You can’t have missed yesterday’s big news, that of the official engagement between Prince William and Catherine Middleton (Kate) – Congratulations Prince William and Kate! – but what’s interesting for us Tudor history fans is that it has sparked off a whole load of history articles:-
- Royal wedding: Kate Middleton will be first middle class queen-in-waiting – Here the Daily Telegraph talks of Kate being a commoner but also points out that “she will not, however, be the first commoner to marry a future king”, citing the examples of Elizabeth Woodville, Anne Boleyn, Anne Hyde, Wallis Simpson and Camilla Parker Bowles. As I have said before, in my article “Anne Boleyn’s Royal Blood”, Anne was not exactly the “commoner” that people believe she was and may actually have had more royal blood than Henry VIII.
- The Latest Royal Wedding in a Line of Colourful Nuptials – In this Channel 4 article, David Starkey explores other colourful royal marriages, including Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Victoria and Albert, George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, and Charles and Diana.
- Five Queen Catherines – The Daily Mail looks at the previous Queen Catherines: Catherine of Valois, Catherine of Aragon, Catherine Howard, Catherine Parr and Catherine of Braganza
- William gives Kate Middleton a cursed ring – A Report about how William has given Kate his mother’s engagement ring, a ring cursed not only because it belonged to Princess Diana but because it was given to Anne Boleyn by Henry VIII. Just in case anyone believes this report, it is on a website called “The Spoof” whose tagline is “always there with the funniest spoof headline” and the historian quoted is called Getta Lyffe! Funny!
Please let me know if you read an article about Wills and Kate – sorry, Prince William and Catherine – which is linked to Tudor history. Thanks!
