Tudor Times

Ever wonder what it was like to be at one  of Henry VIII’s weddings? Now you can find out! Hampton Court is hosting Henry VIII’s last marriage to his sixth wife Catherine Parr. You can follow either the king or future queen on their wedding day.

Here’s the link to an article for more info.

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JRM, playing King Henry VIII in “The Tudors” has given a nice 3 page interview  which discusses him in the role as well as his interactions with writer Michael Hirst and other actors on the show.

Here’s the link.

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The House of Lords is finally receiving paintings commissioned by Prince Albert over 160 years ago! The paintings were commissioned to replace Elizabethan Tapestries depicting the defeat of the Spanish Armada (made in 1590). The new tapestries will also depict this victory.

Here’s the link to an article

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I posted a while back about a mass that hasn’t been heard since Henry VIII’s day. The mass was performed at Rame Church, consecrated in 1259. The mass was sung to celebrate the church’s 750th anniversary. The 13th century pre-Reformation Sarum High Mass was sung in Latin.

Here’s the link to an article with some nice pictures.

I am probably going to just be doing one long post every few days now because of time I spend a lot of time posting at the Tudor Book Blog as well as working on the many pages for the site (I am currently trying to add a ton of primary sources :)!!!!) I am also busy with school, work, and other day to day stuff. But, keeping this site (and this blog in particular because I have been neglecting it) running is very important to me!!!

So, with that said, here are the newest pieces of news:

1) As I have posted before and I am sure many of you have heard, 19,000 relics were recovered from the ship giving us a glimpse into ordinary everyday life in Tudor times. Many of these Mary Rose relics (including clothing, shoes, bowls, combs, and a very old violin) are soon to go on display!

Here is a great article with some beautiful pictures of some of the highlights of the exhibit.

And here is a video of some of the artifacts. It is really fascinating!!!!

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2) Here’s a nice article on Holbein’s famous Henry VIII portrait and how he helped shape the famous “Tudor Image” of the king.

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3) Ever want a private tour of Hampton Court, or just want to stay the night? Here is your chance!

“On this private guided tour, which takes place on Saturday morning, lead by one of Hampton Court’s knowledgeable guides, you will be given a unique insight into the history of the Palace’s most famous areas including the Tudor Kitchens, the King’s Apartments, the beautiful Baroque rooms of William III, the Queen’s Apartments and the Georgian Rooms. Included will be a visit to the new Young Henry exhibition which visitors will be free to enjoy  after the tour, along with the other elements of Hampton Court Palace.

2009 is the 500th anniversary of King Henry VIII’s accession to the throne.  The Tudor areas of Hampton Court Palace will bring Henry’s court and the story of his reign back to life at his most famous residence.

Package includes:

• A private guided tour of approx 2 hours 30 munutes of Hampton Court Palace
• A copy of the Illustrated History of Hampton Court Palace, per person
• 10% discount off purchases in the shop*
• overnight accommodation and full breakfast on Friday night at the four-star Kingston Lodge Hotel”

Here’s the link for more info.

On Oct. 12, 1537, Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VI) was born to Jane Seymour and King Henry VIII. Edward was born and Christened at Hampton Court Palace. Sadly, his mother died two weeks later on the 24th of Oct. due to an infection.

Christening Procession of Prince Edward

Baby Edward

As many of you have probably heard, a £ 35 million museum is in the future for Henry VIII’s famous ship the Mary Rose, which mysteriously sank in 1545. I received an e-mail from Charli Beale, on behalf of the Mary Rose Trust, asking me to link to some of the sites set up to help reach this goal.

She offers ‘Five things you probably didn’t know about the Mary Rose’:

1. The debate continues as to why the Mary Rose mysteriously sank off the Portsmouth coast in 1545.  Four of the suggested possibilities are:

• Too many cooks and not enough skilled seamen on board
• Poor communication and slow responses from an international crew
• A hole made by a French cannonball in battle led to the Mary Rose taking water onboard
• The Mary Rose was too top heavy and keeled over when changing course

2. On 19^th July 1545 Henry VIII was watching his fleet set sail to battle the approaching French and saw the Mary Rose sink. So did the wife ofVice Admiral Sir George Carew, who was on board – not surprisingly, she fainted

3. Scientists have used Facial Reconstruction technology to illustrate the facial features of the crew of the Mary Rose from skulls found on board:

4. As well as iron bolts The Mary Rose was held together by thousands of wooden pegs – each one made by hand

5. Celebrated Marine Artist Geoff Hunt researched the Mary Rose for 113 hours before he began his new painting of the ship, unveiled earlier this year. His research revealed that King Henry VIII’s flagship had one more fighting castle deck than had previously been thought, fuelling speculation that it was the ship’s top heaviness that may have led to her mysterious sinking.

Here are some of the links she provided:

Sorry you haven’t heard from me for a while! Midterms have been keeping me really busy!

I ran across a fascinating article about the top present Dukes in England today. Some of them are descended from Tudor times (such as John Seymour, the Duke of Somerset and Edward Fizalan-Howard, Duke of Norfolk). It’s a really cool read which tells about the present Dukes, what they own, and where their titles/families come from. Here’s the link.

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Here is the link to a great “What if” article. The writer asks “What if Arthur, Prince of Wales, had been king?” He provides some great back ground on Arthur as well as some good points which help to “identify the important factors in shaping the reign of Henry VIII and those that could be directly attributed to Henry’s personality.”

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Ray Irvin, famous Henry VIII impersonator, is leaving Samlesbury Hall for good. Apparently his boss did not want to help the king publishe a book of poems. Here’s the link to the full article as well as a great picture of Irvin as Henry VIII.