"Mine eyes desire you above all things....."

July seems to be one of the more monumental months if you follow Tudor history. Some wonderful things occured, some not so wonderful.

On July 11th, 1531, Henry made a move that would sever his relationship with Catherine of Aragon permanently.... at least in his eyes.

In the wee hours of the morning, King Henry had the court packed up in all haste and headed to Woodstock for a hunting trip. He left Catherine and their daughter, Mary, all alone at the now empty apartments at Windsor. Even by today's more jaded standards, that is a very devastating blow.

It truly makes me marvel at the sheer strength and dignity with which Catherine carried herself, even in the face of the most cruel treatment of Henry. Upon the realization that he had left her, she wrote him a letter expressing her regret to him that she hadn't been able to say goodbye.

It was the last time that Catherine ever saw Henry. When she died, she wrote him a most poignant letter, which can be found here:

http://englishhistory.net/tudor/letter5.html

Sad but true.....Catherine loved Henry until the very end.

****Image found via Google Image search****

Tudor Dynasty in Upheaval

Four hundred and fifty-seven years ago on this day in July, England lost the last male heir of the Tudor Dynasty.

Edward VI, son of King Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour, led a very sheltered childhood. However, by all accounts, he was always regarded as having a sweet temperament and a great deal of intelligence. At the age of nine, he was crowned King of England, with his uncle, Edward Seymour appointed as his Lord Protector.

Edward's short life was a turbulent one. His reign saw many economic issues, social unrest, riot and rebellion, and withdrawl of forces from both Boulogne and Scotland. He was very strongly Protestant, something that shaped how he ruled the country. It was a very difficult point of contention between the young king and his older sister, Mary Tudor.

Edward's death was also turbulent. Unfortunately for Mary, upon his death at a mere fifteen, he left the throne not to her, but to his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, preferring a Protestant queen over a Catholic one. After nine days, Mary rallied her forces at Framlingham castle and was declared the true queen of England by the Privy Council.

I find myself asking a lot of "what ifs" in reference to this young King. One wonders what sort of king he would have been had he actually lived out his life to an old age? Would he have turned into a tyrant like his father, ever changing and untrusting? Or would he have been a more fair and just ruler?

We do know for certain, there would have been a lot less lives lost, as Mary burned quite a few Protestants during her reign. Which begs another question.... would Elizabeth have reigned at all? And, what would have happened had she not? Would Edward have been as victorious in battle and politics as his older sister?

What sorts of questions would you have about Edward had he lived? I am curious to know other's thoughts on this topic.



***Top image found on the site The Anne Boleyn Files at:
www.theanneboleynfiles.com,
and the bottom image found via Google image search.*****

Introduction.....

Greetings and well met!

I thought I would start this blog adventure by giving you a little idea of what this page is all about!

I became an avid Tudors fan about 10 years ago.... and my fascination started with Elizabeth I. Little did I know how much my fascination would grow once I began reading and researching about the entire Tudor Dynasty! I decided after many years of watching movies, reading books, etc, to start my own page solely dedicated to the Dynasty that contained two of the most successful Monarchs in British history.

This page is for anything having to do with the Tudors..... the history, the myths, the people, the battles, the court, the books, movies, articles, other blogs, and the list goes on. Feel free to comment or share input on here, as I would like this to be a space for all Tudors fans to enjoy and learn from.

And, so.... I give you "A Lion's Share."