Sarah Morris, co-author of In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn and In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII, and owner of The Tudor Travel Guide Facebook page emailed me with this update on the Anne of Cleves heraldic panels which she helped to identify back in 2015. It’s worrying news, but there’s a way we can all help.
Sarah is going to give us all more information in a mini-documentary on the panels which she is releasing on YouTube tomorrow (28th December) at 8pm UK time. You will be able to view it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMz6DI7MMDo&feature=youtu.be.
But here is a bit more information from Sarah:
“It’s Sarah from The Tudor Travel Guide here. Back in 2015, I was lucky to be part fo the small team, which included Jonathan Foyle and Christine Hill, that ‘discovered’ the Anne of Cleves Heraldic Panels; a set of 22 finely carved, oak panels bearing the initials and emblems of Anne of Cleves.
They made up a new ‘nationally important historic collection’, a rare find of a personal, domestic interior associated with Tudor royalty.
The panels had been misidentified over the years, but through bringing modern techniques and know-how to bear, we were able to establish that they were without doubt contemporary to Anne of Cleve’s lifetime.
They bore her personal emblems and undoubtedly must have decorated a very high status chamber, likely in one of her dower properties; perhaps Bletchingley, or the King’s Manor at Dartford.
Last year it became clear that the fabric of the church was crumbling – badly. There is serious water penetration in parts of the church, and just in the last couple of months one of the parapets fell off. Luckily, no-one was hurt.
I am passionate about Tudor history; for me buildings and artefacts form a physical connection to some of my historical heroines & heros – Anne of Cleves being one of them. She was a woman I came to greatly admire through my research for ‘In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII’.
I don’t know about you, but for me, artefacts like these allow me to connect more deeply with the person who had them created. These panels meant something to Anne. They reminded her of her heritage and homeland (somewhere she missed greatly in the latter years of her life). Through these I can understand her just that little bit better.
This collection of panels are unique. There are few royal, Tudor interiors of this kind in existence…and as you can hear about in the accompanying video (release date 28th December at 8pm), the strap-work carved into the panels represents some of the earliest known in England. Anne of Cleves was trend-setting!
I wanted to step in and help the church council who have a whopping bill of £750,000 to pay to make good the building. The work, however, is being split into phases and the most urgent work, to protect the principal treasures, will cost some £90,000.
I couldn’t stand by and do nothing. I know that we care about Tudor history with a passion and that the preservation of historic buildings and Tudor artefacts matter to people like us.
So, my role in this is to help spread the word of the damage being done – and the threat to the panels. If you want to act, the church council have set up a Just Giving page, where you can donate whatever you are able to afford.
Please also share this page with at least one other friend. In that way we can keep the conversation going until the panels are safe again. Thank you for giving your support.”
Donate via the St Leonard’s ‘Just Giving Page’ (Note: this page is not managed, or affiliated, in any way by The Tudor Travel Guide)
https://www.justgiving.com/stleonards-oldwarden?
Like the ‘Save the Anne of Cleves Heraldic Panels’ Facebook Page and share with least one friend to help spread the word at:
https://www.facebook.com/savetheanneofclevesheraldicpanels/
Here’s the video, although you won’t be able to watch it until it goes live on 28th December:
Photo: Taken from The Tudor Travel Guide Blog by Sarah Morris.
Thank you Claire for alerting us to this. I know Tudor artifacts are rare and I’m sure anything related to Anne of Cleve’s even more so. I encourage anyone who can to donate a bit. I just did so myself. The Just Giving site is very simple. With all the fans worldwide of Tudor history we should be able to put quite a dent in the amount needed.
Just watched the mini-doc. Very interesting. I recommend this to anyone interested in Tudor archeology and artifacts.
I had the hairs on my legs standing up watching this video. I have followed the story on various sites for a couple of years and this is an amazing find. Anne of Cleves retired as Queen as a wealthy woman and in high favour for most of her life. Anne did briefly fall out with Queen Mary but she paid for and arranged for her funeral and tomb in Westminster Abbey. It remained unfinished, although it was at one point grander than it is now, because of penny pinching in successive reigns. There is evidence as well that part of it was damaged during renovation in the eighteenth century when a number of tombs were moved around. Her tomb became obscured but was rescued due to a full re ordering of the Abbey into it’s proper condition. There is much to show that some work has been done on the area around the high alter and Anne is in a prime position, that of high honour in the Abbey at the side of the High Alter.
