Tag: Tudor Dynasty

Biography: Queen Elizabeth I

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220px-Elizabeth_I_in_coronation_robes(Born September 7, 1533- Died March 24, 1603)
Daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
Sister to King Edward VI and Queen Mary I
Elizabeth was known as the “Virgin Queen” because she never married and she never had a child. Elizabeth was one of the greatest rulers in English history.

Elizabeth I was born on September 7, 1533 to Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn at Greenwich Palace. At birth, Elizabeth was declared heir presumptive to the throne of England. Her older half-sister, Mary, had lost her position as a legitimate heir when Henry annulled his marriage to Mary’s mother, Catherine of Aragon, to marry Anne, with the intent to sire a male heir and ensure the Tudor succession. However, things didn’t go as planned. Anne never was able to give birth to the desired son that Henry wanted. Anne would later be accused of adultery and treason. On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed; Elizabeth was two years old at the time and she was declared illegitimate, just like her step-sister Mary.

Henry VIII married Jane Seymour shortly after Anne Boleyn’s execution. Jane gave birth to Elizabeth’s step-brother Edward, but died shortly afterward. Elizabeth’s father would marry three more times; Anne of Cleves who was divorced; Katherine Howard who was beheaded; and finally Katherine Parr. During this time, Elizabeth met Catherine “Kat” Ashley who was appointed Elizabeth’s governess in 1537 and remained with Elizabeth until her death in 1565. William Grindal became her tutor in 1544 and after his death in 1548, Roger Ascham became Elizabeth’s tutor. Elizabeth received a very good education and she loved to learn. Elizabeth’s life was somewhat normal at this point, but life was about to change drastically.

Henry VIII died on January 28, 1547, when Elizabeth was 13, leaving the throne to his nine year old son Edward VI. Before Henry VIII died, he reinstated his daughters to the line of succession so after Edward VI, Mary would become queen and then Elizabeth. Shortly after Henry VIII’s death, his last wife Katherine Parr married Thomas Seymour, the brother of Jane Seymour and Edward Seymour, Edward VI’s Lord Protector. Elizabeth moved in with Katherine Parr and Thomas Seymour at their home in Chelsea where, it is alleged, Thomas Seymour would act inappropriately towards Elizabeth, including bursting into her bedroom while she was barely dress, slap her on the bottom, and one time, shred Elizabeth’s dress. In May 1548, Elizabeth was dismissed from Katherine’s household; Katherine Parr died from childbirth on September 5, 1548 which allowed Thomas to pursue Elizabeth as his wife, but it failed. Thomas was accused of trying to kidnap Edward VI, charged with treason and executed on March 20, 1549. Elizabeth was interrogated during the investigation into Thomas, but she never admitted anything about the nature of their relationship.

Edward VI would die on July 6, 1553, at the age of 15. Under Henry VIII’s Act of Succession, the crown should have passed onto Mary, however Edward did not like that she was Catholic, so before he died, he issued an act that named his heir as Lady Jane Grey. Lady Jane Grey would only be queen for nine days since Mary brought an army to place her on the throne. On August 3, 1553, Mary rode into London with Elizabeth by her side. On the outside, it looked like Mary and Elizabeth had reconciled, however they were pulling farther apart.

Mary and Elizabeth kept butting heads over religion, Mary being Catholic and Elizabeth being Protestant. Mary’s popularity began to wan with her people when she announced in 1554 that she wanted to marry Philip II of Spain, a devout Catholic. That same year in January and February, a man by the name of Thomas Wyatt staged a rebellion to put Elizabeth on the throne instead of Mary, which failed. Wyatt was beheaded and Elizabeth was interrogated. She was imprisoned in the Tower of London on March 18th; she would later be transferred to Woodstock on May 22nd where she spent a year under house arrest in the custody of Sir Henry Bedingfield.

Elizabeth returned to court on April 17, 1555 to help Mary with the final stages of her pregnancy. However, months passed and it turned out that it was a false pregnancy. As Mary fell ill, Philip II started to consult with Elizabeth on how to run the country, and in October 1558, Elizabeth began to formulate her own court. On November 6, Mary recognized Elizabeth as her heir and on November 17, 1558, Mary I died and Elizabeth I succeeded to the throne.

