Welcome to the My Favorite Murder episode of Monarcast! We talk about the most famous cold case in English royal history, the princes in the tower. Who killed them? How did they die? Why did Edward V’s Uncle Richard seize the crown? Shakespeare didn’t even have to try to make this stuff up!
A Queen for England! Edward VI is dying, and England once again is facing the idea of religion vs. legitimacy, as, for the first time, a woman will rule England. But which woman? Will it be Henry VIII’s daughter Mary (legally illegitimate, problematically Catholic) or the Lady Jane Grey (Henry’s great-niece, properly Protestant)? Join us, as we discuss the age old tale of pitting woman against woman, in modern gossip and historical record!
This week, we wrap up our series on Henry VIII with his final wife, Catherine Parr. They had the most successful of his later marriages before his death. We discuss their time together, the succession, and his ultimate legacy.
Thanks to politiciansandhiphop.tumblr.com for this gem!
As we discussed last time, Henry VIII spent seven years trying to divorce Catherine of Aragon. It only took him another 7 years to rack up 4 more wives, so he definitely learned to get on with it. Join us this week for a tale of hypocrisy, beheadings, love, childbed fever and more! We trace Henry VIII’s journey from romantic reformist to a tyrant king who learns the swiftest way to get what he wants is the execution block. He didn’t turn into a tyrant overnight, but his journey through wives 2-5 got him there in the end. Just fair warning, 16th century executions were gruesome, y’all! As are our pronunciations this episode, sorry!
References:
The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Alison Weir
Henry VIII: The King And His Court, Alison Weir
Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII, David Starkey
This week we cover the start of Henry VIII's relationship with Anne Boleyn and its consequences. His desire to annul his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne led to the King's "Great Matter," his six year quest for divorce. Henry tried many methods to navigate the religious and political obstacles in his way, and his ultimate solution would set England on an irreversible course toward Reformation.
And we're off into the saga of Henry VIII! Was he a tyrant, a killer of wives, a reformist, or was he just a man who really, really, needed a son? We chat his early years as a young, dashing king, his early, power couple years of marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and the reasons it all started to sour. There's war, continental politics, Papal kidnapping and more!
References:
The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Alison Weir
Henry VIII: The King And His Court, Alison Weir
Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII, David Starkey
We're Back! Since we've been gone we've had a royal baby, a royal wedding, and so much more! Join us as we catch up on what's been happening in the Kensington world over the last few months! We also briefly chat the history of the Wars of the Roses, as we get into our next royal subject, Henry VIII! Was he just a British Bluebeard, or was the situation more nuanced than that?