Right from the start I will say this is one of the best books about Henry VIII that I have ever read. I have always been interested in learning more about the famous King of England who had six wives and this book provided me with a wealth of information that I never knew before. This book focuse...
'gripping... Hutchinson tells his story with infectious relish and vividly evokes the politics and personalities of this extraordinary decade.' (Anne Somerset LITERARY REVIEW) 'Hutchinson tells the horrible story admirably and compellingly, acknowledging Cromwell's rare abilities, while making n...
This title tells the story of the Dukes of Norfolk. The richest and most powerful noble family in Britain, after the king himself, they regarded themselves as the power behind the throne and regularly tried to act as 'kingmakers'.
The icing on the cake for those hooked on Tudor history. This lurking figure has been portrayed as a sinister presence at Elizabeth's court, but one who saved her oft rocky reign from doom and disaster on many occasions. We learn more here about why Gloriana's reign involved such diplomatic intri...
616, article 5 – Two letters in Latin from Prince Arthur to Katherine of Aragon, Ludlow Castle, October and November 1499. ——f.29v – 30 – Katherine of Aragon to Ferdinand of Spain, London, 22 April 1506. ——f.43 – Henry VIII to Ferdinand of Spain; Greenwich, 26 July 1509. 616, article 5 f.45 – Que...
Gardiner himself was shortly to taste the king’s displeasure. Henry had always mistrusted this egotistical but talented churchman and might have ‘used extremity against him’ if his own life had not been rapidly running out. But Henry believed he could always exercise a degree of power over the te...
I call God to record that as a private person, I have done nothing [unbecoming to] an honest man. Nor, as I bear the place of a public man, have I done anything unworthy … I confess that being very careful for the safety of the Queen and realm, I have curiously searched out practices against the ...
Lord High Admiral Howard to Sir Francis Walsingham, Ark Royal ‘thwart Plymouth’, 31 July 1588.1 Early on Saturday 30 July, as his fleet lay hove to within sight of the enemy coast, Medina Sidonia summoned a council of war on board his flagship San Martin.2 While the admirals were saluted with pro...
Arlington outlined part of his mission in evidence to the Committee of Foreign Affairs on 22 October 1671 by relating that ‘upon the pardoning of Blood he went away among his brethren to bring in some of his friends on assurance of pardon’.2 With the prospect of war with the Dutch looming ever ne...