Features

The Coronation of King Charles III: what Is The Supertunica?

King Charles III’s coronation will be a blend of modern and traditional. The Supertunica he will wear is firmly in the “traditional” column. In fact, it dates back to medieval coronations and is one of the items mentioned in the ‘Liber Regalis,’ which is basically a Coronation guide book that dates back to 1382 when Richard II reigned. The ‘Liber Regalis’ says the Supertunica…
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History

Edward & Joan: A Plantagenet Love Story

“The most beautiful woman in all the realm of England, and the most loving,” fourteenth-century French chronicler, Jean Froissart once said of Joan of Kent. Joan, known by the sobriquet of “the Fair Maid of Kent,” was thirty-two and recently widowed upon the death of her late husband, Thomas de Holland, Earl of Kent. A Woman of Controversy The right panel of the Wilton Diptych…
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History

Isabella of Valois, The Child Bride of Richard II

In medieval times royal brides were often quite young when they married, though consummation was usually forbidden until a more appropriate age was reached. A certain young bridge might ring a bell as the founder of the Tudor Dynasty. Lady Margaret Beaufort was first married…