The Tudor Claim to the Throne

Hey all,
I was recently asked by a follower how the Tudor line had a claim to the English throne. The House of the Plantagenets had two cadet lines, York and Lancaster. The Lancaster line was directly descended from John of Gaunt (founder of the Royal House) while York was descended through his younger brother. Margaret Beaufort was the last true heir of the Lancastrian line, she was married at twelve to Edmund Tudor who died young. Her son Henry Tudor had his claim to the throne through his mother. Henry Tudor would become Henry VII of England following the defeat of the Yorks and death of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Edward, the Earl of Warwick was nephew to the York king Richard III and had a strong claim to the throne. When Henry VII had him executed in 1499 the House of York went extinct in the male line ensuring that the Tudors were secure in their newfound power. Check out the graphic below for details on the family tree:

Image courtesy of the British Royal Family.

The Anne Boleyn Files Contest

Hey readers,
I recently reviewed the book The Secret Keeper: An Novel of Kateryn Parr. The author Sandra Byrd is having a contest on The Anne Boleyn Files, all you have to do is read her guest post and comment on it. You will be entered to win some beautiful Anne Boleyn earrings, a replica of a set used on the set of the Tudors. Check it out and enter yourselves @ http://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/19732/what-happened-to-lady-mary-seymour-guest-post-and-giveaway/comment-page-2/#comment-205232

Good luck fellow Anne addicts!

THE PRIZE!!!

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.