It is interesting how much testing and research has gone into these panels to establish their authenticity. The steward of Anne of Cleves must have really been aware of how proud his mistress was of her homeland and her crest and her dearest wish to transfer her favourite designs to her tomb. This is quite a good piece of detective work and I like the idea of Anne watching the coronation from her vantage point.
I feel Anne of Cleves was certainly the most personable of the six wives and I am a big fan. Watching the video zi could host feel I could touch part of her own a way. I was very impressed that they even have a good idea of which of Anne’s properties the panels came from. I really wonder if it is just coincidence that the oak the panels are carved from is from her part of Europe or could she have commissioned that specifically.
Yes Michael Anne was said to be a very likeable woman being gentle and unassuming, all her staff loved her and after her death they must have mourned her for a great many years, another queen who I find very personable is Catherine Parr, Henrys sixth queen, she was loved by all his children, of course Katherine from Aragon was most loved amongst the people having been queen for over twenty years but to us reading their stories from this great distance in time, Anna ( which is how she was called in her homeland) from Cleve’s does come across as a very likeable woman, a very caring woman who inspired loyalty and great affection in all who knew her.
I completely agree with you about Katherine Parr. She obviously loved all children and was an excellent stepmother to all who were in her charge over her lifetime. She certainly had a wonderful influence on Elizabeth. It breaks my heart to think that when she finally had a child of her own she died soon after and that her little girl Mary did not live long either. Sometimes life seems so unfair.
I completely agree that Anne of Cleves was a most pleasant lady and she was described as merciful and compassionate and she was fair to look at and generous. Katherine Parr also seems rather pleasing to know, but she would probably drive me round the bend if she preached to me every night. I really believe it was so unfair and sad that she died before she could enjoy her only child, a daughter, Mary, named for the Princess she was a good friend to. Katherine was a good stepmother to Lady Elizabeth and Prince Edward, whom she moved to Court and to join her on Progress in August 1544, while she was Regent for her absent husband who was away at war in France. King Henry’s second daughter was almost as clever as his first and had an aptitude for languages. She wrote a heart warming letter in Italian to Katherine when she was ten and Katherine took Elizabeth to live with her in 1548.
It is really lovely to see Anne of Cleves through her panels, with her initials and her heraldry, the wood from her home, possibly commissioned by her for her tomb and her home. Typical of the antiquarians of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, putting them inside a church, but that probably preserved them as many country homes were dismantled in the 1930s and 1940s. It was almost as if we could touch something belonging to the dear Queen Anne of Cleves. The workmanship was of the highest quality and it must have been a really fascinating investigation, full of ups and downs as they had.
I take you saw that the Bonham panel is now at Hever?
Re Katherine Parr I hadn’t thought about her possible incessant evangelizing. I have an older sister like that. Though everyone in my family has a strong faith that doesn’t matter to her. My younger brother and I love her but can hardly stand to be around her sometimes. That very well could have been Katherine.
Hi Michael, yes, I heard, with disappointment I might say that the panels were moved to Hever as I don’t believe they belong there, even though Anne lived there for a few years. Having said that it is hard to say where they belong, but I was also disappointed that the bed discovered in Chester identified as belonging to Henry Vii and Elizabeth of York, the Paradise Bed, moved to Hever, because it belongs in the North. It was slept in here in the North, in a home on the site of the inn it was discovered in, it was left in the North and the King and Queen slept in it on their way to York and back. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t made from material from the North. It definitely has no connection with Hever Castle. Sorry for rants, but I feel very strongly about everything from elsewhere ending up in London or the South of England.
Betchley Castle is not around anymore, nor is Richmond but Anne had a home in Sussex which could have had the panels but Hever probably is bigger so they are there instead. Some probably should have been used in the restoration of her tomb, which obviously needs restoring and maybe completing. It’s always a very touchy thing when it comes to restoring artefacts and of course furniture as to where they belong. I sometimes get rather carried away about where something belongs and the most important thing is that the panels are cared for and restored, wherever they are held.
Great fun! Goes to prove there’s always something new to discover.
