HistoryExtra
type: channel
link: https://www.historyextra.com
description: The official website for BBC History Magazine
date: 2022-08-30T14:30:51.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: How Elizabeth of York paved the way for her granddaughters to rule
items: Matilda of Boulogne: Norman England’s warrior queen
items: Elizabeth of York: a Tudor of rare talent
items: Who was Lady Jane Grey? The tragic story of the 'Nine Days Queen'
items: The lost heirs of Henry VIII: Alison Weir on Katherine of Aragon’s failed pregnancies
items: The royal weddings of Henry VIII: Alison Weir on what came before divorced, beheaded, died...
items: England's Norman queens and the power they wielded: an interview with Alison Weir

How Elizabeth of York paved the way for her granddaughters to rule
type: item
date: 2022-07-26T13:54:32.000Z
creator: Alison Weir
subject: Period
subject: Tudor
description: What changed between Elizabeth of York’s age and her granddaughters’ time that allowed them to rule in their own right? Leading historian Alison Weir explores the claim of the heiress of the House of York and how, though she was passed over to rule, she laid the groundwork for Tudor generations to come…
encoded: In January 1486, when Henry VII seized the throne of England, he married Elizabeth, the heiress of the House of York. He took care to be crowned before the wedding, so that it should not be said that he owed his kingly title to his wife. In fact, Elizabeth of York was the true heir with the better claim. Her father, Edward IV, had died unexpectedly in 1483. He left behind a male heir and a ‘spare’, but the ‘Princes in the Tower’ – as they would become known – disappeared in the autumn of 1483, after their uncle claimed the crown for himself, becoming Richard III. They and their siblings had been declared bastards, on highly dubious grounds. Many still regarded Elizabeth, their eldest sister, as the true heiress to the throne. Read more about Elizabeth of York: a Tudor of rare talent After Richard III fell at the battle of Bosworth in 1485, no one supported Elizabeth’s claim to the throne because she was a woman – her value was purely matrimonial. Parliament had already declared that Henry VII was king. (It was not until the 1530s that their son, Henry VIII, acknowledged that his title had come primarily from his mother.) But back in 1485, Elizabeth, however, had had other ideas. If we believe a contemporary rhyming chronicle, The Song of Lady Bessy, she declared: “Queen of England I must be.” On Henry VII’s accession, the courtesy and honour accorded to her must have given her cause to hope that she would soon be queen in her own right and rule jointly with Henry, as Ferdinand and Isabella did in Spain. She may have been disconcerted to learn that, despite Henry having pledged, in 1483, to marry Elizabeth to give legitimacy to his title, he had assumed the style of king in his own name on the battlefield at Bosworth, without any mention of her at all. Furthermore, when she reached London, she might have found it strange that there was no state welcome in the capital, or any celebrations to mark her arrival. These were the first indications that her marriage to Henry…

AlisonWeir-2c00ecb.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

Matilda of Boulogne: Norman England’s warrior queen
type: item
date: 2022-05-03T09:55:28.000Z
creator: Alison Weir
subject: Medieval
subject: Norman
subject: Period
subject: Historical people
description: The achievements of Matilda of Boulogne, wife of King Stephen, are often overlooked in favour of her enemy, Empress Maud. Alison Weir examines the woman who raised an army in the 1140s to defend the English throne...
encoded: In the spring of 1141, as England suffered in the midst of a bitter civil war, Queen Matilda of Boulogne was in Kent, busily raising an army. Galvanised by the news that her husband, King Stephen, had been imprisoned by his vengeful rival and cousin, the Empress Maud (also known as Empress Matilda), the queen was utterly determined to march on London and ensure that the empress would never wear the crown she so fiercely coveted. It was rare in the 12th century for a woman to bear arms. Although the Norman queens of England had wielded considerable power as sharers in the royal dominion, it was now being eroded thanks to the centralisation of government administration at Westminster, over which queens often had less influence. Had it not been for the war, Matilda might have had a very different role. Read more | The Anarchy: how bloody was Stephen and Matilda’s medieval battle for the English crown? The only child of Eustace III, Count of Boulogne, and Mary of Scotland, Matilda was born c1103. She was one of the most desirable princesses in Europe, on account of having royal Saxon and Scottish blood, and the great inheritance that would come to her on her father’s death: the county of Boulogne and its lands – its ‘honour’ – in England. When Matilda was two, her uncle, Henry I of England, betrothed her to her cousin, Stephen of Blois, the grandson of William the Conqueror. In 1125 her father became a monk and ceded Boulogne and his English estates to Matilda. He died soon afterwards, whereupon Henry I arranged for her marriage to take place. It made Stephen the richest magnate in England. With Boulogne, he gained control of the shortest Channel crossing to England and, with it, merchant shipping. The marriage was happy, and there is much evidence for the couple’s affection for one another. Matilda v Maud A guide to the two royal women who battled for power in England in the 1140s... Name: Matilda of Boulogne Who was she? She became queen consort when her husband, Step…

