On This Day in Tudor History

On this day in Tudor history1520 Mary Boleyn, sister to the infamous Anne, married William Carey, an esquire of the body to Henry VIII, at Greenwich. The marriage was one of political matchmaking; William Carey was rising quickly in favor at court and he had noble blood through his grandmother's lineage. We do not have a lot of details about the marriage itself, but controversy would soon surround it. Just two short years later, Mary would strike up a romance with the King. This relationship has become fodder for historical fiction novels including The Other Boleyn Girl as historians and other interested scholars have debated about the paternity of Mary's children, Katherine(1524) and Henry Carey (1526) read my thoughts on their lineage here. Mary has been vilified by some historians, referred to as the Great Prostitute or English mare whom all men "enjoyed to ride" by authors and films. It is a reputation that is perhaps undeserved and perhaps served the purpose of undermining Anne's, and later Elizabeth's, influence. Read my article on the subject The Mary Mythology to draw your own conclusions about the most mysterious member of the Boleyn family.

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On This Day in Tudor History

On this day in Tudor history 1536 Anne Boleyn miscarried her last child. It was an especially sad event as physicians who examined the fetus agreed that it appeared to be male. If Anne had given Henry his much sought after heir, her position would likely have been cemented. I wrote an information article on this topic last year, you can read it here.

The Death of Henry VIII

The death of Henry VIII was slow and painful; he suffered from excruciating, festering ulcers which rotted his leg, sporadic and violent mood changes, digestive problems, chronic headaches and likely last stage type II diabetes. Henry's obesity (his waist measured 54 inches) certainly exasperated these condition and hastened his death at the age of 55, which occurred on January 28, 1547 at Whitehall Palace. Henry must have sensed his imminent demise as he had begun vigorously reworking his will and paving the way for his son's smooth accession to the throne over the past several months. He prohibited his wife, Kateryn Parr and his children, from being at his side during his last illness, presumably because he wanted to maintain the image of him as a powerful king, not a man suffering through his last hours. On February 15 Henry's casket was interred at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle next to his beloved wife Jane Seymour.  The death of Henry VIII resulted in the rise of Edward VI to power and with him an Evangelical administration. Over the next several years the Church of England would shift a canonically Protestant institution for the first time.

Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger
circa 1542

On This Day in Tudor History

On this day in Tudor history 1457, Henry VII was born. Henry was born to thirteen year old Margaret Beaufort and her late husband Edmund Tudor, half brother to King Henry VI. the birth was very, very difficult; at one point her midwife and mother both thought she might die. Margaret's young age and small stature made delivering her first, and only, child hard. Henry would never know his father who died of the plague while being held captive by Yorkist forced at Carmarthen during the War of the Roses. Henry VII would spent his early years living in Wales with his uncle, Jasper Tudor, who would care for him until their subsequent exile to France in 1461. Jasper and Margaret would have a significant influence on Henry and his claim to the throne, bringing the Tudor dynasty to power in 1485.