Katherine did go a bit too far one night while conversing with Henry and he got rather tetchy, he must have felt that she was preaching to him and that he couldn’t endure, whilst admiring educated women, (he had after all been partly attracted to his second wife for her clever tongue), he did not like women to appear cleverer than him, and there were rumours she was a heretic, Henry could not abide heretics and Stephen Gardener among others were determined to bring her down, he had his men search her apartments but the queen had got wind he was onto her and had her ladies hide her books, it was dangerous times to live in, freedom of speech is what we enjoy today and different viewpoints on religion is accepted but in those days it was considered treason to think and act different to what the law decreed, Katherine was outspoken and no doubt felt hampered by her very sex, Anne Boleyn also they were both strong minded women, and to have to live in a society where women were merely vessels of their fathers and after marriage, of their husbands must have been oppressive to their very natures, women did not own anything, if there were no male heirs then they would inherit their fathers title and riches but they had no freedom, what was theirs became their husbands, they could be beaten if they disobeyed them, there were no laws to protect them from abuse physical and mental, they were merely breeding machines and many died because of lack of medical knowledge, Katherine is unique in that she became the first woman in England to have her works published, no wonder her enemies feared her, she could have a rather dangerous effect on the King, the fact she survived was down to masterly coincidence and her own quick wits, fast forward several hundred years and not much had altered in Victorian times, for women who rebelled against their husbands they could be sent to asylums, divorce was frowned on but men could file for divorce against their wives, not so for women, they had to shut up and endure, women were not considered important enough to contribute to society, they were not allowed to vote, there were female writers and poets, Rossetti and Browning and Florence Nightingale who became interested in nursing and travelled to the Crimea, these women were all from wealthy families which made it a lot easier for they had the right connections, but women were not supposed to have careers, and surgeons were mainly considered rascals, the nurses at that time were slovenly and drunkards, it was Nightingale who turned nursing into the honoured proffesion it is today, for a woman to be outspoken and to have a strong view was frowned on as much as their Tudor counterparts, women were just for marriage and the running of households, bringing up children etc, all Henrys queens were expected to be just that, servile meek and fill the nurseries up, for Henry to have a queen like Katherine Parr was highly dangerous and she was intelligent enough to realise it, she told Henry she only said what she did so he could correct her, very sycophantic and she must have felt the bitter taste of hypocrisy rise in her mouth, but it worked, Henry was mollified but she had had a very lucky escape, she was not destined to become his third queen to lose her life on Tower green, the fates had ordained she would outlive him, but yes it is sad she lost her life in childbirth, having survived her marriage to Henry V111 it is tragic she did not survive the perils of what is entirely natural, also her baby daughter who more than likely died when she was a toddler, I hope they are together in paradise.
Hi Christine, yes, no doubt Katherine was an alluring and very practical and intelligent and capable Queen, experienced at handling difficult, infirm and much older spouses, but of course being the sixth consort of the most powerful man in England and a highly dangerous, paranoid and unpredictable King was a task which required patience and tact. Henry reverted to more traditional expressions of the Catholic faith to which he was still linked and which, despite his break from Rome, was the official faith of England. Katherine Parr had discovered that her faith belonged in the Bible, in the new reforms, she had of course been a devout Catholic but at some point became convinced about the Evangelical faith. As a published writer, although her writing was orthodox at this point, she was sought out by authors to patronize their work. Later, after Henry died, her Lamentations of a Sinner, her Protestant autobiography, became a best seller. Her ladies had reformed tendencies and her time with them was remarked upon as being more like evangelical prayer meetings than traditional activities as a Queen. Henry obviously wasn’t too bothered about her eccentric behaviour at first, but one evening Katherine went too far. Katherine had been buying translations of works by Thomas Betherlett on the Psalms in English which was actually an orthodox translation and several others which were probably not. Her ladies, as you said had books that were not orthodox which had to be carefully hidden when a search was ordered. Some ladies were questioned but held their own. In light of Queen Katherine carelessly preaching to Henry, not in private, but in front of others, one evening Stephen Gardiner and others were able to persuade him that she should be arrested and investigated for heresy. This was a dangerous and serious matter, it was one of the most serious criminal acts a person could be accused off and it was very varied. It ranged from innocent lapses to deliberately denouncing a sacrament and the worst thing you could do under the current Six Acts was criticise the Holy Communion more commonly known to Catholics as the Blessed Sacrament or Real Presence (of Jesus) in the consecrated Bread and Wine. Katherine was lucky and got wind of the arrest warrant and went to her husband and, swallowing her pride, made herself suitably humble and said she meant no harm by her bold words, which were only the foolish talk of women and she meant to learn from Henry, as her husband and head and that he enjoyed their talks. A patronising King then more or less patted his wife on the head and said if it was so they were friends again. Poor Katherine had a very lucky escape. An associate, Anne Askewe wasn’t so lucky, finding herself arrested twice, the second time for very serious charges and she was even tortured because her prosecutors wanted to get to the Queen and the Earl and Lady Hertford. It was illegal to rack a woman but that didn’t stop Richard Rich and Thomas Writhosley (sorry about spelling) from racking the poor woman themselves. Askewe gave up nothing but had to be carried to her execution in a chair.
