Categotry Archives: Research
Tudor Follies: A Conversational Gambit
Put your breakfast down before you read today’s installment of Henry’s life and wives. Mr. Al is in rare form today! *** In the summer of 1546, a woman, Anne Askew, was imprisoned in the Tower on charges of heresy. For some reason Wriothesley considered this a golden opportunity to gather evidence against the Queen. Under questioning she denied knowing any members of the Queen’s household, let alone the Queen herself. Wroithesley ordered her racked. When no information was forthcoming, […]
The Tudor Follies: Marital Bliss with Henry
When we left off last week, Henry and Katherine Parr had just gotten married, and Henry was in the mood to celebrate. Now, back to the words of Mr. Al.**** Henry decided on a celebration that would combine business with pleasure. Accordingly, during a visit to Windsor Castle, Henry had three Protestant heretics burned at the stake on the front lawn. Yes, all was well in the Tudor household. Katherine had prevailed upon Henry to be nice to Mary and […]
Tudor Follies: Courtship, Henry Style
Welcome back to Mr. Al’s take on the many wives of Henry the XIII. When we left off the sweet, young, but not so innocent Katherine * had lost her head. Wouldn’t you know Henry would turn his attention to another Katherine. And now, without further ado, Mr. Al: *** Yes, Katherine Parr was already married. But the hubby, Lord Latimer, was much older and sick with some long-term disease that would carry him off before too long. And a […]
Tudor Follies: Teaching the Howards a Lesson
My sincere apologies for the delay in posting Tudor Tuesday this week. It’s been a rough few days around here. But my computer is back out of the shop and here’s Mr. Al’s history lesson for the week. *** Because so little of what Katherine was doing was of her own choice, the hand of the Duke was much more in evidence. Cranmer saw it plain as day. Yessiree, he saw through the Duke’s plans and he was going to […]
Tudor Folley's: Feeding Katherine Howard To The Wolves
Welcome back to Mr. Al’s take on the life and times of Henry the VIII’s wives, what little they tended to have at any rate. We left off with a young bride accused. And now, in the immortal words of Mr. Al: *** Henry had brought to Parliament, in it’s role as Supreme Court, the matter of Katherine’s “abominable behavior.” This was extremely bad news for Katherine. Henry was not going to be satisfied with an annulment. He wanted a […]
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 […]
A Zip Line in Belize
Yes, yes, more Belize. Honest, I will get it all out of my system someday. Maybe. Meanwhile check this out. We went on a zip line. A zip line is a cable run through the jungle canopy that you ride with the help of a couple of pulleys, a harness, and some thick gloves. Oh, and a couple of hunky tour guides. This one was at a resort close to Banana Bank. I don’t remember the name of the […]
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 […]
Banana Bank Lodge, Part 2
Banana Bank Lodge is owned by a Montana rancher and his wife, Carolyn Carr. Carolyn is an artist specializing in paintings of Belize people and animals. We were privileged to visit her studio. This is what it looked like from the outside: You can certainly see the Montana influence on the steps leading from the door to the studio. Frankly, it makes me think more Texas and New Mexico than Montana. You can see some of her fabulous paintings […]
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 […]
Banana Bank Lodge, Part 1
Yes, more Belize pictures. I know it’s been a couple of months since I took the trip, but there are still things I haven’t blogged about. If you all will put up with me a little longer…. Banana Bank Lodge is near Belmopan, the nation’s capital, and well into the jungle. We skirted around the edges of Belmopan without actually seeing any of it. Luckily Banana Bank’s Internet site provides excellent directions, right down to pictures of turning points along […]
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 […]
