Henry VII: r. 1485-1509

Henry VII was born the sole son of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, and Lady Margaret Beaufort.  Henry had a most extraordinary background, his father dying at Carmarthen Castle in 1456, while held captive by Yorkists. The widow was a child bride, and she gave birth to her son on 28 January, 1457.

Henry's claim to the throne was not a strong one.  Weak claim or not in 1485 , Henry rose to a challenge put forth by some of the feistier subjects of Richard III,  via trial of battle.  Henry slew the reigning king and immediately became the de facto sovereign and was subsequently was crowned in Westminster Abbey.  The matter became an essentially sealed deal, when 8 days later Parliament assembled and an Act was passed which declared the inheritance of the Crown as a right to Henry and of the heirs of his body.

Henry was anything if not shrewd, and in 1486 he married Elizabeth, thereby uniting two rival houses.

It may have seemed all those years ago, in 1457 that the child who would be known as Henry VII, would be a vulnerable individual, having lost his father prior to his own birth, and left with a mother who was still a child herself. But Henry had proven himself to be anything but weak. The intervention of relatives, and his own  strong will had eventually resulted in his actually taking the throne without, according to some, even a legitimate claim.

Jane Seymour: A Pheonix

Then entire persona of Jane Seymour is a bit mystifying.  It is difficult to judge as to whether Jane was a rather passive bystander, or if she was actually an ambitious, almost cruel woman.

Though Jane is often described as having been a bland woman, both in looks and personality, she seems to have been far more complex.  Jane had certainly evidenced traits of mercy and kindness in her brief lifetime.  But Jane had also witnessed Anne Boleyn's tragic undoing, and may have even been directly, or indirectly involved in her former mistress's downfall.

Though Jane has been portrayed as being the new kid in town as far as court life was concerned, she was hardly a newcomer.  Jane had actually served as Catherine of Aragon's ladies.

The king's involvement with Jane was confused with a number of significant events.  Catherine had died in her lonely household at Kimbolton Castle.  Though Catherine had not been well for years, her death was still shocking and unexpected.  The Boleyn faction rejoiced as the doors finally seemed wide open for the legitimacy of Anne and Henry's union. Anne was at last queen, the only queen.  The festive mood would be short-lived.

On 24 January, Henry's horse fell in the tilt yard, nearly killing the him.  He was unconscious for about two hours.  Medically speaking a lapse of consciousness lasting more than a few minutes, due to trauma, is significant. That Henry was unconscious for two hours is a virtual guarantee that he suffered some degree of brain injury.  More bad news was on the horizon, and on 29 January, Anne suffered a devastating miscarriage.  Anne's loss of her child sparked rumors and talk throughout the court, as to the cause of her miscarriage, and even claims that the fetus had been malformed.  The latter was undoubtedly little more than a vicious rumor as Anne had not been at a level of gestation where any malformation would have been evident.

Jane's place during that miserable year is unclear.  Jane's having been described as the Phoenix is certainly appropriate as she rose in Henry's esteem as Anne plunged. Henry's daughter Mary was becoming a far stronger threat to Anne, and her supporters did include Jane's family. Jane was not thought to posses any remarkable intelligence, however, she was probably not the milquetoast that she is assumed to be. It is very likely that the Seymour faction was actively pushing Jane towards Henry, and telling her exactly what she should say, how she should act to more effectively win the King's affections. Jane's famous overly-prim refusal of a gift offered to her by the king is likely proof of some sort of encouragement she received by those who were more than eager to topple Anne over.  

The Lady Mary: End of the Sunny Days

The relative happiness that Princess Mary had known as a child came to an dramatic end, and her new unwanted title was: Lady Mary.  Mary couldn't have disliked her new title more, and often she simply refused to refer to herself in any other style, but Princess.  Mary would also steadfastly refuse to recognize Anne Boleyn as queen, and this would cause a horrible rift between herself and the king, and the beginning of a long estrangement.  Never having had a strong constitution, this time in Mary's life would mark the beginning of a slow, but steady decline in every aspect of her well-being.  Every facet of Mary's wellness began to suffer:  physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Catastrophic developments had taken place in Henry's life, and these would have a direct detrimental effect on Mary. Henry had fallen out of love with Mary's mother Catherine, and passionately in love with Anne Boleyn.  This was a new reality that Mary would never understand, and would never accept. Mary's life as she had known it had been destroyed, and as far as she was concerned the blame fell squarely on Anne Boleyn's slender shoulders.

