Recent Posts

Hotel de Cluny joins our list of Anne Boleyn Places

On our journey to follow in the footsteps of Anne Boleyn we have travelled around England, crossed the English Channel to France and present day Belgium and today we venture to Paris and the Hotel de Cluny. With this latest addition, our list of Anne Boleyn places rockets to 25! I am very proud of the resource that I have built up and hope that it will help you when planning your 'Tudor Pilgrimages'. In the weeks following the death of old Louis, Francis I kept a close eye on Mary Tudor. … [Read More...]

On this day in 1533 Elizabeth I was Christened

Henry VIII spent the last days of Anne Boleyn’s confinement trying to decide whether to call his son Edward or Henry. Though in the end neither was of use to him as the child born was a girl. On Wednesday 10th September 1533, a magnificent christening was held at the church of the Observant Friars.  The Church was some distance from the main palace of Greenwich and had also been the setting of Henry VIII’s christening. The location in itself was a final blow to those hostile to the king’s … [Read More...]

The Tudor Chronicles by Susan Doran

I cannot believe that I have only just discovered The Tudor Chronicles by Susan Doran! With over 400 pages of information and images about the Tudor dynasty it's a treasure for any Tudor aficionado. The book blurb reads: The Tudor Chronicles is a compelling year-by-year chronology of this tumultuous and critical period in the development of the modern English nation. Each year is covered by a concise and accessible narrative, amplified by extensive quotations from contemporary sources and … [Read More...]

Our exclusive interview with Kate Emerson

I have just completed the third of my series of exclusive interviews with historians and authors of the Tudor period. This time I was lucky enough to interview Kate Emerson, author of The Pleasure Palace and Between Two Queens, the first two novels in The Secrets of the Tudor Court series. The third novel in the series, By Royal Decree, the story of Bess Brooke, Marchioness of Northhampton, will be available in December 2010. I enjoyed Kate's insights into the process of researching novels … [Read More...]

Birth of the Princess Elizabeth

On this day in 1533, Anne Boleyn gave birth to Princess Elizabeth at Greenwich. Only two weeks earlier, on the 26th August 1533, after a relatively trouble-free pregnancy, Anne Boleyn took to her chambers at Greenwich to do what the royal physicians and astrologers had already predicted as certainty, give birth to a son and heir to the Tudor Throne. In Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne, Starkey describes the chamber in great detail: The walls and ceiling were close hung and tented … [Read More...]

Our exclusive interview with Brandy Purdy

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Brandy Purdy, author of The Boleyn Wife. She very kindly agreed to answer some questions exclusively for our On the Tudor Trail readers! I thank Brandy for sharing her thoughts and opinions with us in such a sincere manner. In the interview we talk about the lure of the Tudors, Lady Rochford: villain or victim, Brandy's favourite of Henry VIII's queens, Katherine Howard's promiscuousness, ghosts and even Jack the Ripper gets a mention! I … [Read More...]

New Anne Boleyn Place! Chateau de Amboise

Following in the footsteps of Anne Boleyn has taken us to many picturesque locations that are steeped in history and number 24 on the list is no exception! We return to the Loire Valley in France to a palace perched above the market town of Amboise. Amboise lies on the banks of the Loire River and was once home to the French royal court. Joan of Arc passed through the town in 1426 on her way to Orleans to the Battle of Patay. Francis I Chateau de Amboise sits perched on a promontory … [Read More...]

Submit your Tudor Questions

I have just added a new section to the site called Q & A where I hope to answer many frequently asked questions about Anne Boleyn, the Tudor Monarchs and Life in Tudor England and hopefully help clarify some common misconceptions about the time. I have lots of questions and answers to add so it may take a little while but we'll get there in the end. Readers normally email me their questions but now you can enter your question directly into the 'ask a question' form found here and at the … [Read More...]

Henry VIII betrothed to Anne of Cleves

On the 4th September 1539, the marriage treaty between Henry VIII and the Lady Anne was signed by the Duke of Cleves at Dusseldorf. The Duke's representatives arrived at Windsor on the 23rd of September to ratify the marriage treaty. For the next 8 days, the king entertained the men with hunting and feasting before moving to Hampton Court and concluding the marriage treaty. Preparations were already underway for a Christmas wedding at Greenwich, followed by 12 days of … [Read More...]

Anne Boleyn’s Famous Pearl Necklace

A reader recently wrote in to ask whether I knew what had happened to Anne Boleyn's famous pearl necklace and I thought I'd post a response here so that others have an opportunity to add information as well. There is much speculation as to what actually happened to Anne's famous necklace with the gold B. Some people believe that it was passed down to Elizabeth and others that it went back to the Crown after her downfall. I have even heard that some of the pearls are in the crown of Elizabeth … [Read More...]

A review of The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

I have just finished reading The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory and found it entertaining and engaging. This is the second book in the Cousins' War series and covers roughly the same period as The White Queen (the first book in the series) but from a different point of view. The protagonist and narrator, Margaret Beaufort, is a difficult character to relate to and not at all 'likeable'. She is fervently religious, compares herself regularly to Joan of Arc and will stop at nothing to see her son, … [Read More...]

Another Anne Boleyn Place- Palace at Mechelen

To retrace the steps of Anne Boleyn we have journeyed to many castles, stately homes, chapels and buildings in England but today we venture across the English Channel to modern day Belgium and what was once Margaret of Austria's Palace at Mechelen. In the 15th and 16th century, Mechelen was the capital of Burgundian Netherlands or the Low Countries (roughly present day Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg). The Palace of Mechelen, built from 1507 as a residence for Margaret of Austria, Regent … [Read More...]