Warrior-queen-1fbc94b-e1651570798918.jpg
width: 465
height: 369

Elizabeth of York: a Tudor of rare talent
type: item
date: 2022-04-08T06:05:00.000Z
creator: Alison Weir
subject: Period
subject: Tudor
subject: British queens
subject: Evergreen
subject: Medieval kings and queens
subject: Tudor kings and queens
description: Elizabeth of York was the eldest daughter of the Yorkist king Edward IV, sister of the princes in the Tower, and niece of Richard III. Her marriage to Henry VII was hugely popular, for the union of the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster was seen as bringing peace after years of dynastic war. She may not have sought the limelight as much as some of her contemporaries, but Henry VIII's mother was a Tudor of rare talent, says Alison Weir
encoded: In a richly illuminated manuscript, the Vaux Passional, in the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, there is an illumination showing the presentation of a book to Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch. Behind the throne can be seen an empty black-draped bed, and kneeling beside it is a boy in a green tunic, his red-haired head buried in his arms. Almost certainly this image portrays the young Henry VIII weeping for his mother, Elizabeth of York, who died in 1503 when he was 11. This illustration suggests that Henry’s closeness to his mother was well known. We have his own testimony to his grief at her loss: four years later, in a letter about the untimely demise of Philip I of Castile – whom Henry had grown to admire when the two met in England in 1506 – the young prince wrote: “Never since the death of my dearest mother hath there come to me more hateful intelligence. It seemed to tear open the wound to which time had brought insensibility.” Elizabeth of York played an important role in the Wars of the Roses and the early Tudor story. Born in 1466, she was the eldest daughter of the Yorkist king Edward IV, sister of the princes in the Tower, and niece of Richard III, who had her and her siblings declared bastards so that he could claim the throne. The probable murder of her brothers in the Tower of London in 1483 meant that, in the eyes of many, Elizabeth was the rightful queen of England. Richard III himself contemplated marrying her, but in 1485 Henry Tudor, who claimed to be the heir to the House of Lancaster and had sworn to marry Elizabeth, came from France with an army and defeated Richard at the battle of Bosworth. Thus was founded the Tudor dynasty. The marriage of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York was hugely popular, for the union of the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster was seen as bringing peace after years of dynastic war. Elizabeth was intelligent and beautiful. A Venetian report described her as “a very handsome woman of great abil…