Just who was this strange woman who had eclipsed her mother so totally?  Contemporary reports varied widely, with some calling Anne a bewitching beauty, and others describing her as plain, and with some odd physical defects.  Most courtiers would agree that while the new woman who had captivated Henry was not beautiful, like Bessie Blount, she was very attractive. Anne was a tall, notably elegant raven haired woman, with expressive black eyes.  Courtiers would say that Anne "knew how to use her eyes."  Anne was also on the cutting edge of fashion, even setting lasting fashion trends herself, and styled herself like the perfect natural-born Frenchwoman.  Slender and small busted, so different from Catherine, who had been once curvaceous, now grown stout, Henry seemed very pleased.  Henry's court was moving in a different direction and Anne was simply captivating to some of the male courtiers.  Though Queen Catherine still held firmly in her possession their respect, Henry and his male courtiers had long since begun to view his wife as boring, stout, old.  Francis I had even meaner things to say to describe Catherine.  Henry was in his prime, was considerably younger than Catherine, and was tired of his aging, barren wife. Henry determined he would get rid of his old wife, the sooner the better.  Even if it cracked his country in half, and it would, he would rid himself of his "brother's wife whom he had never been rightfully married to," and marry the virginal Anne Boleyn, who had promised to give him a whole household of rudely healthy sons!

In the meantime, Mary was in the odd place of technically,  not existing. As ridiculous as this sounds, if his marriage to Catherine was to be annulled, where did that leave Mary, the true issue of that marriage? Mary was now referred to as a "bastard," and was told in no uncertain terms that she would call herself Lady Mary.
If all this was not bad enough, Mary couldn't have known just how bad circumstances were going to get.

The childhood of Mary I: Happier Days

Though Queen Catherine and King Henry were undeniably disappointed that their new baby was not a boy, these feelings quickly gave way to joy and genuine happiness.

Mary was enchanting to her parents, and the king and queen were exceedingly proud of their little girl.

Only two days after her birth, Mary was christened at the church of the Observant Friars in Greenwich. Mary's godfather was Cardinal Wolsey, Henry's chief minister.  One of the four knights who held a canopy over the baby as she entered the church, was, Sir Thomas Boleyn, Anne's father.

As tradition dictated, Mary would live separately from the king and queen.  Mary was cared for by a very capable retinue of staff, including Katherine Pole as a wet-nurse, four rockers, laundress, and her governess, Elizabeth Denton.  In 1518, this position passed to Lady Bryan.  Mary's household also included a treasurer, chaplain, and even a gentlewoman.  Though Mary's household was very orderly and proper, it was not a home devoid of affection.

For the most part, Mary grew up surrounded by adults.  Her friendship with Frances Brandon, daughter of Mary and Charles Brandon would be an exception.  And though she didn't live with her parents, they were an important part of her life, and were actually affectionate for 16th century monarchs.  Henry bragged over his precocious child, of whom he said "never cried."  Catherine adored Princess Mary.  And though it was certainly resented by Catherine when the beautiful Elizabeth Blount gave birth to Henry's child in 1519, she remained confident of Mary's place in the succession.

Mary's household, like most wealthy households of Tudor days, moved location frequently.  It was usually arranged that Mary would be located in a palace that would be close enough for Catherine to visit frequently. And though Mary and her mother had a very close relationship, the woman who would function as mother to Mary, from day to day, was the countess of Salisbury.  Mary and the countess shared a profoundly close bond.  The countess had been expressly chosen by Queen Catherine to attend Mary. A woman of striking statuesque beauty, the countess was very tall, pale, with the trademark red hair of the Plantagenet's. The countess was 47 when she began as governess to Mary.

The little princess demonstrated a remarkable talent for dance, and especially music.  Astonishingly, at the age of four years, Mary was an accomplished player of the virginals, and later the lute.  Mary was an excellent dancer, and people throughout the court were certainly impressed by Mary.  Music and dance would be favorite pastimes for Mary throughout her life.

The strange death of Amy Dudley

The eighth of September, 1560, would see the death of a most inconvenient woman.  Amy Dudley had been found dead of a broken neck, at the bottom of a stone staircase. This would mark the end of the sad life of Robert Dudley's unwanted wife.  It also meant that Robbie was free to marry again. But the strange circumstances of Amy's death would prove to haunt both Robert and Queen Elizabeth.  The scandal that followed the young woman's lonely death would leave Robert almost as unable to marry his love, the queen, as when his wife still lived.

Elizabeth and Dudley were out hunting on the day that Amy died, as they had been doing for a number of days.  Elizabeth and her Robbie had been positively ebullient, invigorated and refreshed, thoroughly enjoying one another's company. Both their mood and activities were rather inappropriate, given that Amy was reportedly wasting from a terminable illness. It would have seemed that Robert's place should have been by his dying wife's side.

As the queen was returning from the hunt, she made a comment to the Spanish ambassador that was stunning. She remarked that Robert's wife was likely dead, or at least nearly dead. Elizabeth then asked him to keep silent on the matter.  De Quadra was nothing short of mortified. Did this mean that someone had deliberately murdered Amy Dudley? Had Amy been truly ill? Was it possible that Amy had committed suicide?


  Amy had been alone at home the day she died, every servant had been away.  That not a single person was in attendance of a dying woman was odd indeed.  More strangely, Cecil had previously told De Quadra that Amy was in very good health, and that the danger to her was that someone might attempt to poison her.

