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The Illegitimate Royals: Eleanor Butler, the woman who almost brought down the Tudors

She was the long dead widow who was used by a king to overthrow his own nephew and yet her name is all but forgotten today. Eleanor Butler was the woman who helped change the royal history of England forever and almost brought one of its most famous dynasties to disaster before they had even secured the throne. But was she also Queen of England? Eleanor never claimed a crown for herself but as the…
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British RoyalsFeaturesHistory

History's Royal Kates: the almost queen

Born a princess, daughter of a feted king and a much-admired queen, this royal Kate seemed destined for a crown of her own. But when civil war once more erupted in England, she found herself on the wrong side of royal favour and ended up a countess instead. This is the story of Katherine of York, one of the last Plantagenet princesses. Katherine was born on August 14th, 1479, at Eltham Palace in…
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History's Royal Kates: Katherine of Valois

For a woman who founded one of the most famous royal dynasties in British history, she is surpisingly enigmatic. Katherine of Valois was the first Kate to be Queen of England and yet much of the modern imagining of her comes from her fleeting appearance in the works of…
Features

Tombs of the Tudors: The 'Lost' Tomb of Mary I

“That’s the tomb of Queen Elizabeth the First”; this was the remark I heard when I last visited Henry VII’s Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey. These words –unquestionably correct – confirm that here was the tomb of ‘Gloriana’ – England’s Queen Elizabeth I, only this is not the entire story. You could be forgiven for thinking that…
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Monarchy Rules: a look at Edward VI

Edward VI was born on 12th October 1537 as the son of the reigning King Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour. Edward’s sisters Princess Mary and Princess Elizabeth were both fond of their little brother and visited him often. Edward was even fond of his father’s last wife Catherine Parr and called her his “most dear mother”. On 1 July 1543 Henry VIII signed the…
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