GettyImages-486781255-240c5e0.png
width: 1023
height: 751

Who was Lady Jane Grey? The tragic story of the 'Nine Days Queen'
type: item
date: 2021-02-12T15:25:46.000Z
creator: Alison Weir
subject: Period
subject: Tudor
subject: Evergreen
description: Who was Lady Jane Grey? The Tudor queen reigned for just nine days, having been put on the English throne by her scheming father-in-law before being deposed by her power-hungry cousin and condemned to death by execution. The ‘Nine Day Queen’ experienced the swiftest rise and fall of any English monarch – but by her own admission, she didn’t have any desire to wear a crown. Historian Alison Weir answers key questions about her life, death and reign...
encoded: Who was Lady Jane Grey? (1536–1554) Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed queen of England at only 16 years old. Famously, her reign was to last for just nine days. According to her tutor, John Aylmer, who stated in 1551 that she had just turned 14, Jane was born in 1537, when Henry VIII was on the throne. Her mother was Frances Brandon, the king’s niece, being the eldest daughter of his late sister, Mary Tudor. Frances had married Henry Grey, Marquess of Dorset. Jane was the eldest of their three daughters, and was probably named after Jane Seymour, Henry’s third wife. Although her sex was probably a bitter disappointment to her ambitious parents, they knew she could make a great marriage, for the royal blood of the Tudors ran in her veins. To that end, Jane's parents ensured she was well educated. She was bright, able, and an outstanding scholar; and she adored her tutor, John Aylmer, who taught her to love learning for its own sake. Lady Jane Grey: a timeline of her life 1536 Lady Jane Grey was probably born in the latter half of 1536, perhaps at Dorset House in London. She was the eldest daughter of Henry Grey, later Duke of Suffolk, and Lady Frances Brandon. 28 January 1547 Henry VIII dies, leaving his nine-year-old son, Edward, as his heir. Jane is now officially third in line to the throne. Spring and Summer 1553 Edward VI draws up and makes several amendments to ‘My Devise for the Succession’, whereby he disinherits his half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, naming Jane his heir. 25 May 1553 Lady Jane Grey is married to Guildford Dudley, the fourth son of the Duke of Northumberland, in a magnificent ceremony at Durham House. 6 July 1553 Edward VI dies at Greenwich Palace, and Jane becomes queen of England. 10 July 1553 Jane enters the Tower of London, from where she is publicly proclaimed queen. The same evening, a letter from Mary arrives at the Tower, declaring herself to be queen. 19 July 1553 Jane is officially deposed in Mary’s favour. As London erupts in celebratio…

https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2016/11/GettyImages-544245270-d9d8a5b-0ae1984-e1709305571947.jpg
width: 620
height: 412

The lost heirs of Henry VIII: Alison Weir on Katherine of Aragon’s failed pregnancies
type: item
date: 2020-10-11T04:05:00.000Z
creator: Alison Weir
subject: Period
subject: Tudor
subject: British queens
subject: Royal children
subject: Tudor kings and queens
description: The first of Henry VIII's six wives, Katherine of Aragon was married to the infamous Tudor monarch for almost 24 years. But while she bore the king a daughter – the future Mary I – their relationship was plagued by multiple miscarriages and stillbirths. Unable to produce a male heir, Katherine was eventually cast aside by Henry in favour of her lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn. Here, historical author Alison Weir examines Katherine’s many pregnancies and the children she lost
encoded: While the truth about her marriage to Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, would remain a mystery for centuries, there was never any doubt that Katherine of Aragon’s second marriage to his brother, Henry VIII, was ardently consummated on their wedding night in June 1509. To the 18-year-old, idealistic king she was a great prize, this princess from mighty Spain, who brought him a rich dowry and international prestige to the fledgling Tudor dynasty. He adored her: she was, we are told, “the most beautiful creature in the world”. She was 23, plump and pretty, and had beautiful red-gold hair that hung below her hips. Henry spoke openly of the joy and felicity he had found with Katherine of Aragon. The real history behind The Spanish Princess Arthur, Catherine and Henry: a story of early Tudor triumph and tragedy Katherine had already adopted the pomegranate – a symbol of fertility since ancient times – as her personal badge, and it seemed prescient, for she conceived almost immediately. On 1 November 1509 a proud Henry broke the good news to her father, King Ferdinand: “Your daughter, our dearest consort, has conceived in her womb a living child, and is right heavy therewith, which we signify to your Majesty for the great joy thereof that we take, and the exultation of our whole realm”. The public announcement of the queen's pregnancy gave rise to great rejoicing in England, for the birth of an heir to the throne would secure the future of the Tudor dynasty and remove the ever-present threat of dynastic civil war. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2018/01/Henry20VIIIs20coronation2C201509_0-e58d187.jpg" width="900" height="700" alt="King Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) and his wife Catherine of Aragon (1485 - 1536) are crowned at Westminster Abbey, June 1509. They are surmounted by Tudor Roses, one open, one in bud. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)" title="Henry VIII's Coronation" /> The court was in residence at Westminster when, on 31 Januar…

