Categotry Archives: History
Tudor Follies: A Queen Besieged
Mr. Al left us wondering how Cranmer would wring confessions from Queen Katherine (The Howard Katherine, not that earlier one). Today he lets us know. **** He couldn’t touch the Queen, of course. But he could try to trick an incriminating statement out of her. She was Queen, but she was also an emotionally distraught teenage girl. It was worth a try. In the meantime, he could turn the pros in the Tower lose on Dereham and Culpeper. His first […]
Tudor Follies: The Sad Tale of Katherine Howard
It’s Tudor Tuesday and Mr. Al is back with his short and pithy take on history. Put down your cereal bowls. We’re going to skirt the edges of “eww” with this one. *** Of the six wives of Henry the VIII, Katherine Howard was probably the least prepared for what lay ahead. She had no idea what she was getting herself into. Her mother died when she was a toddler. Her father remarried, but her stepmother had little to do […]
Tudor Follies: Anne of Cleves and the Royal Willie
Those of us who are not well versed in history are no-doubt very concerned about Anne of Cleves’ future. Being an unwanted bride to Henry VIII could get you killed. And Cromwell? Better set aside your breakfast, Anastasia. And now for History according to Mr. Al. *** They had the same uncle. The gruff, lovable old Duke of Norfolk. He who had gone so far out of his way to make sure that his niece, Anne Boleyn, was slaughtered like […]
The Tudor Follies: How Ugly Was She?
Fresh from the keyboard of Mr. Al, here is the latest installment of the love life of Henry the VIII. *** Henry found Anne so unpleasant that he couldn’t do his royal duty with her. No royal duty, no babies. No babies, no point to being married. But what to do? Sending Anne back to Germany would probably spark a war that England couldn’t hope to win. Keeping a wife he found so repulsive that he couldn’t stomach having sex […]
The Tudor Follies: "Next!"
Mr. Al returns with the next segment from the life and times of Henry the VIII. Next up, Anne of Cleves. **** It was decided that a nice Protestant princess would fit the bill. A good looking one with large breasts if it could be managed. For the men around Henry, political and foreign relations were paramount. Especially from Cromwell’s perspective. Things weren’t looking good in Europe and England needed an ally to balance against any rapprochement that might spring […]
Tudors: The Rise and Fall of Jane Seymour
Having seen the first two of Henry VIII’s wives bite the dust we are back for another guest blog with Mr. Al. Let’s see how Jane fared. **** Apparently not one to shilly-shally, Queen-to-be Jane was busy with her wedding dress at the same time that Anne’s head was being chopped off. Some girls might, given the circumstances, have had reason to pause and consider what the future might hold. Some girls might. But not Jane. The marriage was announced […]
The Tudors: The End of Anne Boleyn
Boy, when the end comes, it really comes fast. Poor Anne. We continue with Mr. Al’s History of Henry the VIII’s Wives. **** It could be proved that Anne and her lover(s) plotted the Kings murder while rumpling the royal linens. That was it! It was Cromwell who came up with that idea. Henry made sure there was a little extra something in his pay packet that week. In the end, five men were accused of having slept with Anne […]
The Tudors: Anne In The Way
We will be doing two Tudors this week as Anne slides into her dreaded fate, a short one today and a long one tomorrow. **** By February 1536 the bloom was off the lily. Anne was, as far as Henry was concerned, never going to produce a male heir. She also began to vent her notoriously nasty temper on Henry. Something she had tried to avoid during their courtship. She even objected, loudly and in public, to his recreational sex […]
What Katherine Wanted
As promised, we continue with Mr. Al’s history of the Tudors. *** What Katherine wanted was a clear statement from the Pope that she was Henry’s lawful wife! She wanted it publicly acknowledged that she was the rightful Queen of England! Why was His Holiness being such a weenie about it? If Henry wouldn’t abide by the Pope’s decision, well, there was nothing she could do about that. At least the world would know that Henry’s actions were just plain […]
The Tudors – Henry and Anne Get It On.
Just so you know, I’m the one who comes up with the cheesy titles. Mr. Al never thinks to give me one. Anyway, when we left off Henry was about to discover something about his virginal queen-to-be not entirely to his liking. *** It turned out, or so Henry later claimed, that Anne had been “corrupted” while in France. That she had had sexual experiences that left her, technically, still a virgin. He did not elaborate on what the experiences […]
Three Men and a Tudor.
Mr. Al has written a very long piece of Tudor history. I asked him to slice off a piece for me, and this was the result: *** In November of 1529, Henry was still in love with Anne. But the strain to her of keeping a guy like Henry at arms length for five years was taking its toll. Although she didn’t seem to mind making enemies among those who were outside her family faction, her increasingly short temper and […]
Tudor Follies Continued – Anne Boleyn
Mr. Al continues his take on English history with a look at one of Henry VIII’s wives. ______ About Anne Boleyn. Although they ended up rivals, to put it mildly, Anne and Katherine were close friends for years. Anne entered Katherine’s service as a lady in waiting after serving for eight years with Queen Claude, (yes, that was her name.) of France. It was while in Claude’s service that Anne got her first lesson in the realities of a young […]
Mr. Al’s first Tudor Thingy
It occurs to me that some of you may not have seen Mr. Al’s first post, which he put in FanLit Forever instead of sending to me, his dear wife who specifically asked for it. So here it is: . I don’t know what happened, I’ve been possessed by an imp or something. No one is willing to talk movies so now you all are gonna get a history lesson! You brought it on yourselves. The Henry story went like […]
Guest Blog with Mr. Al: The Tudors
Some time ago I asked Mr. Al to provide me with a guest blog- something having to do with marriage in history, his choice. He came up with a wonderful bit about Henry the VIII which he promptly posted over in FanLit Forever! Harumph. This is his sequiel to it. . Some persons have made it known that they enjoyed my previous post on the Tudor follies. I was and am tickled pink that so many, all six or seven […]
