Claire | February 2, 2015
If you haven’t read Hilary Mantel’s novels, don’t know the history surrounding the farce “Cardinal Wolsely going down to Hell” and haven’t watched episode 2 of Wolf Hall, then you might not want to read this article – SPOILERS! Last week’s episode of “Wolf Hall” closed with Cardinal Wolsey’s death and Cromwell watching a performance […]
Claire | January 29, 2015
On 29 January 1536, tragedy struck King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn. Anne Boleyn suffered a miscarriage, losing “a male child which she had not borne 3½ months”. This miscarriage was a huge blow for the couple, who desperately wanted and needed a son, but it also had devastating consequences for Anne because it […]
Claire | October 9, 2014
This article was inspired by lots of comments I received on The Anne Boleyn Files Facebook page yesterday after I posted a link to Suzannah Lipscomb’s article 2013 BBC History Magazine article Why did Anne Boleyn have to die and a link to my article Why I think Henry VIII was Responsible for anne Boleyn’s […]
Claire | July 19, 2014
According to an inquisition post mortem taken at Brentwood in Essex, Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn, died on 19th July 1543. The translation of her inquisition post mortem in the Essex Record Office lists the property she held at the time of her death: “property including manors of High Roding, Great Holland, Leigh, Wakering, […]
Claire | March 17, 2014
To celebrate St Patrick’s Day I tend to write about Anne Boleyn’s links to Ireland, but today I’m going to focus on the legend that links George Boleyn to Clonony Castle in County Offaly, Ireland, a castle that was built by the MacCoghlan clan in the early 1500s. The following article is based on part […]
Claire | February 13, 2014
Today marks the anniversary of the executions of Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, and Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, one of Catherine’s ladies. The two women had been found guilty of treason by bill of attainder, Catherine for not having a “pure and honest living before her marriage” and wanting “to return to her […]
Claire | February 7, 2014
After I had posted my article marking the anniversary of Mary Boleyn’s marriage to William Carey on 4th February 1520, I received lots of questions about Mary’s relationship with the King – When did it start? Why do historians date it to 1522? How long did it last? Were her children fathered by the King? […]
Claire | February 4, 2014
On this day in 1520, Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn, married William Carey, an Esquire of the Body and a relative and close friend of Henry VIII, in the Chapel Royal at Greenwich. The King attended the wedding. Carey was descended from Edward III, and his maternal grandmother was cousin to Henry VIII’s paternal […]
