The article from the Telegraph focuses on Henry VIII’s letters to Anne Boleyn, but I’m sure a lot of you know what other treasures are in those papers. Being able to search them in this way is going to be wonderful. (Not to mention the book versions are darn heavy!)<\/p>\n
From the article:<\/p>\n
King Henry VIII’s passionate love letters to Anne Boleyn are to be made available to the public online for the first time.<\/p>\n
The letters, penned by the King in 1527 when he was still married to Catherine of Aragon, reveal him to be besotted with the woman who would eventually become his second wife.<\/p>\n
The private correspondence is among tens of thousands of Tudor documents which will be made available on the internet this week.<\/p>\n
The documents, which are known as the State Papers and which were collected by the all-powerful Secretaries of State, provide a unique insight into key historical events such as the Reformation, the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the execution of Anne Boleyn.
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\nVisitors to the site, which goes live on Tuesday 18 November, can draw up material by typing any word into its search engine. Key royal documents include those relating to the funeral of Henry VII and the succession of Henry VIII, love letters from Henry VIII, and the Dispensation by Archbishop Cranmer which allowed Henry VIII to marry Jane Seymour, who became his third wife.
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\nState Papers Online, which is launched on Tuesday, contains thousands of original documents as well as summaries and translations known as calendars which were compiled in the nineteenth century.<\/p>\nAt the moment only the papers for the period 1509 to 1603 are available. But by 2010 the site will be expanded to cover the years leading up to 1714.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n