Elizabeth I became Queen of England at the age of 25. She was crowned in an elaborate ceremony on January 15, 1559, which was cold winter day; Elizabeth would get sick shortly after her coronation, but once she recovered, she made William Cecil, later Baron Burghley, her Chief Minister. Elizabeth had two pressing matters to solve when she first became queen, resolving the matters of religious division in England and who she would marry. With the religious division, she sought to strike a balance, so that even though Protestantism became the national religion, those who wanted to hear the Roman Catholic mass were able to do so in private. Elizabeth became the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

The other issue that plagued Elizabeth during her reign was who she was going to marry. There were many candidates, foreign and English suitors, but Elizabeth would not commit herself to one man, instead she decided to remain single and considered herself the mother of the English people. The man who probably had the best chance of marrying Elizabeth was Robert Dudley. Dudley was the brother of Guilford Dudley, the husband of Lady Jane Grey. He was married to Amy Robsart, but she died of a fall in 1560 and Dudley was accused of her murder. He was created the Earl of Leicester in 1564. Dudley remarried in 1578 to one of Elizabeth’s Maid of the Privy Chamber, Lettice Knollys. This made Elizabeth angry and she banished Lettice from court. Dudley would die in 1588, shortly after the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Robert Dudley tried for over 20 years to convince Elizabeth to marry him and it resulted in a close friendship, but nothing more.

The other serious contender for the Queen’s hand was Francis, Duke of Anjou, who Elizabeth called her “frog”, heir to the French throne. But again, political considerations made the match ultimately impossible. Other suitors included King Philip II of Spain, King Eric XIV of Sweden, Archduke Charles of Austria, and Henry Duke of Anjou (the duke before Francis). Elizabeth had numerous favorites at her court including Sir Christopher Hatton, Robert Devereux earl of Essex, and Walter Raleigh, just to name a few. The problem was that Elizabeth decided not to marry nor would she declare a successor, even when she contracted smallpox in October 1562 and she thought she might die.

Elizabeth’s refusal to marry or name a successor led to one of the most defining conflicts of Elizabeth’s reign. Catholics viewed Elizabeth as illegitimate and had no right to the throne. To them, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth’s cousin, had a better claim to the throne. Mary was the granddaughter of Henry VIII’s sister Margaret. Elizabeth was persuaded to send a force into Scotland to aid the Protestant rebels, and though the campaign was inept, the resulting Treaty of Edinburgh of July 1560 removed the French threat in the north.When Mary returned to Scotland in 1561 a to take up the reins of power, the country had an established Protestant church and was run by a council of Protestant nobles supported by Elizabeth. Mary refused to ratify the treaty which denied Mary the right to succeed to the English throne.

In 1563 Elizabeth proposed her own suitor, Robert Dudley, as a husband for Mary, without asking either of the two people concerned. Both proved unenthusiastic, and in 1565 Mary married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who carried his own claim to the English throne. The marriage was the first of a series of errors of judgement by Mary that handed the victory to the Scottish Protestants and to Elizabeth. Darnley quickly became unpopular and was murdered in February 1567 by conspirators almost certainly led by James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. On May 15, 1567, Mary married Bothwell, arousing suspicions that she had been in on the murder of Lord Darnley. This lead to Mary’s fall from grace and she was held captive starting in July 1567.

Forced to flee her own country, having abdicated her throne in favour of her infant son, James, Mary landed in England in May 1568, seeking Elizabeth’s help in restoring her to her kingdom. Because the matter of Darnley’s death was unresolved, Elizabeth placed Mary in prison for around 20 years. Of course, this angered the Catholics who saw Mary as the figurehead of their cause, so there were plots and plans to get Mary out of prison and place her on the throne instead of Mary. The largest plot was the Babington Plot of the summer of 1586, which laid out plans for Elizabeth’s execution and Spain’s invasion of England. Since Mary knew of the plans, she was tried and found guilty of treason. Elizabeth was very reluctant to sign the death warrant, but eventually she did. Mary Queen of Scots was executed on February 8, 1587 at Fotheringhay Castle; her son James VI was declared Elizabeth’s heir to the throne.

Another huge challenge for Elizabeth was her relationship with Spain and her former brother-in-law, Philip II. With the discovery of the new world and the age of exploration in full force, piracy was becoming more popular. In 1572, Sir Francis Drake decided to plunder Spanish ships in Central and South America. In 1577, Drake was introduced to Elizabeth and she unofficially encouraged his activities against the Spanish. In December 1577, Drake travelled around the world plundering Spanish ships; he returned to England in September 1580 as a national hero and in April 1581, he was knighted.

