King Charles I (born 19th November 1600; ascended to throne 27th March 1625, till beheaded 30th January 1649) Charles started life as the second son, “the spare,” and hence was the Duke of York, the traditional English title for the…
King James I
King James 1 of England, VI of the Scots (born June 19, 1566; ascended throne of Scotland 24 July 1567, throne of England and Ireland 24 March 1603; till died 27 March 1625) James was in many ways an enigma.…
Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth (born 7th September 1533; reigned November 1558 till death March 1603) One of England’s favourite and longest reigning monarchs, Elizabeth was born in Greenwich Palace, although her mother’s images adorned various parts of Hampton Court it was not…
Queen Mary
Queen Mary (born 18 February 1516, reigned July 1553 till death November 1558) It can reasonably be said that Mary’s was not a happy life. The only child of Queen Catherine of Aragon to survive infancy, her life was spent…
King Edward VI
King Edward VI (born October 12th 1537; reigned January 1547 till death July 1553) Born in Hampton Court Palace after a difficult labour which resulted in the death of his mother, Jane Seymour, Edward was everything his father wanted –…
Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond
Henry’s mother was the teenage Elizabeth Blount, one of three names known as mistresses to Henry VIII, who, as recorded, had fewer mistresses than wives. Bessie Blount was said to have, “excelled all other damsels in singing, dancing, and goodly…
The Death of King Henry VIII
In the last months of 1546 it was apparent to everyone that Henry was nearing his end. The knives came out, the political families, notably the Seymours and the Howards, did their best to destroy each other by infamy or…
Catherine Parr
Catherine held several records as Queen of England – the Queen most often married, and more important to her, the reigning Queen who survived marriage to Henry, and the first English Queen also to be Queen of Ireland. Only once…
Katherine Howard
Before the issue of Anna of Cleves was settled, Henry was falling passionately for one of Anna’s attendants, a young girl of uncertain birth date, and a poor relation of the powerful Howard family, in fact first cousin to Anne…
Anna of Cleves
To fill the vacancy at court, discussions were held regarding which princesses were available and what political benefits might be obtained. Henry is reputed to have suggested the cynical equivalent of a shape-up, all the potential princesses should be lined…