Recent Posts

Urgent conservation work needed on the NPG’s Portrait of Anne Boleyn

You may have heard through the Tudor grapevine that the National Portrait Gallery's portrait of Anne Boleyn is in urgent need of conservation work. Here is what the NPG have said, "It is in a particularly vulnerable and unstable condition as a result of structural problems with the wooden panel.  Vertical cracking has occurred across the picture causing minor paint loss where the wood has split ... We need to act now as the damage is being caused by the long term effects of an unsuitable … [Read More...]

Happy Twelfth Night!

One of the main celebrations and the climax of the Tudor Christmas period was Twelfth Night, which also coincided with the feast of Epiphany. But when exactly is Twelfth night? Well, there is some debate about the exact date. Some believe it is the 5th of January with the 6th being Twelfth Day and others believe that Twelfth night is on the night of Epiphany itself, the 6th January. It seems that the confusion arose because of the medieval custom of starting each new day at sunset. … [Read More...]

Our exclusive interview with author Anne O’Brien

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Anne O'Brien, international author of historical novels. Her new historical novel, The Virgin Widow, is the story of Anne Neville, England's forgotten Queen, wife to Richard III. This is the first of Anne's novels to be based on the life of an historical character and she is now working on a novel about the early life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Amazon's product description of The Virgin Widow reads: A dazzling historical novel set during … [Read More...]

Tudor New Year’s Day Celebrations

The Tudors believed that the new year began on March 25th and on this day held the Feast of Annunciation, “celebrating when Mary was first told of the forthcoming birth of Jesus” (Sim, 2009, Pg. 85). The main feature of the 1st of January then was the giving and receiving of gifts. Although gift giving was popular in the upper classes there are no records of it happening in the homes of ordinary people. This is not to say that it didn’t happen, it simply wasn’t recorded. Alison Sim points out … [Read More...]

Tudor Books for Christmas!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas full of love, laughter and happiness! Here in Sydney, it is the eve of New Year's Eve and even though we are so close to 2011 I am still having difficulty believing that 2010 is almost over! It truly flew by in the blink of an eye! I thought that before another round of festivities kicks in, I should update you on some wonderful Tudor books that I found waiting for me under the Christmas tree this year - thank you Santa! The first is an … [Read More...]

Catherine Howard- Did she or Didn’t she?

Today's post is a very interesting guest article by Alisa Libby author of The King's Rose, the story of Catherine Howard’s rise and fall told in Catherine’s own words. Read my interview with Alisa here. I think we have all asked ourselves how Catherine Howard could have been so reckless in her dealings with other men especially when she knew of the fate of her cousin, Anne Boleyn. One would imagine that Catherine would have been extra cautious not to anger her royal husband in any way. … [Read More...]

Christmas carols sung in the 16th century

As I prepare for my own Christmas festivities, I have been thinking about what a Tudor Christmas would have been like. I imagine the holly, ivy and other evergreens decorating the halls, the sound of the crackling fire on the hearth, the smell of burning candles and of course, Christmas carols being sung. Smells and songs have the power to transport you to a different time and place. So why not take a moment this Christmas to listen to some carols that perhaps Anne Boleyn herself once sung. … [Read More...]

Anne Boleyn’s Christmas Ghost

In my series of posts about Tudor hauntings published earlier this year I wrote about the ghosts of Henry VIII’s six queens, including Henry’s second wife, Anne Boleyn. Anne’s ghost is by far the most prolific with sightings reported in many locations across the UK. As expected, one location where Anne’s ghost has been regularly seen is at Hever Castle in Kent. Each Christmas at Hever Castle, Anne’s childhood home, her ghost is said to manifest beneath a great oak tree where she and Henry … [Read More...]

Escape from the Tower- Historic Royal Palaces first app!

The Historic Royal Palaces has just released their first app! Play Escape from the Tower a new app for iPhone and iPod Touch, and re-enact some of the Tower's most famous escapes. The free app can be downloaded from home or on site at the Tower wi-fi hotspot in front of the Tower shop at the main gate. Help prisoners like Henry Laurens, John Gerard and Ranulf Flambard escape from the locations where they were actually held. You may even 'meet' other famous prisoners like Anne Boleyn or Guy … [Read More...]

Loseley House- panelling from Nonsuch Palace, a portrait of Anne Boleyn and more!

This historic manor house is situated outside Guildford in Surrey, England. The direct descendants of the current owners, the More-Molyneux family, acquired the estate in the 16th century and the current house was built in the 1560’s to replace a smaller house. Elizabeth I felt that the original house was not up to hosting a royal guest and so requested that something more adequate be built. It is said that the current house was built with stones from the ruins of Waverley … [Read More...]

Tudor Hygiene- bathing, perfume and undergarments

“One of the misconceptions of popular history is that concern for hygiene and sanitation is a recent – and decidedly modern – phenomenon.” Simon Thurley We don’t often think about the Tudors as being particularly hygienic people but they were actually a lot ‘cleaner’ than what we generally give them credit for. They were of course limited by the technology of the time and the challenges associated with disposing of the sewage and rubbish of a growing population but this does not mean … [Read More...]

New Anne Boleyn Book!

I recently stumbled across a new novel about Anne Boleyn told through Meg Wyatt's eyes. The book is called 'To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn' and is written by Sandra Byrd. It is due to be released in early August 2011. Here is Amazon's book blurb: To Die For, is the story of Meg Wyatt, pledged forever as the best friend to Anne Boleyn since their childhoods on neighboring manors in Kent. When Anne’s star begins to ascend, of course she takes her best friend Meg along for the ride. Life … [Read More...]