilty of adultery, incest, and treason. Henry had already washed his hands of her and would marry his third wife, Jane Seymour, within days. … Read more
As I continue my travels on the road this month, I wanted to share with you what went on behind the scenes when my co-author and Tudor partner-in-crime, Natalie Grueninger and I, set out to write our first ‘In the Footsteps’ book together: In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn. So, have you ever wondered how … Read more
Following Anne Boleyn’s coronation procession, on Whitsunday 1 June 1533, my Lady Marquess of Pembroke was finally crowned Queen of England. It came about as the result of a historic love that had torn the court, and the country, apart. The aftershock would not only profoundly impact people’s lives but that of the nation as … Read more
?Eltham was a once-great medieval palace. During the Tudor period, it was home to the likes of Prince Henry (the future Henry VIII) and his sisters, Margaret and Mary, (both future queens of Scotland and France, respectively). Sadly, through the sixteenth-century, Eltham Palace fell from favour. It was ultimately abandoned and left to decay, falling … Read more
A little later than scheduled, on 8 or 9 July 1535, Henry VIII set out from Windsor Castle in Berkshire on what would become one of the longest and most politically significant progresses of his reign: the 1535 progress. Anne, still the king’s ‘most dere and entierly beloved lawfull wiff’, was at his side, as … Read more
In the early hours of the morning, on 25 January 1533, the slight figure of a woman made her way by flickering torchlight along the King’s Privy Gallery at Whitehall. Outside the window, blackness enshrouded the privy gardens below. She heard the night owl screech out its territorial cry, penetrating the stillness of the icy, … Read more
This week I am revisiting Hever Castle in Kent, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. I went along on a very chilly winter’s evening, by special invitation, to see Hever Castle dressed for Christmas. We are going to go inside to meet with Owen Emerson, House Manager at Hever, and hear all about some very … Read more
Let me introduce you to one of the most beguiling cities of Tudor England: Calais. In the first half of the sixteenth century, Calais was the only jewel of English sovereignty that remained as part of the French mainland. It was a remnant of the vast empire of England’s Plantagenet dynasty; a dynasty that had … Read more