Read of the Week

This week I chose a novel by Phillipa Gregory for review. The Constant Princess is a historical fiction book about Catherine of Aragon. It is really interesting and presents a narrative where Catherine and Arthur were very much in love, consummated their marriage and planned a bright future for England. In the book the death of Arthur devastates Catherine but she knows she must follow through on her deathbed promise to Arthur to marry his brother and carry out their plans for Britain. It is a really interesting take on Catherine's life and was fun to read. I would suggest it!

Elizabeth I's Ring

Around 1575 Elizabeth I had this ring created by her personal jeweler.  It is solid gold, covered with mother of pearl and encrusted with precious jewels. A hidden clasp opens the locket ring to reveal a portrait of Anne Boleyn on one side and Elizabeth herself on the other.





The ring could have had many meanings. It could have served to remind Elizabeth that one wrong step in royal politics could cost your life or it may mean that Elizabeth thought about her mother much more than she ever let on. Whatever the meaning behind the ring, it is beautiful and thought provoking. The ring was given to the Home family by King James I, the family donated it to the Trustees of Chequers house, the country residence of the Prime Minister. It was recently on display at the Greenwich Museum, which was its first public display. What do you think readers?

Elizabeth, the Promiscuous Queen?

I was asked by a friend the other day about Elizabeth's reputation. According to him, his world history instructor taught that Elizabeth slept around, refused to marry and was known as being a loose woman. Despite the instructor's claims there is no evidence that Elizabeth died anything but a virgin, as she claimed for her entire life. Many foreign ambassadors questioned Elizabeth's ladies regarding her sexual behavior because they hoped to make a solid marriage between the royals of their respective countries and Elizabeth, if she was not a virgin, such a marriage would be impossible. This questioning never revealed anything scandalous. We also must ask ourselves how Elizabeth would have had the opportunity to have a relationship without the knowledge of her advisers. She was constantly surrounded by either political advisers or ladies in waiting, if she was having an illicit relationship it would have become public knowledge quickly. Elizabeth chose not to marry a foreign royal as it would have opened up England to foreign power. For Elizabeth this was not an option; her father had fought for years to eliminate the intrusion of the Papacy into England's self determination.
Historians have long questioned why Elizabeth would not then have married an Englishmen and eliminated the risk of foreign influence. It is widely recorded that Elizabeth had favorites amongst her male courtiers, including Robert Dudley. I personally believe that Elizabeth has equated marriage with danger to her health and heart, both natural and manmade. Elizabeth had watched her mother and stepmothers be beheaded and beheaded at the whim of her father. She was present at the deaths of both Jane Seymour and Kateryn Parr as a result of child bed fever.
If she did indeed make the decision not to marry because of the risks to her emotions and physical wellbeing, why did she choose not to have a relationship? The answer, I think, is quite simple. Although primitive contraception did exist, such as the use of animal gut as a barrier method, there is still the possibility that Elizabeth could have become pregnant if she was engaged in sex acts. Would she have taken the risk of having a child outside of wedlock? It is very doubtful. It would have undermined her authority with her advisers and subjects, many who already questioned her right to govern England. Elizabeth's decision to remain unmarried was not a popular one, but one she felt important to the stability of the crown. This choice spurred many rumors regarding her sexuality because during this era women were regarded as being first and foremost, wives and mothers. That, paired with the fact that she was the daughter of Anne Boleyn, whom many remembered (Falsely)  as an adultress and whore, meant that there were many preconceived notions about her sexuality. Given all of my reading and researching on Elizabeth, I would argue that she died the virgin queen, married only to England. Stay tuned for my post in a few days on my theory regarding sexual abuse of Elizabeth by Thomas Seymour.

The Burial Site of Anne Boleyn

Following her execution, Anne's body was placed in a chest that had once contained bow staves and buried without fanfare at St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London, in a communal grave with other execution victims. The place believed to be her grave (under the chancel floor stones) is now marked by a memorial stone. There has however been some skepticism about whether or not it is Anne's remains under the marker. Tudor historian Alison Weir writes, "...we can be almost certain that Anne’s memorial stone does not mark the last resting place of her actual remains, and that she lies beneath Lady Rochford’s memorial" (The Lady in the Tower Pg. 345)
During the victorian era, the remains of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were discovered during renovations to the chapel. According to Antonia Fraser, their bones were discovered  under the paved area in the chapel chancel and were then reburied in proper coffins within the crypt which you can visit today. Dr. Mouat who handled the remains described the body of Anne as follows:
The bones found in the place where Queen Anne is said to have been buried are certainly those of a female in the prime of life, all perfectly consolidated and symmetrical and belong to the same person. The bones of the head indicate a well-formed round skull, with an intellectual forehead, straight orbital ridge, large eyes, oval face, and rather square full chin. The remains of the vertebra and the bones of the lower limbs indicate a well-formed woman of middle height with a short and slender neck. The ribs shew [sic] depth and roundness of chest. The hand and feet bones indicate delicate and well-shaped hands and feet, with tapering fingers and a narrow foot. (Source: Notices of the Historic Burials in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London With an Account of the Discovery of the Supposed Remains of Queen Anne Boleyn by John Murray)
The body is also said to have been a woman aged between twenty-five and thirty. This is too young to be Anne who was most likely born in 1501 and executed in 1536, while Jane was born no later than 1512 which means the body would be within the age range of Jane's years.
We may never know the truth of who lies beneath Anne Boleyn's grave marker, yet I tend to agree with Weir's argument regarding the location of Anne's bones. I base my assertions on several pieces of evidence. First is the description of Anne's body by Dr. Mouat, Anne was often described as having (and can be seen in the known portraits of her) to have a small pointed chin, not a full square one. She also is reported by many at court, in surviving documents, to have a long, slender neck not a short one, while surviving portraits of Jane Boleyn show her with a full, square chin and short neck.  Secondly is the recorded statement by John Stowe, Tudor court chronicler, which states " There lieth before the high altar in St. Peter's church, two dukes between two queens" The bones buried her were identified as a small woman between the ages of nineteen and twenty-three (obviously belonging to Catherine Howard) and a larger framed woman somewhere between thirty and forty (probably Anne Boleyn)This statement and the forensic evidence would support the theory that Anne was buried next to her brother under the marker of Lady Rochford while Jane Boleyn occupies the space beneath Anne's memorial.

Anne's grave marker

Anne Boleyn, the play

Hey all! My penpal in England recently saw this play at the Globe Theater and encouraged me to watch the trailer! It looks amazing; take a peek!