From the BBC:
A new statue of Elizabethan explorer Sir Walter Raleigh is to be unveiled at his birthplace in Devon.Raleigh, who was born at Hayes Barton, near East Budleigh, brought back tobacco and potatoes to Britain from the New World, now the United States.
From The Bexley Times, with some new pictures:
A ROYAL chapel last seen more than 350 years ago and used by three generations of monarchs has been uncovered by gardeners.
The original brickwork of a 16th century royal chapel, built by Henry VII, was discovered during work to relay pavements at the Old Royal naval College, Greenwich.
An entertaining opinion piece from The Times Online:
Ofsted’s Chief Inspector of Schools, David Bell, says not only that the history curriculum places far too much emphasis on the Tudors and the Second World War, but also that students are unable to remember key dates or major events. If the end of term answer paper that just happened to blow into my hands on a capricious Christmas Eve gust is anything to go by, he is not wrong.
1. It was Richard III who got the Tudors started, by losing the Battle of Britain. The poor sod never stood a chance against the House of Lancaster once it had invented the four-engine bomber. Also, his Scandinavian allies let him down fatally by staying neutral so’s they could make ball bearings for both sides. His last words were: “A Norse! A Norse! My kingdom for a Norse!”
PETERBOROUGH will get its first visit from the Spanish Ambassador on Monday as he pays tribute to one of history’s most famous figures.
Carlos Mirana is due to visit the city for the Katharine of Aragon commemorative service, as this year marks two decades’ of Peterborough’s twinning with Alcala, in Spain, where the first wife of Henry VIII was born.
The former queen is buried in Peterborough Cathedral, making the anniversary of her death an important fixture in the city’s calendar.
A service is due to take place on Monday, to mark the 470th anniversary of her death.
From the BBC:
The treasure trove of family and estate papers from Hengrave Hall, Suffolk – worth almost £1m – was in danger of being broken up and sold at auction.
The manuscripts comprise papers accumulated or collected by various families whose main home was Hengrave Hall, a celebrated Tudor mansion built in the 1520s.
One of the highlights is the Tudor correspondence, much of it involving Margaret Kitson, wife of Thomas Kitson, the builder of Hengrave Hall.
The most valuable item in the collection is thought to be from Sir Philip Sidney, the poet, soldier and statesman, who died in 1586. His letters are extremely rare.
And another article on the same sale from The Cambridge Evening News:
LETTERS from King Henry VIII and Queen Mary are among a treasure trove of Tudor manuscripts worth almost £1 million which have been saved for the nation.
The amazing collection of papers was in danger of being broken up and sold at auction – but their future is safe, following a campaign by Cambridge University Library.
The existence of the chapel, part of the Royal Palace of Placentia, a Tudor favourite but pulled down in the 17th century to be replaced by Greenwich Hospital – now the Old Naval College – has long been known from paintings and records.
But until a bulldozer’s bucket scraped against brickwork a month ago, no physical evidence of the chapel had ever been discovered.
I’ve made a couple of changes to the main page in my experimentation with Google Ads. I have been hesitant to put advertising on the site, but I would like to be able to have the site pay for itself now. I’ve been getting some money from purchases through the Cafe Press store, but right now it’s only bringing in about a quarter of the total yearly cost.
I’ll try to keep the ads to a minimum and as unobtrusive as possible. I’ll probably be messing around with stuff on and off over the next few weeks, so things may change for day to day!
JONATHAN RHYS-MEYERS TO STAR AS YOUNG HENRY VIII IN NEW SHOWTIME DRAMA SERIES, THE TUDORS
LOS ANGELES (January 19, 2006) – Hot on the heels of his Golden Globe®- winning, tour-de-force performance in the mini-series ELVIS, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers has signed on to play a different King — Henry VIII — in SHOWTIME’s new drama series THE TUDORS, it was announced today by Robert Greenblatt, President of Entertainment for SHOWTIME. Ten episodes have been ordered and Emmy®-winning television director Charles McDougall (DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES) will helm at least the first two episodes of the series, which will most likely air on the network in early 2007 after filming is completed in Ireland.
Bypassing the typical costume drama for a more scandalous take on the times, THE TUDORS will focus on the rarely dramatized, tumultuous early years of King Henry VIII’s nearly 40-year, omnipotent reign (1509-1547) of England. In addition to dalliances with famous female consorts Catherine of Aragon and the infamous Anne Boleyn, the series delves into Henry’s most notable political relationships, including those with philosopher Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cardinal Wolsey, head of the Catholic Church of England during its break with Rome.
LIKE A VIRGIN
A COSTUME drama about Queen Elizabeth I hardly seems the thing to create controversy, but that is exactly what Paula Milne’s new four-part series for BBC1, The Virgin Queen, has managed to provoke. However it’s not for the reason you might suspect – Milne’s Elizabeth may seem like a modern woman full of recognisable desires, but there is no suggestion that she physically consummated any of her relationships with her many suitors. The Virgin Queen remains a virgin. No, what is troubling purists is that Milne – despite being offered the services of Simon Schama and David Starkey – instead chose among her sources a populist book for teenagers – The Terrible Tudors, which is peppered with lavatory humour – which came from a list of books suggested to Milne by a London headmaster.
A portrait that had been hanging in a house in south-west London for the past 100 years may turn out to be the only authenticated portrait of Lady Jane.
Thank you to all the folks who pointed out these articles and reports!
Update: Here is a BBC article. They have an “enlarge image” view which shows a little more of the portrait, although not in any great detail.
The program that was on Masterpiece Theater in the States late last year will be starting on BBC1 on January 22. Check your local listings for times and when the rest of the show will air.
UPDATE: Link for the BBC page on the series: http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/virginqueen/
Since 2000, Wendy J. Dunn, author of “Dear Heart, How Like You This?” and former editor of the Tudor England pages at Suite 101 has held a Tudor Ghost Story contest around Halloween. Click above to see this year’s winners!
An interesting article about the prolific Alison Weir, including a bit about her upcoming projects. One thing mentioned that I don’t think was in the article I posted back in October is that her next fictional book (after the upcoming Lady Jane Grey one) will be about Kathryn Howard. Could be interesting!
Thanks to Linda for passing the link along!
Here’s looking forward to a good 2006!
I saw a preview of the “Madness of Henry VIII” while watching the National Geographic channel last night. It looks like it could be fun. With all the programs about Elizabeth and the wives of Henry VIII, it will be interesting to see if Henry himself is the focus of this one, since it’s time for the ol’ man to get a show of his own. Now if someone would take an interest in some of the other Tudors (Henry VII, Elizbeth of York, Mary Rose, Margaret of Scotland, Margaret Beaufort, etc. … I wouldn’t mind some good Wars of the Roses programs either).
If I remember correctly, in the past I’ve put some “plans for the site” here on January 1st, so I guess I should do it again. Of course, a lot of the plans I’ve had in past years still haven’t made it to the web, so maybe my goal should be to just try to do more of what I hoped to do in the past.
Have a wonderful New Year everyone!
