Wolf Hall Tie-in: Hampton Court Palace's "A Protestant Allegory"

A Protestant Allegory, by Girolamo da Treviso, circa 1538-44. Hampton Court Palace, The Royal Collection. Photo by A.Jensen.

 

 

In 1534, King Henry VIII had himself officially declared Supreme Head of the newly formed Church of England. He had become convinced through those around him involved in the evangelical movement, such as his new wife, Queen Anne Boleyn, that he knew the will of God. Therefore, the Pope's guidance was no longer needed in spiritual matters. King Henry and other evangelicals read translations of the Bible in English. Henry commissioned this unique and rather savage painting demonstrating his beliefs, in which the four authors of the Gospels stone the Pope with rocks.

Henry VIII Passes an Act of Succession in Favor of Elizabeth

Another significant legal document passed around this time was the Oath of Allegiance,  shown above,  which English subjects were required to sign, thus declaring that they believed in the validity of King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn's marriage. People were executed for refusing to swear the oath. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

On this day in 1533 (sometimes written as 1534), Henry VIII passed the Act of Succession, which would be revised several times before his death in 1547. The Act declared that only Henry VIII's children by his second wife, Anne Boleyn, could inherit the throne of England. The Act also stated that, were he to die before his wife, Queen Anne would become regent. Also significant, "slander or derogation of the lawful matrimony [with] his most dear and entirely loving wife, Queen Anne," would be considered treason.

1536: The End of Two Tudor Queens

Catherine of Aragon's tomb in Peterborough Cathedral. Picture shared for public use on Wikimedia Commons by the photographer, TTaylor.

On this day in Tudor history in 1536, two significant events happened.

The body of Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, was laid to rest in Peterborough Cathedral.

Also on the same day of the very same year, Henry VIII's second queen, Elizabeth I's mother, Anne Boleyn, suffered her final miscarriage. A mere four months later she would be dead, her head severed from her body by the executioner's sword.

"Anne Boleyn receiving proof of Henry's passion for Jane Seymour", a 19th century engraving from the novel, Windsor Castle. Picture acquired via Inor19 on Flickr.

These two queens, adversaries by necessity in life, would be united in death, as both were ill-treated and discarded by the same man, Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII.

A Birth and a Death of Two Tudor Kings

A portrait of King Henry VIII in old age. By a follower of Hans Holbein. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

On this day in Tudor history in 1547, the King of England who had struck both awe and fear into the lives of his subjects for nearly 38 years, Henry VIII, died at Whitehall Palace. Rather poetically, on the very same day in 1457, his father, Henry Tudor, who eventually became Henry VII, had been born at Pembroke Castle.

Pembroke Castle in Wales, the birthplace of Henry VII. Picture shared for public use on Wikimedia Commons by the photographer, Deborah Tilley.

Read our article commemorating both events HERE.


And view the portrait discovered in Wiltshire that is being called the 'last portrait' of Henry VIII.

Henry VIII Passes a New Act of Succession

A detail from a portrait featuring the children of King Henry VIII, showing Mary Tudor and Elizabeth Tudor. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

On this day in Tudor history, King Henry VIII passed the Act of Succession, which would be revised several times before his death in 1547. The Act declared that only King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn's children could inherit the throne of England; he also stated that, were he to die, Anne would become regent. Also, "slander or derogation of the lawful matrimony (with) his most dear and entirely beloved wife Queen Anne" was considered treason.

Another significant legal document passed around this time was the Oath of Allegiance, which English subjects were required to sign, thus declaring that they believed in the validity of King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn's marriage. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Mary Tudor, King Henry VIII's daughter with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, was thus effectively declared a bastard. Anne Boleyn's daughter Elizabeth would later share the same fate, before the two were finally restored to the succession behind their brother, Edward.

An engraving of King Henry VIII and his children, in the order that they would succeed him. Shared for public use under Creative Commons licensing by Inor19 on Flickr.

The Death of Henry VIII and the Birth of Henry VII

A portrait of King Henry VIII as he would have looked close to his death. Portrait after Hans Holbein, circa 1542. Image acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

On this day in Tudor history in 1547, the King who had struck both awe and fear into the lives of the English people for nearly 38 years, Henry VIII, died at Whitehall Palace. Years ago and on the very same day in 1457, his father, Henry Tudor, who eventually became Henry VII, had been born at Pembroke Castle.

A portrait of King Henry VII by an unknown artist, circa 1505. Image public domain through Creative Commons licensing, NPG, London.

14 years earlier, also in the very same week, King Henry VIII had married his second wife, Anne Boleyn, also in Whitehall Palace. It is frivolous to speculate what thoughts occurred, or what memories re-played through Henry VIII's mind as he lay dying; but I would like to think that the significance of being in these familiar surroundings within the same week in January was not lost on Henry.

"Henry's reconciliation with Anne Boleyn", an etching published by Cunningham & Mortimer in 1842. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Most who study the Tudor period would agree that Anne Boleyn was the great love of King Henry VIII's life, and that their daughter, Elizabeth, was the greatest off the Tudor monarchs. 

The Whitehall Family Grouping, or, The Family of King Henry VIII, painted circa 1544. Discover the significance of this portrait here. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Author Nancy Bilyeau wrote an article last year dispelling the myths that still prevail about King Henry VIII's final days and death. The article on the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, was shared via Facebook by Stephanie Tracy, The Tudor Enthusiast, and I highly recommend it.