By 1588, Elizabeth and Philip were considered enemies. Philip had spoken of invading England and dethroning Elizabeth for years, but the execution of the Queen of Scots gave him an added incentive. In July 1587, Philip received a treaty from the pope that gave his approval on the conquest of England. Now he could claim the English throne for himself and dethrone Elizabeth to restore England to Catholicism. In 1587, Drake was able to lead a successful raid against Cadiz, which delayed the Spanish Armada from invading by a year. In the summer of 1588 he sent his mighty Armada fleet against England. But by superior tactics, ship design, and sheer good fortune, the English defeated them. This was one of Elizabeth’s biggest achievements and made Elizabeth extremely popular in England.

In Ireland, there was a revolt against the English, led by Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone. In spring 1599, Elizabeth sent Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, to put the revolt down. To her frustration,he made little progress, even though he begged to go there, and returned to England in defiance of her orders. He was replaced by Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy, who took three years to defeat the rebels. Essex thought that when he returned to England, he would be treated like a hero, but he was treated with contempt. This made Essex upset and in February 1601, the earl tried to raise a rebellion in London. He intended to seize the queen but few rallied to his support, and he was beheaded on February 25, 1601.

After Essex’s death, Elizabeth’s health began to deteriorate. She would die at the age on 69 on March 24, 1603 at Richmond Palace. Elizabeth was interred in Westminster Abbey, in a tomb shared with her half-sister, Mary I.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England#Mary,_Queen_of_Scots
http://www.elizabethi.org/contents/biography/
https://www.biography.com/people/queen-elizabeth-i-9286133
Ashley, Michael. A Brief History of British Kings & Queens. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press, 2008.

Biography: King Henry VII

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mw03078(Born January 28, 1457- Died April 21, 1509). Son of Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond. Married to Elizabeth of York. Father of Arthur, Prince of Wales, Margaret, Queen of Scots, Henry VIII, King of England and Mary, Queen of France. Henry VII went from an exile to the founder of one of the most powerful dynasties in all of English history, the Tudor Dynasty.

Henry Tudor, later Henry VII, was born at Pembroke Castle to Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond on January 28, 1457. Henry never met his father Edmund because he died three months before Henry was born. His grandfather, Owen Tudor, was married to Katherine of Valois which made Henry’s father half brother of King Henry VI. Henry’s mother was the great granddaughter of John of Gaunt and his third wife Katherine Swynford. Henry’s mother Margaret Beaufort was only 13 when she gave birth to Henry and because his father died, his uncle Jasper Tudor took care of him.

Life was stable for Henry Tudor for a few years, until Edward IV won the crown in 1461, sending Henry’s uncle Jasper into exile and the title of Earl of Pembroke as well as Pembroke Castle and the wardship of Henry went to a Yorkist supporter William Herbert. Henry stayed with William Herbert until 1469, when the Earl of Warwick Richard Neville switched sides to the Lancastrians and had Herbert executed. Warwick restored Henry VI to the throne in 1470, Jasper came back from exile, and Henry was allowed to go to court.

This return of Henry VI would not last long as Edward IV was restored to the throne and Warwick was killed. Henry and Jasper tried to gather more support for the Lancastrian cause but they got caught in a bad storm in the English Channel while escaping from Tenby. They landed in Brittany where they sought the protection of Francis II, Duke of Brittany, which he did give to them. The Lancastrians along with Jasper and Henry, were housed at the Château de Suscinio in Sarzeau. Edward IV tried his best to apprehend Jasper and Henry but he failed to do so. Edward IV died on April 9, 1483, leaving his throne to his young son Edward V. After a few weeks, Edward V and his siblings were declared illegitimate and the throne was passed onto Edward V’s uncle Richard Duke of Gloucester, who became Richard III. Edward V and his brother Richard Duke of York were never seen again.