It was a time when freedoms such as speech and religious thought simply didn’t exist and difference was feared and not celebrated. The state now since Henry took control had a much more direct role in what was accepted as true belief and what wasn’t and Henry encouraged the prosecution of heresy as vigorously as he prosecuted those who refused to swear to the oath of supremacy. Having different beliefs, even among post reformation clergy signalled disunity. Uniformity was what the crown wanted and uniformity was what the crown would have, regardless of how ruthless it had to be to achieve it. Factions at Court could be particularly dangerous and a Queen who made no secret of her belief in reform was an easy target, a paranoid King, easily persuaded and Katherine was extremely lucky that she got to Henry before his Council members did.
One of my heroines is Anne Askewe she knew they desperately wanted her to implicate the queen, and as you say the Hertfords but her bravery was something they had no knowledge of, neither her deep faith which sustains those of likewise character and is the stuff of which matyrs are made of, Joan of Arc herself who perished in the flames and for which I being English, have always been ashamed of, she was later venerated as a saint, Anne Askewe did not crumble under the rack where many men had, before and since, her death was dreadful and yes she had to be carried to the stake as she was in so much pain, she must have welcomed her death but prayed over and over that she would have the courage needed to endure it, (the smoke which is always known to be more deadly than the fire) hopefully would have choked her to death before the flames got her, one cannot imagine the turmoil she and others who were later to die by the flames themselves went through, it was a filthy way to die and I just pray they were overcome by the black fumes before they felt the searing pain of the flames, I had read that one of Gardiners men had left the Tower in great haste to inform the King that Anne was being illegally racked and he was aghast they were doing so and ordered it stopped, but the men responsible Gardiner and Wroithesley were not punished for it, Henry possibly did not let it bother him too much he was very much the tyrant now and he wanted heresy stamped out, the bloody execution (nothing short of murder) of Lady Pole must have still haunted the court, after her death her son Cardinal Pole exclaimed bitterly how many people has this King killed and how many more will he do so? It was a terrifying age to live in, Katherine was treading on very shaky ground, the scene in the gardens later is amusing when she was sitting on the bench with Henry no doubt chatting amicably possibly about the flower beds, when an armed guard appeared with frosty faced Gardiner at the head, Henry wanted to know what was the reason for this breach of peace and Gardiner spluttered out that he had come to arrest the queen and escort her to the Tower, this had never happened before, when his second and fifth queens were arrested they were not with Henry, how much different history might have been if those two tragic wives of Henry V111 had been with him in person, a pleading face, tears horror struck eyes and the Kings heart may have softened, their tragedy was they were not, but Katherine Parr was and he was enjoying a pleasant little interlude with her, how dare this knave as he was to call him interrupted him and the queen, he boxed him round the ears and Gardiner who saw nothing wrong in torturing a woman on the rack quacked in fear, a man of much cruelty and little courage himself he soon departed with the guards and must have kept out of Henrys way for quite some time, Katherine was badly shaken though she had diced with death and had learnt a valuable lesson, keep her mouth shut, Henry found his last wife pleasant she had the maturity to deal with his aches and pains, she had been a nursemaid to her last two husbands and knew what it entailed, she was calm and he was very fond of her, Iv often thought Henry did not really approve of her religious leanings or heretical leanings, as he probably called them, but she was what he needed when he was in discomfort and he was prepared to turn a blind eye to her other idiosyncrasies, when his head hurt she was the one who placed a cooling lavender sachet on his forehead and soothed him with calming words, he didn’t want to lose his Kate, he was invaluable to him.
