Victorian Musings

King Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547. Henry VIII was buried in St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, next to his third wife Jane Seymour, the mother of his son and heir Edward VI. He was 56 years of age when he died, not a bad age to reach during the Tudor period. So did he die of old age, was there a specific illness or was the cause of death syphilis? To ascertain the cause of the death of Henry VIII it is perhaps a good idea to look at any health issues or illnesses that he had suffered during his life. The most famous doctors who attended Henry VIII were George Owen, M.D, Doctor Augustine and Doctor Butts. During his lifetime King Henry VIII suffered from the following health issues and illnesses: In 1513 at the age of 22 he suffered from a bout of smallpox In 1524 at the age of 33 he suffered the first of recurring attacks of malaria In 1535 at the age of 44 King Henry VIII badly injured his leg in a jousting accident. Although the leg first appeared to have he

25 January 1533 is one of the dates of a secret marriage between Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn. There is not much historical record or documentation clarifying the exact date or providing much information at all. Instead of doing a blog post with said information I am doing the following: In honor of the wedding anniversary of Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn, I am sharing a brief historical part of a chapter I've written in my upcoming novel. I am writing a Tudor themed time slip novel. Here is how I imagine Henry and Anne to be i.e. a young, newly married, much in love, couple who happen to be King and Queen of England. Anne waited for her husband in her bedchamber all the while wondering just what the devil he was up to this time! He had been in a rather jovial mood all morning and hardly slept a wink all night. Anne blushed thinking of her and Henry coupling last night and as thoughts of Henry’s well toned, muscled, naked body ran through her mind, the heavy oak door swung ope

I recently found two book reviews or just my thoughts really on two novels that were published in the UK in 2009 and in the US in 2010 so I'm sharing my ideas with you! I am an avid fan of Alison Weir's historical biographies and being such an admirer of Anne Boleyn, simply could not wait to read Alison Weir's latest novel. I was not disappointed. The first question I asked myself was What new information could there possibly be? Hasn't every other historian and fictional author of historical biographies said everything that could be said about the second wife of Henry VIII? Apparently not! Alison Weir's novel entitled, 'The Lady in The Tower THE FALL OF ANNE BOLEYN' covers January - May 1536. 1536 is remembered as the year that Anne Boleyn was executed; the first queen of england to be put to death. Although, not the first woman to be executed on the grounds of the Tower of London. There has been much question and discussion in U.K. newspapers and

Why was the date of 15 January 1559 chosen as the coronation date? One of Elizabeth's first appointments as Queen was to assign the radical Protestant Robert Dudley to be chief organiser of her coronation. Dudley immediately called upon the assistance of astrologer John Dee. Choosing the date of the coronation was extremely important. England could not afford another difficult reign like the last two. Elizabeth's right to the ascension of the throne was challenged for a number of reasons. Not only was she officially still illegitimate, she was also considered a heretic. A woman ascending the throne was seen as going against the political and cosmic order, as had been proved by Mary's less than successful reign. It was important to find a time that would forgo the disaster that had been foretold. Dee wrote a long and detailed analysis of the astrological augurs for her reign and after much consideration of her natal chart and the current influences, he chose 12pm on the 1

One of my favorite historians and authors is Alison Weir whom I discovered by accident back in the 1990's when I read, 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' simply for pleasure then later for a college history class. Thus, she started me on my road to historical biographies! When perusing the author's website, I found some information on her upcoming historical biography. However, I found three different titles for it! The subject of the biography is Mary Boleyn best known as 'The Other Boleyn Girl' and as the sister to Anne Boleyn: Title 1 taken from Alison Weir's site herself: "Mary Boleyn: "The Great and Infamous Whore", Title 2 taken from Amazon.co.uk: "Mary Boleyn: The Truth About Mary Boleyn" Publisher: Jonathan Cape (6 Oct 2011). Title 3 taken from amazon.com: "Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings" Publisher: Ballantine Books (October 4, 2011). ALL INFORMATION TAKEN FROM ALISON WEIR'S WEBSITE In this book, the f

Here are my top favorite reads of 2010 with a book cover and brief synopsis in no particular order: Having fictionalized Elizabeth Woodville in The White Queen (2009), royal chronicler Gregory now turns to Henry VIII's other indomitable grandmother. The opposite of her alluring Yorkist rival, plain Lancastrian heiress Margaret Beaufort grows up knowing women are useful only for bearing sons, but divine visions grant her an unwavering conviction about her future greatness. At age 12, she weds Lancastrian warrior Edmund Tudor and pours her ambition into his posthumous son, Henry. Constantly separated from her beloved child after her second marriage to a pacifist knight, her frustrations are palpably felt; she later brokers her own union with a crafty turncoat who may be the key to her hopes. While England seethes with discord during the turbulent Wars of the Roses, Margaret's transformation from powerless innocent to political mastermind progresses believably as rival heirs to