Katherine-of-Aragon-unknown-artist-3-3892224.jpg
width: 800
height: 530

The royal weddings of Henry VIII: Alison Weir on what came before divorced, beheaded, died...
type: item
date: 2020-03-26T16:00:31.000Z
creator: Alison Weir
subject: Period
subject: Tudor
subject: Henry VIII's wives
description: Henry VIII is England's most married monarch, wed six times between 1509 and 1543. But what were the Tudor king's weddings actually like, and do they bear any semblance to a wedding of today? Historian and author Alison Weir looks back at the six ‘happy days’ that preceded "divorced, beheaded, died..."
encoded: Today, we associate royal weddings with great public celebrations, a grand procession, a magnificent ceremony in Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral or St George’s Chapel at Windsor, and a public appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The modern royal wedding, as we know it, dates only from 1840, when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert. Prior to that, royal weddings were usually private affairs, solemnised in the royal chapels with little public fanfare. So what would a wedding have looked like for England’s most married monarch, Henry VIII? Read on and find out... Katherine of Aragon Henry VIII’s six weddings were all private. When, not quite 18, he became king in 1509, it was a matter of political and dynastic necessity that he marry and beget an heir as soon as possible, to ensure the continuation of the Tudor dynasty. Surviving members of the rival House of York arguably had a better claim to the throne than Henry, and the spectre of the Wars of the Roses still loomed large. The new King’s councillors urged him to marry Katherine of Aragon, the Spanish princess to whom he had been betrothed since 1503 and the widow of his late elder brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales. Katherine had a great dowry, and the prospect of war with France – England’s hereditary enemy – made an alliance with Spain all the more desirable. Her father, King Ferdinand of Aragon, was pressing Henry to marry her immediately, and promising him many political advantages if he did so. The lost heirs of Henry VIII: Alison Weir on Katherine of Aragon’s failed pregnancies The real history behind The Spanish Princess Henry VIII’s mistresses: who else did the Tudor king sleep with? But Henry hesitated. He was uneasy in his conscience, wondering if he would commit a sin by marrying the widow of his deceased brother, as such unions were forbidden in Scripture. King Ferdinand hastened to reassure him that the marriage would be perfectly lawful, as the Pope had given a dispensation for it. He…

DPS-Henry-185f896.jpg
width: 1024
height: 640

England's Norman queens and the power they wielded: an interview with Alison Weir
type: item
date: 2017-10-04T10:02:32.000Z
creator: Alison Weir
subject: Membership
subject: Norman
subject: Period
subject: British queens
description: Though often seen as companions to the powerful men of the Norman period, the queens of Norman England were fascinating, powerful figures in their own right, says Alison Weir. From Matilda of Flanders, trusted consort of William the Conqueror, to the Empress Matilda who battled her cousin Stephen for the throne of England, the historian and author shares the influence that these women exercised in a dangerous world – but warns that we need to keep their power in perspective
encoded: A 20th-century illustration of Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror. He relied on her implicitly, says Alison Weir. (Getty Images) The timeline of England’s Norman kings will be familiar to many, from William the Conqueror’s victory over Harold Godwinson’s army on 14 October 1066, to the deadly power struggle of King Stephen and Empress Matilda in the mid-12th century. Alison Weir’s latest book Queens of the Conquest reconsiders this timeline, centring on the lives and power of the five Norman queens of this period. Beginning with Matilda of Flanders (d1083), who supported William the Conqueror in his invasion of England, Weir then considers the two wives of King Henry I, Matilda of Scotland (d1118) and Adeliza of Louvain (d1151). The book concludes with the turbulent histories of the wife of King Stephen, Matilda of Boulogne (d1152), and his warring cousin, Empress Matilda (d1167), whom Weir calls ‘Maud’. As Queens of the Conquest is released, Alison Weir shares six revelations about the five Norman queens… A tale of four Matildas Four of the five queens that Weir considers in her volume are associated with the Norman name of Matilda, all using interchangeable variants of the name: Mathilde, Mahaut, Mald or Maud. Edith of Scotland changed her name to Matilda upon her marriage to Henry I, likely to please the Normans, explains Weir. “Henry I married her as she had Saxon royal blood. She was a princess of Scotland, but her mother was of the Saxon royal house. Henry thought his marriage would unite the Norman and Saxon peoples. But the Normans were having none of it; they sneered and called the king and his English wife ‘Godric’ and ‘Gogdifu’ [common Saxon names intended to disparage the couple]. “Edith of Scotland had been brought up in the great convents of Romsey Abbey and Wilton Abbey, where her aunt had made her wear a veil, like a nun. Though she didn’t want to wear the veil as a child, she did as a teenager, because Normans had a terrible reputati…

Matilda Flanders main-ac63806.jpg
width: 800
height: 530