Regarding Joan of Arc I read Helen Castor’s book on her a couple of years ago and learned that her name was cleared by the church within the lifetime of her mother. Too late to save Joan’s life but restored her reputation. Personally I have never doubted her claims.
As to Stephen Gardner, served him right to be omitted from Henry’s will. He was one of those people who never should of had that much power, he abused it.
I think Henry mistrusted him he was a nasty piece of work.
Meant she was invaluable not him.
Exactly the same words I use to describe him.
Anne Askew was very much a brave if somewhat brash, and I don’t mean that as an insult, bold and forthright might be a more accurate term, who had said get lost to her husband and moved to London to live life as a single woman, which was suspicious enough in that world, but then Anne was also very much her own woman. That she became connected to and very outspoken in the reformist movement shows her courage and her determination for self realisation. Henry Viii had sadly turned to tyranny in these last years as such brutal executions of those who cannot be a threat like Lady Margaret Pole, the last true White Rose.
Anne Askew was truly very brave as she endured such terrible torture, but it wasn’t on the orders of Stephen Gardiner, but most certainly Henry didn’t want to be bothered about it when the Warden of the Tower came to him to beg him to order it to be stopped. Henry stopped it but it had gone on for several hours before it was prevented further. It was of course illegal to torture a woman in this way, and it is believed Anne was the only one it happened to. Of course the purpose of torture, in English Law anyway, putting aside the Hollywood and propaganda versions of history, was to obtain information on conspiracies and the names of other heretics and conspirators to be found. Anne was questioned about her actual ideas and beliefs but she was wrongly racked in order to get to those at Court who shared her faith. There had been a nest of heretics in the Royal Household, including the Royal musicians, imagined or real, but at least six people were accused, although only three were actually tried and later executed. The Windsor conspiracy as it was called was actually on the word of perjury and those responsible were given a flogging, fined and walked through the streets. Bishop Gardiner was as all nobles and high churchmen and officials were, naturally in favour of prosecuting heresy and he is often seen as the one who pushed for this, but actually he wasn’t the fervent persecutor of legend. He did believe Katherine Parr was a leading heretic and was among those who persuaded Henry to arrest her. Anne and others were arrested as heretics who had formerly recanted and she was questioned again because the Council thought to get either to the Queen or to get to high born families such as Anne and Edward Seymour or Lady Katherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk. The two men who racked her certainly could be described as cruel and self seeking and ruthless. They went so far, against objections, to rack the poor, frightened, exhausted woman that they broke her arms and legs. Anne was braver than those two cowards and steadfast in her faith which was her shield and sustenance. It was terrible to witness such a death and she was fortunate to have friends who helped her in prison and possibly at her death.
Anne Seymour some sources suggest gave her money in prison and food and someone gave her executioner explosives to put around her neck which erroneously was believed would reduce her suffering by blowing her up before she slowly choked on the smoke. There are various scientists who have done demonstrations on how death by fire works as different methods were used, but no matter what, it was not a quick death, it took about 15 minutes, although it could take longer and people are unlikely to have been smiling happily and singing songs at the end as claimed by some martyrtologists. There is a debate on how effective putting a pouch of gunpowder was but many experts doubt it actually helped. As Christine has described, it was unpleasant and I don’t think we need to describe it further, but there were obviously ways to shorten suffering.
I don’t have any sympathy for Thomas Earl of Southampton when he came to arrest Katherine the next day as she took refreshments in the garden with Henry. Nor do I believe Henry forgot to cancel the warrant but set him up deliberately to humiliate him. Henry had a habit of hitting the odd scoundrel around the face or head. He hit poor Cromwell often enough. I can imagine that Wriothsley just wanted to crawl away with embarrassment, but well, that taught him not to tangle with such a smart woman.
As to Stephen Gardiner, this was the beginning of his demise as well, as the reformist party gained the ascendancy and took over control of the Council, the Prince and the inner circle around the King. Henry was rather fond of Gardiner because of his reputation for keeping a good table and dined with him on a number of occasions. He had been instrumental in the forming of the Six Articles and he had been partly to blame for Henry meeting Kathryn Howard, who was a guest at his house. Gardiner had married Henry and Katherine Parr and had nothing personal against her for a few years until her open witness to the reformist faith and then she became dangerous. Shortly after the failed attempt to bring down the last Queen of Henry Viii, he was dismissed and retired from Court, reviving his career under Queen Mary after five years in prison for his own faith. His role under Mary was restricted and he was again locked up by Elizabeth to stop him voting against her Act of Uniformity.