Henry’s mother Margaret Beaufort saw an opportunity for her son to become king. During this time Margaret was plotting with Elizabeth Woodville to arrange a marriage between Henry and Elizabeth Woodville eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York. Henry and Jasper tried to invade England in October 1483, but they were forced to go back to Brittany. It was in December 1483 that Henry made an oath in Rennes, France to marry Elizabeth of York when he became King of England. When the Duke of Brittany got very ill in 1484, his treasurer Pierre Landais made a deal with Richard III to give over Henry and Jasper Tudor in exchange for 3,000 English archers to defend a French attack. A bishop in Flanders John Morton heard about the deal and warned Henry and Jasper just before Landais could reach them. Henry and Jasper fled into France where King Charles VIII allowed them to stay until Duke Francis II felt better.
Henry and Jasper Tudor made their way back to England in August 1485, where they faced off against Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485. Richard III was defeated and Henry became Henry VII. Henry was crowned king on October 30, 1485 and he would marry Elizabeth of York the following year on January 18, 1486. The couple had their first child, Arthur, on September 20, 1486. Henry and Elizabeth would have 4 children who would survive into adulthood; Arthur Tudor, Margaret Tudor, Henry Tudor, and Mary Tudor. During 1487, a young man named Lambert Simnel, claimed that he was the earl of Warwick, Elizabeth’s cousin, so Henry VII had the real earl of Warwick taken from the Tower and paraded through London. It was at the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Stoke Field on June 16, 1487 that Lambert Simnel was defeated. Henry decided to let the boy live and gave him a job at the castle.

In 1490, a young man named Perkin Warbeck, appeared and claimed to be Richard Duke of York. Warbeck won the support of Edward IV’s sister Margaret of Burgundy and James IV of Scotland. In September 1497 Warbeck landed in Cornwall with a few thousand troops, but was soon captured. He was allowed to live in the court and his wife Lady Catherine Gordon was made one of the ladies in waiting for Elizabeth of York. Warbeck tried to escape and it landed him in the Tower of London, close to Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, son of the late George, Duke of Clarence. Warbeck and Warwick plotted to escape the Tower, but the plan was uncovered and both men were charged with treason. Perkin Warbeck was hanged at Tyburn on November 23, 1499.

Henry VII was a cautious man and decided that it was better to make alliances through marriages than to launch into expensive wars, like his predecessors. Henry VII was one of the first European monarchs to recognise the importance of the newly united Spanish kingdom under Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon and concluded the Treaty of Medina del Campo, by which his son, Arthur Tudor, was married to Catherine of Aragon. He also concluded the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with Scotland, which betrothed his daughter Margaret to King James IV of Scotland. Henry VII hoped to break the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France through the marriage of Margaret to the Scottish king, but it did not happen. Henry was also able to form alliances with Pope Innocent VIII and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I.

On November 14, 1501, Arthur Tudor married Katherine of Aragon. The following year, tragedy hit hard as Arthur died on April 2, 1502. His son’s death hit Henry hard and it was his wife Elizabeth of York who consoled him and convinced him that he still had Henry, his youngest son, as his heir and that they were still young enough to have children. Henry VII wanted to maintain the Spanish alliance. He therefore arranged a papal dispensation from Pope Julius II for Prince Henry to marry his brother’s widow Katherine. Elizabeth would have one more child, a girl named Katherine, on February 2, 1503, but the baby would not live long. Elizabeth of York would die on her 37th birthday, on February 11, 1503. Henry would grieve over the loss of his wife and son the rest of his life. He retreated to Richmond Palace, which was the former Sheen Palace but it was badly damaged in a fire in 1497 and rebuilt. Henry’s health failed him and he would die on April 21, 1509 at Richmond Palace. His only son Henry Tudor succeeded his father and became Henry VIII.

Biography: Elizabeth of York

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220px-Elizabeth_of_York_from_Kings_and_Queens_of_England(Born February 11, 1466- Died February 11, 1503). Daughter of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. Married to King Henry VII. Mother of Arthur, Prince of Wales, Margaret, Queen of Scots, Henry VIII, King of England and Mary, Queen of France.
Elizabeth of York was the daughter, niece, sister, wife and mother of kings. It was through her marriage with Henry VII that helped create the Tudor Dynasty.

Elizabeth of York was the eldest child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. She was born at the Palace of Westminster on February 11, 1466. She was christened at Westminster Abbey; her godparents were Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bedford, Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, and Richard Neville 16th Earl of Warwick. When she was three years old in 1469, she was briefly betrothed to George Neville, the nephew of Richard Neville, but it did not go far since his uncle would die two years later. In 1475, Louis XI agreed to arrange a marriage between nine year old Elizabeth of York to his son, Charles, the Dauphin of France; in 1482, Louis decided not to go along with the promised wedding.

