Sorry about the title, I just had to do it even though I have no right to put my name next to that of a queen, oh well! Today, we have four important “on this day in history”s:-
- 1466 – Birth of Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, wife of Henry VII and mother of Henry VIII, at Westminster.
- 1503 – Death of Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII, from a post-partum infection.
- 1971 – Birth of Claire Ridgway, owner of The Anne Boleyn Files, writer and mother, in Lancashire, England.
- 1982 – Birth of Natalie Dormer, the actress known for her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in “The Tudors”, in Reading, Berkshire. Happy 30th birthday, Natalie!
Now, you can find out all about Elizabeth of York in the following articles:-
But what about Claire of Lancaster? I hear you ask – you did ask, didn’t you? – Well, here is a brief bio of Claire Ridgway. Sorry, just had to do it, it is my birthday after all and if you can’t hog the limelight on your birthday when can you?
Claire Ridgway (that’s me!) was born in Lancashire, England, on the 11th February 1971. She moved to Warwickshire, 12 miles from Straford-upon-Avon, at the age of 4 and lived there until she started university. Claire studied at the University of Warwick for four years (near to Warwick Castle and Kenilworth Castle, yay!) and then began her working life as a teacher in Birmingham. Claire married the swashbuckling hero, Sir Tim, in 1995 and the couple had three children. Claire gave up teaching to be a full-time mum.
In 2006, the Ridgways left England for a new life in Spain, moving from the scenic Cotswolds to a traditional white pueblo up a mountain in Andalucia. Big change! Claire threw herself into freelance writing and then, after a vivid dream about Anne Boleyn’s execution, started The Anne Boleyn Files in February 2009. Her aim was to spread the REAL truth about Anne Boleyn and to challenge the many myths and misconceptions out there. Claire now works full-time on running the site, researching Tudor history and writing about it. Her first book, “The Anne Boleyn Collection“, comes out in March 2012.
There, that’s my ego trip done!
Also on this day in history…
- 1531 – Convocation granted Henry VIII the title of “singular protector, supreme lord, and even, so far as the law of Christ allows, supreme head of the English church and clergy”.
I didn’t realize that you were not in England!! How wonderful to have the opportunity to live in another country; is it a permanent move or will you return someday?
Have you been able to visit any sties associated with Katherine of Aragon?
Happy Birthday, Claire! I hope that you are able to set aside some time to celebrate with Sir Tim and your heirs. Elizabeth of York is a lovely woman to share one’s special day with. Although we know very little about how she actually felt about the life she was thrust into, she seems to have borne the many difficult circumstances of her destiny with dignity and grace.
Have you done a article about the dream you had? Would be very interesting to read. 🙂
Happy Birthday, Claire … and many more of them!
happy 41st birthday………Lady Claire of Lancaster.
god blessyou:):)
Many Happy Returns, my Lady. 🙂
I am just watching Discover history channel +1 with back to back episodes of The Tower of London, with the training of a Yeoman, and through the history of the tower itself. The one I am watching at the moment is on the bloody towere and the story of the Princes, Elizabeth’s brothers, what a coinsidence. They are looking inside the tomb of Princess Katherine Plantagenets tomb, (Elizabeth of Yorks sister) or checking out it is hers and not one placed on top, with the hope of maybe getting some D.N.A. with the additional hope of being able to check this against what they suppose are the bones of the boys buried in the Abbey. This would be great if they were allowed to do this and put the question to rest, but will still not answer the question, without doubt, of ‘Who dunnit’ though… Alison Weir is speaking on the matter.
They are also making a scaffold to the exact plan of the one they have on Earl of Essex, which they have in great detail all the plans and the actual execution, it is being built in the way it was then out of oak, the whole lot.. it is fasinating, it is going to be displayed when done.
Can’t wait to see whats coming up next, a lovely way to spend a dreary Febuary day.
By the way Katherine Plantagenet is buried at Tiverton Church Devon, ( I know you would know that Claire) if anyone is planning a visit to Dvon at all.
Back to Elizabeth she was, I think, the only women to be a daughter of a king, a niece of a king, the sister of a king, wife of a king, mother of a king, and grandmother of a king, English kings that is, what a family tree that is…Beautiful too, in looks, and person by all accounts, Happy Birthday your Majesty.
Happy Birthday Your Majesty, Queen Elizabeth AND Milady Claire of Lancaster!
Happy birthday, Claire. I didn’t realise it was your birthday today, which I suppose makes me a bit of a mug! I hope you’ve had a great day.
A VERY Happy Birthday to you Claire and MANY MORE! 🙂
Happy birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day!
Happy Birthday Claire. I am raising a toast to you as I type. I love your site and I think you do a brilliant job of making it interesting and entertaining.
Happy Birthday!!!
Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday, *Lady Claire of Lancaster*!! 😉
Hope you had a wonderful day celebrating and no, I didn’t know either about your living in Spain. (Wow – that’s another place I’d love to visit.)
I love your A.B. and other posts – please keep ’em coming!
Brightest blessings!
Mary
Happy birthday, Claire. Hope today was filled with special times for you and your family. Every week I look forward to reading the lastest you have to share at THE ANNE BOLEYN FILES. Thanks for all your hard work.
Linda
Happy birthday, Miss Claire! Can’t wait to read your book:)
Happy Birthday to you Claire. Hope your day was full of wonderful things.
Happy Birthday Claire! Hope you had a wonderful day!
Happy (belated) Birthday Claire! And congradulations on your book I cannot wait for it!
-Dani
Happy Birthday Claire! And thank you for bringing us the gift of AB Forum. (Oh and I think it’s cool you share a birthday with Elizabeth of York. I share mine with Elizabeth Taylor).
Happy Belated Birthday! I get a kick out of “Dawn 1st” who writes to you often as Dawn is not that common a first name (and I suspect she lives on that side of the pond and she watched channel +1, which is not a U.S. channel but I wish it was – you get such wonderful Tudor programming and history). Enough of the two Dawns…..happy, happy birthday and many more. So enjoy this site!!!
Hi, GADawn
I live in the N.E. Scotland, the nights are long, winter seems to drag after xmas, and I get bored till I can get into my gardening again, hence the rambling on, 🙂 gives hubby’s ears a rest…
No, you don’t hear our name very often, personally I have never liked it, on me anyway, always thought its a little girls name, not a ‘mature lady’s’, lol…
Oh, I think Dawn is a beautiful name! Tania is a name that only seems popular in the Commonwealth countries, I’ve never understood why as its Russian!