* Shakespeare’s Kings and Westminster Abbey – RSC actors performing excerpts from the history plays in the coronation ‘theater’ of the Abbey. I wish I could attend some of these!

* Presentation on objects from Tudor and Stuart playhouses at the Museum of London on April 24

From the BBC (video and pictures):
New Battle of Bosworth Field site revealed

From The Daily Mail:
Is this the field where Richard III lost his kingdom for a horse? Real location of Battle of Bosworth finally revealed after 500 years

From The Guardian:
Silver badge and lead shot pinpoint site of Battle of Bosworth
Archaeologists pinpoint long-disputed site of Battle of Bosworth

And last, but certainly not least, the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Center website
(Their site appears to be down, perhaps from a large influx of traffic? – I’ll keep checking for it to come back up and add a link directly to their news on the battlefield discoveries.)
The site is back up. Here’s a link to their page on the official announcement.

From The Times Online:

For centuries it has been impossible to revisit the battlefield because its location was lost after the Civil War. Then, last October, Leicestershire County Council announced that it had found the site but would not reveal its whereabouts for fear of scavengers.

Today the wait is over. The Times can reveal that the Battle of Bosworth was settled round the back of Alf Oliver’s arable farm, just off the old Roman road from Atherstone to Leicester in a field as featureless as any in England.

To get there you drive south and west from the Bosworth visitor centre on Ambion Hill, which is now, rather awkwardly, two miles adrift of the true site. Past a farm selling “battlefield beef” you park in a lane, tramp round one small field with a dip, cross a drainage ditch and arrive at a flat, triangular ploughed field exposed to the elements on all sides.

On a viciously cold morning this month Glenn Foard, the archaeologist who led the search for the battlefield, stood on this spot looking as pleased with himself as Henry Tudor must have done when the fighting was over.

Full article

For all the previous posts I’ve had on this topic, it might be easier to just go straight to the search results, since I’ve had quite a few about Bosworth!

* You Tube video of the commemoration service for Catherine of Aragon at Peterborough Cathedral. I never got around to posting about this year’s event, but here is a link to a past post about it.

* Rosary from the Mary Rose featured at the BBC’s A History of the World

* Reconstructed face from the Mary Rose goes on display (BBC article). This is the reconstruction that I linked to an article about last March. Additional articles from the Times Online and The Telegraph

* Stirling Castle carvings will be on display at the castle until Feb. 21 (BBC article). This is a continuation of the project that I’ve blogged about a few times (most recently here). The carvings will soon be painted and put in place as part of the project to reconstruct the renaissance royal palace inside the castle. You can learn more at the official Stirling Castle website

* Snack food of Shakespearean theater-goers (Discovery News article). I’m not a fan of seafood but the nuts and dried fruit sounds good. I’ll probably stick with popcorn and Junior Mints though.

* Help Romeo collect flowers for Juliet (appropriate for Valentine’s Day!) in the Shakespeare Game from Shakespeare Country Tourism

There is also an article in the March issue of BBC History Magazine, as well as an article by Leanda de Lisle about Lady Jane Grey. I’ll have to make sure I remember to pick one up!

And Adieu from Henry 8.0

I had to shudder at Henry’s treatment of Catherine’s iPod nano though! I got a green one for Christmas and I love it… I’d hate to see it shoved into a jar of chocolate spread.

* National Portrait Gallery on the Iconography of Lady Jane Grey

Here’s the article from Art Daily about it and here’s a little information from the National Portrait Gallery’s website. And just a reminder that Painting History – Delaroche and Lady Jane Grey will be opening at the National Gallery (around the corner from the NPG) at the end of February.

* Large medieval waterwheel uncovered at Greenwich

It’s a little before the Tudors, but I’m a sucker for medieval archaeological finds. Here’s an article (with a few pictures) from Medieval News.

* Showtime picks up a series on The Borgias

According to Variety Showtime is looking to continue playing in the Renaissance with a new series about The Borgias. Jeremy Irons will be starring so I’ll probably be watching!

* Debunking the Myth of Lady Jane Grey

Thought-provoking article by Leanda de Lisle at Intelligent Life (a lifestyle and culture magazine from The Economist)

* Mary Rose Trust photos on Wikipedia

Mary Rose Trust releases photographs onto Wikipedia
Unseen Mary Rose pictures revealed in groundbreaking Wikipedia deal

* Exhibition features documents suggesting Shakespeare was Catholic

Shakespeare was a ’secret Catholic’ new exhibition shows

* Greenwich to become a Royal Borough in 2012

This honors its long connection with the English and British monarchy (lots of Tudor connections there!). The other Royal Boroughs are Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, and Windsor and Maidenhead.

Greenwich Becomes Royal Borough
Queen to grant Greenwich Royal Borough status for Diamond Jubilee

* Catch up on “The Tudors”

Season Three is now available on iTunes (this link goes to the Showtime site, which has a link to the iTunes store)
Unfortunately I didn’t see it in time for the first episode, but Showtime is replaying all of the previous seasons in a lead-up to the season 4 premiere in April. Here’s a link to the schedule.

And finally…

* 2010 sees the 450th anniversary of the refoundation of Westminster Abbey

The history of Westminster Abbey, London – The coming year is the 450th anniversary of Elizabeth I’s refoundation of Westminster Abbey as the collegiate church we know today

[I caught a few errors in the first paragraph after the ad in the middle of the article. I'm going to post a comment on the article and hopefully someone will see it and correct it.]

The new Medieval and Renaissance Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London opened last week. Here’s a video and article from the Guardian.

And here’s a link to the page for the new galleries at the V&A website.

Archaeologists are preparing to excavate the site of Shakespeare’s final home to find out more about the history of the building.

The New Place, in Stratford-upon-Avon, was built in 1483 and is thought to be where the playwright died in 1616.

The building itself was demolished in 1759, but it is thought remains of the old house are still underground.

Archaeologists will start initial tests on the site on Tuesday and a full dig could be carried out next year.

The experts from Birmingham Archaeology will be searching for the foundations of the New Place and will be looking through the original wells and possibly rubbish pits.

Full article

New Place showed up here back in June as Picture of the Week #23