Elizabeth’s world drastically changed forever when her father, Edward IV, suddenly died on April 9, 1483. Her young brother Edward V was proclaimed king and her uncle Richard Duke of Gloucester was named Lord Protector. On April 29, as previously agreed, Richard and his cousin, the Duke of Buckingham, met Queen Elizabeth’s brother, Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, at Northampton. The young king himself had been sent to Stony Stratford. Richard had Earl Rivers, his nephew Richard Grey and his associate, Thomas Vaughan, arrested. They were taken to Pontefract Castle, where they were executed on June 25 on the charge of treason against the Lord Protector after appearing before a tribuna. Richard took the young king under his protection, escorted him to London, and placed him in the Tower for his protection. After hearing about what had happened, Elizabeth Woodville took her children, including Elizabeth of York, her other daughters, her youngest son Richard Duke of York, and fled to sanctuary in Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth Woodville tried to keep her son Richard Duke of York away from Richard Duke of Gloucester, but she eventually did give up her son. We do not know how Elizabeth of York reacted to these events.

In early June of 1483, the marriage between Elizabeth’s parents, Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, was declared invalid because it is said that Edward IV had entered into a pre-contract marriage with Lady Eleanor Butler before he married Elizabeth Woodville. This meant that any children of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville were considered illegitimate, including Edward V, Richard Duke of York and Elizabeth of York. Since the children of George Duke of Clarence were barred from succession because of their father’s treason and execution, the next in line to the throne was Richard Duke of Gloucester. Richard was crowned King Richard III on July 6, 1483 and Elizabeth’s brothers disappeared. Some say that they were murdered, others say they escaped, but at this point we do not know what happened to Edward V and Richard Duke of York.

Elizabeth’s mother Elizabeth Woodville was now known as Elizabeth Grey and she decided to side with the Duke of Buckingham and Margaret Beaufort to put Margaret’s son Henry Tudor on the throne. Henry Tudor was the closest male Lancastrian heir and in order to cement this new alliance, Elizabeth Woodville and Margaret arranged that Henry would marry Elizabeth of York. Buckingham’s rebellion against Richard would fail and he would be killed on November 2, 1483. In December 1483, Henry Tudor made an oath in Rennes, France that he would marry Elizabeth of York when he became King of England. In January 1484, the act known as Titulus Regius was passed by Parliament, which confirmed under law that the marriage between Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville was invalid.

On March 1, 1484, Elizabeth Woodville and her daughters left sanctuary after Richard III promised not to harm them and to arrange marriages for all of Elizabeth’s daughters. There were rumors that after Anne Neville in March 1485, Richard III’s wife, died that he was seeking to marry Elizabeth of York, but there is no evidence to support this claim. Soon after Anne Neville’s death, Richard III sent Elizabeth away from court to the castle of Sheriff Hutton and opened negotiations with King John II of Portugal to marry his sister, Joan, Princess of Portugal, and to have Elizabeth marry their cousin, the future King Manuel I of Portugal.

These marriage arrangements did not come to fruition. Elizabeth of York stayed at Sheriff Hutton during August 1485, when Henry Tudor invaded England and on August 22, 1485 when Richard III fell at the Battle of Bosworth Field and Henry Tudor became King. Henry did keep his promise and married Elizabeth of York on January 18, 1486. The couple’s first child, Arthur, was born on September 20, 1486.

During 1487, a young man named Lambert Simnel, claimed that he was the earl of Warwick, Elizabeth’s cousin, so Henry VII had the real earl of Warwick taken from the Tower and paraded through London. It was at the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Stoke Field on June 16, 1487 that Lambert Simnel was defeated. Henry decided to let the boy live and gave him a job at the castle. Elizabeth was crowned on November 25, 1487 and she would have seven children total, four survived into adulthood; Arthur, Henry, Margaret and Mary. Although Elizabeth had a strong claim to the throne, she did not seek to become queen regnant.
In the early 1490s, another threat to the peace emerged with the contention that Elizabeth’s younger brother, Richard, Duke of York, was still alive. Her aunt, Margaret of York, Dowager Duchess of Burgundy and James IV of Scotland, were sponsoring a young man, later revealed to be a youth named Perkin Warbeck. Warbeck received wide-spread support from amongst Yorkists, who did not like Henry VII. Ultimately, however, Warbeck could not command enough support at home or abroad, to mount a successful challenge and in 1497, he was captured.

