The December issue of BBC History Revealed Magazine has an article about the palaces and castles that shaped the lives of the Queens of Henry VIII.
‘Fit for a Queen’ includes 3 places with links to Lady Jane: Syon House, Sudeley Castle and the Tower of London.
Dr Nicola Tallis will be giving talks via Zoom about Lady Jane Grey, Lettice Knollys and Margaret Beaufort.
(c) Michael O’Mara Books
These three women are the subjects of Dr Tallis’ books, ‘Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey’, ‘Elizabeth’s Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester’ and ‘Uncrowned Queen: The Fateful Life of Margaret Beaufort, Tudor Matriarch.’
The talk about Lady Jane Grey is on 2nd December, with the others on the 9th and 16th.
To buy tickets for the Lady Jane talk see: Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey
Details about the other talks can be found at Nicola’s website.
Sylvia Soberton is the author of ‘The Forgotten Women: Anne Seymour, Jane Dudley and Elisabeth Parr’ and ‘Great Ladies: The Forgotten Witnesses to the Lives of Tudor Queens’, ‘Golden Age Ladies: Women Who Shaped the Courts of Henry VIII and Francis I’, ‘The Forgotten Tudor Women: Margaret Douglas, Mary Howard & Mary Shelton.’
Her new book, ‘Medical Downfall of the Tudors: Sex, Reproduction & Succession’ was published in October 2020.
To buy ‘Medical Downfall of the Tudors’:
Follow Sylvia on Social Media:
Twitter: @SylviaBSo
Facebook: The Forgotten Tudor Women
Many thanks to Sylvia for answering my questions.
Why did you choose this subject for your book?
The Tudor dynasty died out because they struggled to conceive healthy children. Why? I wanted to research this aspect of their lives.
What does your book add to previous works covering this subject?
I offer a fresh perspective with interesting titbits from the archives. There’s also a great deal of myth-debunking, and some readers may be surprised that what they thought they knew is sometimes not what really happened.
Do you have a favourite medical discovery?
There are many, but one of my favourites is a rarely quoted manuscript according to which Henry VII died in his closet that is a private oratory. I was surprised because there are accounts and a contemporary drawing depicting Henry dying with a prayer on his lips in his bed, surrounded by his courtiers and physicians. His death was kept secret for two days, and I feel it was because he died so suddenly in his oratory.
What surprised you most researching your book?
I was a bit surprised that Henry VIII was so much into medicine. I knew from my previous research that he enjoyed creating medicines and lotions, but I didn’t know he put so much trust in his physicians. Also, he didn’t like the idea of quacks performing medical procedures, so he regulated that.
What sources did you find most useful during your research?
Letters offer valuable insights into the people’s mind-sets. I also enjoyed Dr Butts’ Diary, a manuscript currently preserved in the British Library, containing a list of medicines made for and by Henry VIII.
Is there a Tudor medical myth that you would like to dispel?
There are many that I’d love to dispel! One of the most important ones is that Katharine of Aragon wasn’t menopausal when Henry VIII initiated the Great Matter, their annulment, in 1527. There’s simply no evidence for this in the primary sources. Also, historians always write about Katharine’s many miscarriages, but in fact there’s no evidence that she had miscarriages. It’s more accurate to say that she experienced premature or stillbirths. Historians often don’t differentiate between miscarriage and stillbirth, but there’s a big difference between these two terms.
Do you think Lady Jane really thought she was poisoned as she mentions in her letter to Mary?
I think she believed she was poisoned, but I personally don’t think that was the case.
The paperback of ‘Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King’s ‘Beloved Sister’ by Heather R Darsie is published today.
Here is my 2019 interview with Heather.
Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King’s ‘Beloved Sister
‘Anna was the ‘last woman standing’ of Henry VIII’s wives ‒ and the only one buried in Westminster Abbey. How did she manage it? Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King’s ‘Beloved Sister’ looks at Anna from a new perspective, as a woman from the Holy Roman Empire and not as a woman living almost by accident in England. Starting with what Anna’s life as a child and young woman was like, the author describes the climate of the Cleves court, and the achievements of Anna’s siblings. It looks at the political issues on the Continent that transformed Anna’s native land of Cleves ‒ notably the court of Anna’s brother-in-law, and its influence on Lutheranism ‒ and Anna’s blighted marriage. Finally, Heather Darsie explores ways in which Anna influenced her step-daughters Elizabeth and Mary, and the evidence of their good relationships with her. Was the Duchess Anna in fact a political refugee, supported by Henry VIII? Was she a role model for Elizabeth I? Why was the marriage doomed from the outset? By returning to the primary sources and visiting archives and museums all over Europe (the author is fluent in German, and proficient in French and Spanish) a very different figure emerges to the ‘Flanders Mare’.
Further details – Amazon.co.uk
Further details – Amberley Publishing
Further details – Amazon.co.uk