The whispering rumors were flourishing at court, and Elizabeth's attitude did nothing to help the situation.  She was reportedly reacting to Amy's death with remarkable callousness, even sarcasm.  Was this the reaction of a woman who might have been complicit somehow in a rival's death, or was this an understandable and defensive reaction of a woman who was being unfairly maligned?

Anne Boleyn's Wedding

The Big Event: Anne and Henry marry

Sadly for Anne Boleyn, the wedding that she had held out for those many years, in reality, was not what was expected.

Considering all that had been promised and intimated, to say that the actual event was anti-climactic is a bit of an understatement.  Anne's romance with Henry had been one lusty affair, and her constant prudence and strict vigilance of her virginity, whether she was truly virginal, or not, was a subject that had become a moot point. Of course, great interest in Anne's virtue would be revived once again, and not in a good way. 

Anne was already pregnant at her own wedding.  This is normally not exactly a shocking scenario, but for Tudor folk, and royalty no less, it was a less than optimal presentation.  It was a second marriage, and for every second marriage, there are bound to be a few people who are not pleased.  I know whereof I speak, as I was once a second wife. The stakes were as high as the sky for this particular newly wedded pair, because as far as many of the English people were concerned, Henry was, and would always be, married, to Queen Catherine, that is.  And Anne, in the mind of many, was a home wrecker.  To add even more discomfiting feelings to events, Anne and Henry were actually co-habiting prior to the marriage.  Whose decision it had been to live together prior to marriage, is unknown. What is known, is that it was a most unwise choice.

The actual wedding took place around 25, January.  Rather than the marriage be announced, and immediate celebrations to follow, the wedding was kept a secret for some number of weeks. Pains were taken to keep the marriage a secret from Chapuys, especially, and even Francis. Rumors were swirling, however, and certain actions, such as Henry transferring over three hundredweight of gilt in December to Anne, confirmed those rumors. Despite the secrecy, and oddly, Anne began to drop loud hints that she was expecting, such as when she famously said in the midst of a number of courtiers, that she had developed a sudden ravenous craving for apples. By Wednesday of Holy Week, Queen Catherine was informed that she was to consider herself a dowager princess of Wales, and to curtail her lifestyle accordingly. The following Saturday, the day before Easter 1533, Anne attended mass as queen, drenched in jewels, wearing cloth of gold.

Even so, cracks in the relationship between Henry and Anne were becoming apparent.  The English people were not accepting of Anne, and some subjects were rather bold in their protestations.  Some of the opposition came from an unpleasantly close source, Henry's sister and brother-in-law, Mary and Charles Brandon.  Henry's sister was making very insulting remarks about Anne, and tensions rose to the point where one of Brandon's principle gentlemen was left dead.  Chapuys claimed that Henry had made a special visit to the Brandons, presumably to ask them to accept Anne.  Whatever the King may have said, Mary, especially, continued to snub Anne in a very public fashion.

And of course, the struggle with Rome still had no end in sight.

Juana the Mad: truly mad or a tragic victim?

Juana aka Juana la Loca, or Juana the Mad was born on 6, November 1479.  Though she led a  tortured existence, she would live until age 75.  That Juana lived to such an advanced age is remarkable, given the time she lived in, the then predicted life-span, and the miseries she endured.

Juana was about as unlucky in love and life as a woman could be.  To date, Juana remains one of the most tragically misunderstood figures of her time.

Born in Toledo, capital of the Kingdom of Castile , she was the third daughter of Isabella 1 of Castile, and Ferdinand II of Aragon, from the House of Trastamara.  Juana showed great promise as a child, and actually mastered all of the Iberian Romance languages, as well as being fluent in both French and Latin. Juana was considered exceptionally attractive as a child.  Though nearly always portrayed on film by women with olive features, Juana had the same coloring as her mother, and sister Catherine of Aragon, with strawberry blonde hair and pale blue eyes, of fair complexion. Though Juana was not expected to reign, she gave every impression of having a bright future.  No one could have predicted the profound sadness and instability that would plague Juana later.

1496 was a year Juana would always remember, as she was betrothed to Phillip the Handsome, in Flanders.  The two attractive youths were instantly smitten. However, Joanna's sublime feeling would be fleeting, due to Phillip's infidelities, and extreme political pressures placed upon the young couple. The concept of marital fidelity was much lauded in this age, but for male monarchs was hardly a realistic one.  Though the knowledge that one's husband is cheating is, and has always been painful for a woman, Juana's heartache would come to define her. The unhappy young wife grew obsessed with her husband, and his mistresses. Sick with jealously and depression, Juana grew increasingly unstable. Others would take advantage Juana's obvious vulnerability, and when her husband died on 25, September 1506, it was a devastating blow from which she would never recover from. Phillip had been only 28 years old at the time of his death. Circumstances surrounding the death were both mysterious and disturbing, adding to Juana's misery.

Juana's life eventually deteriorated to the extent that her own son virtually imprisoned her.  Isolated and cast aside, Juana was left with little more than her memories.