Warbeck’s wife Lady Catherine Gordon was made one of the ladies-in-waiting for Queen Elizabeth of York. In June 1498, Warbeck was forced to make two public appearances at Westminster and Cheapside, where he admitted that he was not Richard Duke of York and that Margaret of Burgundy was to blame for the entire scheme. Henry VII was kind to Warbeck at the beginning, allowing him to live at court, but Warbeck tried to escape and it landed him in the Tower of London, close to Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, son of the late George, Duke of Clarence. Warbeck and Warwick plotted to escape the Tower, but the plan was uncovered and both men were charged with treason. Perkin Warbeck was hanged at Tyburn on November 23, 1499. We don’t know if Elizabeth of York ever met Warbeck.

Elizabeth was a very pious woman and was very dedicated to her children’s wellbeing. Elizabeth was very involved in the marriage negotiations for her two eldest children, Arthur and Margaret, Arthur to Katherine of Aragon, daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, and Margaret to James IV of Scotland. Elizabeth helped convince Katherine’s parents that she would be well taken care of and with Margaret’s marriage, Elizabeth was concerned that she was getting married at such a young age.

In November 1501, Katherine of Aragon arrived in England and Elizabeth was part of the celebrations of the marriage. The following year, tragedy hit hard as Arthur died on April 2, 1502. This was a tragic loss for Henry and Elizabeth because this meant that there was only one heir to save the Tudor Dynasty, the young Henry Tudor. While Henry was grieving, it is said that Elizabeth comforted him and told her husband that they were still young enough to have more children. Later, Elizabeth would break down and it was Henry who consoled his wife. Elizabeth would have one more child, a girl named Katherine, on February 2, 1503, but the baby would not live long. Elizabeth of York would die on her 37th birthday, on February 11, 1503.

Book Review: “The Tudor Rose” by Margaret Campbell Barnes

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6536233The beginning of the Tudor Dynasty was full of action and drama. Richard III and Henry Tudor met on the battlefield at Bosworth on August 22, 1485 to determine who would be the King of England. Richard III fell and Henry Tudor triumph, becoming Henry VII. However, there was another person whose fate was determined on that battlefield; Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. It was at this battle that Elizabeth knew that she would marry Henry Tudor and become queen of England. But what was it like for her to live through this time of change? From the death of her father to the case of her missing brothers. From to Richard III’s short reign to her relationship with her husband Henry VII and her children. How did she feel during the most difficult times in her life? Margaret Campbell Barnes explores this question in her novel, “The Tudor Rose”.

“The Tudor Rose” starts off in the middle of Elizabeth of York’s childhood when the French decided to back away from the marriage arrangement between her and the Dauphin. Elizabeth, clearly distress, goes to his loving father Edward IV for comfort. When Edward IV died, we see how Elizabeth and her family reacted. It is Barnes theory that the family was quite close, especially Elizabeth and her younger brother Richard. Elizabeth’s brother is made Edward V and both boys are placed in the Tower of London for their protection by their uncle Richard Duke of Gloucester. Barnes writes Richard as a villain, similar to the way Shakespeare described him, and it feels as though Elizabeth is disgusted by him. Its Elizabeth’s mother Elizabeth Woodville who decides to get back at Richard by arranging a marriage between Elizabeth and the son of Margaret Beaufort, the future Henry VII.

After Bosworth, Henry is made king and marries Elizabeth of York. Even though Elizabeth was from the York and Henry was a Lancastrian supporter, history books tell us that they loved each other. Barnes takes a different approach to their relationship. She writes Henry as a miserly king who never had real feelings towards Elizabeth. Elizabeth, according to Barnes, had more love towards her children than she did towards husband. It’s a darker look at Henry VII, but one that is not uncommon in literature.