A final word on Joan of Arce since she was mentioned. Whether or not one believes in her visions, it is without dispute that she gave fresh hope to a disheartened French army and transformed the young Charles Vii into a King, warrior and symbol of French unification. Her bravery and her consistency are very much to be admired and even her wobble was out of trickery and many months of illegal imprisonment. Joan was being held on charges of heresy and witchcraft, which were under the authority of the church but was placed in a military prison with male guards. The Law said she should be held in a church prison with female guards and attendees, usually a convent, but Bedford had other ideas. To prevent herself from being raped by the guards she put on male attire again and this was judged as going back on her recanted statement. It was a set up. She was the brave young lady of about nineteen we know her for when she was burned to death in Rouen market place in 1431 and her captors even thought of her as a saint, such was her demeanour and demise. The second trial which rehabilitated her name and memory 20 years later was ordered and attended by King Charles Vii of France who was himself the bane of England at the time, defeating them with their own medicine in 1453. It is ironic that burning was meant to be a mercy as it could free a heretics soul from hell as was the belief and some men such as John Rodgers, the first Protestant martyr under Mary I, when he burned Joan Bocher called it a gentle death for women. How ironic that these men who burnt heretics went that way themselves. It shows how the strange and the new and the different were all regarded by everyone as dangerous and this terrible death was often the fate agreed upon for those who persisted after a first and second recantation in whatever belief was outside the norms of Church and State. It was a frightening state of affairs which lasted across Europe and then in the New World, mostly South America from the thirteenth to the nineteenth century. Thank heavens this attitude is no more.
Happy New Year 2019 everyone!
Ah it was Wroithesley Henry hit about the head well he was another such as Gardiner, Joan of Arc could have been mentally ill, it is possible she suffered from schizophrenia which would explain ‘the voices’ she proclaimed to hear, she said the saints spoke to her, it is a fascinating theory if indeed she was merely suffering from a very distressing mental illness which was unrecognised at the time, the rough justice Bq mentions was all too apparent when John Lassells that paragon of virtue told the authorities about Catherine Howard’s past, he was later to die by the flames himself for being a heretic, though I do not wish such an extreme death on anyone, it was because of him that a young ignorant woman was executed, happy new year anyway, everyone!
That’s right, Kathryn was foolish in her behaviour during her marriage, but the tale that John Lassels brought to Archbishop Cranmer when his sister said why she didn’t want a job with the new Queen. Henry did the right thing when he ordered a full investigation into the news delivered to him, but yes it was due to Lassels that Kathryn ended up in trouble. Lassells I believe was actually executed alongside Anne Askew, after being denounced as a heretic when he got mixed up with a prophet who predicted the death of the King ( well Henry would die soon, a few months later, but people had come up with prophecy for a couple of decades). Perhaps it was a bit of serendipity after all, and who knows, perhaps a Howard fan denounced him.
Anne of Cleves was the wise one, although she really did want to remain as Queen and was upset when Henry remarried after the fall of Kathryn Howard, taking the opportunity to become unmarried to Henry and being set for life. That she could order and pay for such wonderful panels, transport them for Lowland Germany and have so many made shows her wealthy status, even at the last few years of her life and as an ex Queen. She had her own household and own autonomy to order shows of wealth and her own arms and heraldry and to have her own workshops. That showed the same privileged power and position as any English or European aristocracy. She was still a Princess and it was her right, duty and privilege to show her position and display her wealth in this magnificent way and I feel privileged just to see these marvellous panels and to think they once belonged to the one Queen who actually got the better of King Henry.
Going back to Stephen Gardner I remember reading somewhere that Henry was asked why Gardner wasn’t going to be appointed to Edward’s ruling council after his death and Henry stated that no one could control him (keep him in check) but himself.
Happy New Year!
Although it is only 11pm here people are already setting off fireworks. At least wait until midnight.
Yes Henry was no fool, he knew the men around him, their very character and their foibles, he mistrusted Gardiner and that was not due to his paranoi, I was at a party dancing my shoes of, just resting today with the television and nice cups of tea and goodies, another year older – oh well !
Happy New Year Claire. Thank you for the This Day in Tudor History videos your doing for 2019. I’m looking forward to each one.