~Dear readers, it should be mentioned that I am hard at work on three new articles for the BeingBess blog; two are almost at completion! I am also starting my second masters course today, entitled "Tudor England". The irony that the first seminar is held on the very day King Henry VII was born and King Henry VIII died is not lost on me!~

The Secret Marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

A composite image of King Henry VIII by Hans Holbein and Anne Boleyn by an unknown artist. Image by Inor19 on Flickr.

On this day in Tudor history in 1533, King Henry VIII secretly wed his longtime love, Anne Boleyn, at Whitehall Palace.

In the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, King Henry VIII was still legally married to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon; Henry was awaiting his annulment (which would be granted by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer on 23rd May, 1533) to make his marriage to Catherine, his brother's widow, null and void. Anne Boleyn, who had resisted consummating her relationship with Henry VIII for so long, was now pregnant with his child after their trip abroad to Calais; it was imperative that they be married so that their child,which they both expected to be a boy, would be legitimate upon its birth. The child would not be the long awaited male heir; the child would be the future Queen Elizabeth I of England.

A detail from a portrait of the Princess Elizabeth Tudor from 1546, at thirteen years of age. Portrait attributed to William Scrots. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Theatre Thursday: East Yorkshire Schoolchildren Re-enact the Pilgrimage of Grace

The Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536, by Fred Kirk Shaw, 1913. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

I love when theatre is used as teaching tool; theatre as education is particularly effective with young children. This is why I use first-person historical interpretation myself to teach others about Queen Elizabeth I and the Elizabethan era. 

In East Yorkshire, young schoolchildren who have been learning about the Tudor period in England demonstrated their newly acquired knowledge by re-enacting the Pilgrimage of Grace, the northern rebellion during the reign of King Henry VIII (1536) in which many of their ancestors took part. Read more about his unique educational experience, directly from the children who experienced it, here.

On This Day in Elizabethan History: The Birth of Elizabeth Tudor, Future Queen Elizabeth I of England

The Palace of Greenwich in the Time of King Henry VIII. From Henry VIII: The King and His Court, by Alison Weir. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

On this day in history, 1533, Elizabeth Tudor was born at Greenwich Palace to her parents, King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn.

A composite image of King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn, parent's of the future Queen Elizabeth I. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

The Princess Elizabeth, who remarkably survived political danger and familial strife to become one of the most celebrated monarch's in history, was probably conceived in Calais, France. Calais had been an English territory since the medieval era and was a popular place for English and French diplomacy to occur. Anne Boleyn had recently been raised to the peerage in her own right as Marquess of Pembroke, in anticipation of her becoming the next Queen of England. King Henry wanted to show off his future wife and Queen consort in a public relations trip abroad.

A detail from a portrait from the 1530's or 1540's of King Francis I and his second wife, Eleanor of Austria. While King Francis rendezvoused with King Henry and Anne in Calais, Eleanor refused to attend. Eleanor was the sister of Charles V, and thus was loyal to Queen Catherine of Aragon and hostile to Anne Boleyn. Picture acquired via Flickr courtesy of Inor19.

 Upon doing the math, many historians have concluded that after over seven years, Anne and Henry consummated their relationship abroad, possibly after a secret wedding ceremony, and Elizabeth was the result of that consummation. Once Anne realized she was pregnant, it then became imperative for Henry VIII to receive his divorce as soon as possible. Their child, whom he believed to be a boy, must be legitimate. If their hadn't been a simple wedding ceremony before, their certainly was now. A solemn wedding was performed on January 25th at York Place, later re-christened as Whitehall Palace. Since King Henry had convinced himself that his first marriage was null and void, he did not believe he was entering into bigamy by marrying Anne.

Once the Act of Appeals formally separated England from Rome's authority, Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon was granted under English law by Archbishop Cranmer on May 23rd. Anne began to simultaneously prepare for her coronation and the arrival of her child. We know she took great care designing nurseries in the royal palaces, among them Eltham Palace.

The entrance to Eltham Palace, Greenwich. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

After Anne's coronation and the establishment of her household, she entered her confinement with her ladies on August 26th to prepare for the birth of her child. During this time, the excited father-to be consulted astrologers and became convinced, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the child would be his long-hoped for heir. Naturally, the atrologers were no going to tell him otherwise!

Henry VIII had birth announcements drawn up for a prince, but on September 7^th, 1533, two ss's would have to be hastily tacked on to the word ‘prince’, as a daughter was born.

The birth announcement for Princess Elizabeth Tudor, 1533. Picture acquired via Tumblr courtesy of LetThemGrumble. Image public domain.

That daughter was named Elizabeth, likely for her two grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Howard. Henry was very disappointed, but he still had hope that he and Anne would have sons, telling her,“You and I are both young, and by God’s grace, boys will follow.” 

On September 10^th, Elizabeth was christened in grand finery at Greenwich, and though neither parent was in attendance, this was the common practice, and was not an indication of displeasure with the child’s gender. 

 

The Ditchley Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. By Marcus Gheeraerts, circa 1592. Commissioned by Elizabeth I's tournament champion Sir Henry Lee, the Ditchley is the largest surviving full-length portrait of the Queen. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

I would like to personally wish a Happy 479th Birthday to Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603).

Elizabeth Tudor inspires me on a daily basis, for which I am eternally grateful.

I will continue to teach others about her,

 and the importance of her legacy,

for the rest of my life.

Also, tomorrow is my friend Mia's debut of her Young Bess program! Mia could not do her presentation on Elizabeth I's birthday, as she had wanted to, because she is still in school, so she wisely chose the 8th because it is the next best thing.

Mia, her mom and I have become friends since we first met at my two of my BeingBess programs last March; I am so proud of all that Mia has accomplished, and I am looking forward to attending her performance!