A common theme during Henry VII’s reign was the constant threat of people who pretended to be Elizabeth of York’s brothers. Elizabeth is not known to have met with any of the pretenders, but in this book, Elizabeth met with both Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck. The interactions are quite unique and makes the reader wonder if Warbeck especially could have been one of Elizabeth’s long lost brothers. Barnes explains the importance of these pretenders to both Henry and Elizabeth:

It was like a cloud above the Tudors’ lives. At first it had been just something which they joked about. But gradually, as the years went on and more and yet more people believed -or, for their own ends, pretended to believe- that a son of Edward’s still lived, it began to darken their world- and perhaps even to cloud their own certainty. Because it affected them both it brought Henry and Elizabeth closer together. But it affected them differently. To Henry, with his poor claim to the throne, the whole affair stood for affront and fear; whereas to Elizabeth- although it brought fear for her family- it never really ceased to hold a shining element of hope. A hope which she wore herself out trying to extinguish, knowing it for the crazy thing it was. (Barnes, 236).

I had read this book before I really started researching the Wars of the Roses and I really enjoyed the interactions between Elizabeth and her family. This was probably the first book that I read about Elizabeth of York that I really enjoyed and it was the book that got me interested in researching her life. Its been a few years since I have read this book and now that I have done a little research on Elizabeth of York’s life, I found myself questioning how certain characters were portrayed. If you want a book to help you get into the Wars of the Roses and the life of Elizabeth of York, I would recommend “The Tudor Rose” by Margaret Campbell Barnes. It gives a different perspective on the life of Elizabeth of York, the first Tudor queen.

Book Review: “Owen: Book One of the Tudor Trilogy” by Tony Riches

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Medieval knightOwen Tudor, the second husband of Catherine of Valois and the father of Edmund and Jasper Tudor. His affair with Catherine changed English history forever, yet not much is known about his past before he met Catherine. Was he married before  he met Catherine and after she died? What must have been like for him as the Wars of the Roses began to take hold of England and everything he worked hard for began to fade away. The man who started as a Welsh servant turned step- father to King Henry VI and the grandfather of King Henry VII, the patriarch of the Tudor Dynasty, this is the protagonist in Tony Riches’ book, “Owen: Book One of the Tudor Trilogy”.

Tony Riches explains his fascination with Owen Tudor:

I was born near Pembroke Castle and recently visited the small room where the thirteen- year old Margaret Beaufort gave birth to Henry Tudor. I also stood on the pebble beach at Mill Bay near Milford Haven, imagining how Jasper Tudor would have felt as he approached with Henry and his mercenary army to ride to Bosworth- and  change history. These experiences made me wonder about Owen Tudor, the Welsh servant who began this fascinating dynasty. I felt a responsibility to research his story in as much detail as possible and try to sort out the myths from the facts. There are huge gaps in the historical records, which only historical fiction can help to fill. As well as there being no surviving record of Owen’s marriage, no  reliable image of him exists….I would like to remember Owen , not as a victim of the Wars of the Roses, but as an adventurer, a risk- taker, a man who lived his life to the full and made his mark on the world through his descendants. (Riches, 168).

Tony Riches starts his book with Owen’s entrance into Catherine of Valois’ household as the Keeper of her Wardrobe after the death of her first husband, Henry V. Owen tries to focus on his job, and not on Catherine, but he cannot help it. He loves Catherine and she loves him. They decide to marry in secret and they have 3 boys; Edmund, Jasper, and a third son who joined the church. The happiness that Catherine and Owen had living in the countryside would not last long. Catherine dies shortly after giving birth to a daughter and their secret relationship is revealed. Owen is thrown in jail while his sons Edmund and Jasper are raised to be the step-brothers of King Henry VI.

Eventually, Owen is released and is allowed to live a good life as a commander in France while his sons are given titles and land. Owen helps escort Margaret of Anjou to England to marry Henry VI and he helps walk his daughter in law Margaret Beaufort down the aisle. Unfortunately, the wheel of fortune is always turning and the happiness is soon replaced with tragedy yet again. Edmund Tudor dies shortly before the birth of his son Henry Tudor and the Wars of the Roses tears the country apart. Owen is killed before he could see his family triumph as the new dynasty in England.

This is the story of Owen Tudor. I found Tony Riches’ book “Owen” a thrilling read. I have always been fascinated by the life of Owen Tudor and his sons and Tony Riches was able to write a story that made me want to study more about Owen Tudor and his life. Riches was able to combine the historical facts that we know about Owen with fictitious elements, including two other women that Owen fell in love with and a friend named Nathaniel, into a cohesive and engaging book. I did not want to stop reading this book. This was my first time reading a book by Tony Riches and I loved it. His writing style is engaging and very easy to read. I look forward to reading more books by him in the future.  I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Owen Tudor and the beginning of the Tudor dynasty.