#anne somerset

[fideidefenswhore]

Elizabeth was responsible for raising England's international standing, defying the most powerful nation in Christendom, and frustrating Philip II's attempts to overrun both England and France. It was a feat which moved Pope Sixtus V to remark in involuntary admiration, 'She is only a woman, only mistress of half an island, and yet she makes herself feared by Spain, by France, by the Empire, by all.'

Elizabeth I, by Anne Somerset

[bones-ivy-breath]

The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV by Anne Somerset

[bargainsleuthbooks]

Queen Victoria and Her Prime Ministers: A Personal History by Anne Somerset #BookReview #WilliamCollins #ARCReview #RoyalFamily

A new book about Queen Victoria's reign concentrates on her relationship with her ten Prime Ministers. It's a very thorough and fascinating look at the monarch. #BookReview #WilliamCollins #QueenVictoriaandherPrimeMinisters #ARCReview #NetGalley

It’s time for another book review from my never-ending ARC list. It’s been a while since I’ve read anything on Queen Victoria and was happy to have the chance to check out this book. Most books mentioned in my reviews can be found at the affiliate links below or try your local library! (Amazon US) (Kindle Unlimited) (Amazon CA) (Amazon UK)  (AbeBooks) (Barnes & Noble)…

[wonder-worker]

"Anne Stanhope was a devoted and loyal wife and mother. She was also a politician, a committed religious reformer, and a survivor of Tudor intrigue. It was her actions and her connections at court that saved the Seymour family from ruin throughout the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. Her activities as a patroness of religious literature distinguished her from many of her contemporaries. Anne also worked with both of her husbands – but with Edward Seymour in particular – to form influential political partnerships. [...] The Duke and Duchess of Somerset’s struggle with Thomas Seymour in the late 1540s, however, set the groundwork for Anne’s unfortunate historical image. Almost immediately, writers and historians slandered her reputation. She became a stereotypical “bad wife” – proud, nagging, vengeful. By looking beyond this image, however, scholars may now view Anne Stanhope’s story in a more balanced light."

-Caroline Elizabeth Armbruster, '"A woman for many imperfections intolerable": Anne Stanhope, the Seymour family, and the Tudor court', (MA thesis, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, 2013)

[roses-in-hollywood]

guys is this too niche

[edwardseymour]

people always wondering why anne stanhope wasn’t in becoming elizabeth, as if her presence wouldn’t single-handedly serve enough cunt to irrecoverably destroy whatever screen presence that bland little german aristo was supposed to have.

[redrosecut]

Looks like Blood, Sex & Royalty rented from the costume house that The Spanish Princess sold their costumes to. Already spotted two dresses and one headpiece just in episode 01.

EDIT: Those are the dresses I found without looking any deeper. There are probably more I just didn’t spot or wasn’t sure about.

And I’m pretty sure that Mary Tudor’s headpiece is the same that Anne wears but that they added a necklace or something like it to it to embellish it a bit.

[kingedwardvi]

Curiously enough, I’ve only recently watched “Becoming Elizabeth” as I’ve concomitantly read Edward VI’s biography.

It is hardly a surprise to observe there were great differences between the show and the book, specially concerning Katheryn Parr and Thomas Seymour’s own relationship.

Admittedly, though I know little of this matter myself, came across the excerpt below which gave me a lot to think about. For those who are little familiar with the first Dowager Queen of England in an almost a century (the last being Queen Elizabeth Wideville), the following content might actually come a surprise—or not.

What matters here is to promote not only a healthy discussion about their union, but showing that whereas Katheryn did love the man, she was not his first option to marry and she was not a “fool” completely blinded by her affection for him: she hesitated at first, unwilling to remarry in at least two years before becoming Lady Seymour out of respect for the king of England. However, Lord Thomas was a persuasive man, writing as far as a poem to claim the dowager queen’s heart—and he eventually succeeded it, as we are seeing next.

“Katherine moved into her dower house at Chelsea - away from the eyes at court, it was the ideal setting for Seymour to pay secret visits by night. Letters were sent and received, their contents, upon Katherine's urging, were quickly burnt: 'Your letter being finished ... I remembered your commandment to me’, Seymour wrote, ‘wherewith I threw it into the fire, be minding to keep your requests and desires’, yet the survival of both their letters suggest that neither was quite so willing to part with these tokens of love and affection.

Katherine confided her feelings to her friend Lady Paget, who urged marriage. But Katherine was hesitant. She wished 'it had been her fate to have him for a husband' but she was mindful of her position as queen. She had even kept the affair secret from her sister Anne who, when Katherine finally revealed the news, 'did not a little rejoice'.

As a growing number of friends discovered the secret of the affair, it became increasingly difficult to keep it hidden and rumours soon abounded. Meeting Seymour in St James's Park, Princess Elizabeth's servant Katherine Ashley challenged him over his marriage plans. Seymour boasted 'he would prove to have the queen', to which Ashley retorted that she thought this 'was past proof as I had heard he was already married to her'.

Ashley was right, for sometime between mid May and the beginning of June the couple had wed in secret, with one commentator believing the marriage had taken place as early as thirty-four days after Henry's death.

If this was true, then Katherine was playing a dangerous game - if she had become pregnant, there would have been no certainty that the child was Seymour's or Henry's. Katherine remained unwilling to commit herself, having doubts to the last.

She claimed she was his 'loving wife in her heart' but was determined 'never to marry, and break it when I have done, if I live two years'. Nevertheless, Seymour got his way. News of their marriage could not stay secret for long.

'I wish the world was as well pleased with our meaning as lam well assured [of ] the goodness of God's’, Katherine had lamented, 'but the world is so wicked that it cannot be contented with good things’. Instead she suggested that they find support for their union amongst the most powerful members of the council and court.

Seymour tested Princess Mary's reaction. It was not good. Mary considered it 'strange news', writing that if Katherine was keen, there was little she could do. In any case, 'being a maid' she was 'nothing cunning' about 'wooing matters'.

Instead, Mary appealed to her dead father's memory: if Katherine was not willing, certainly she would not 'persuade her to forget the loss of him, who is as yet very ripe in mine own remembrance’. Privately Mary was horrified at the prospect, and blamed Katherine for the affair. She possibly even appealed to Elizabeth to discourage the queen, but her half-sister, not wishing to stir up trouble, told her that they lacked any influence at court and should suffer with patience what was impossible to prevent.

Seymour would have to look elsewhere for support and he knew precisely whom to turn to. His confidence rested in the fact that he had managed to remain in regular contact with Edward through John Fowler, a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, whom Seymour gave a bribe of £10 (£3,000) shortly after the coronation and before long was in his regular pay. Despite being almost continually in the presence of other gentlemen of the chamber, Fowler was soon able to converse with Edward and soon struck up a close friendship with the king, speaking to him alone.

It was not long before Seymour was calling in the favours. At the end of February he had met with Fowler over a drink and asked whether Edward had mentioned him - and in particular whether the king had ever wondered why he had remained unmarried. Would Edward be happy for him to marry? And who should he take as his bride?

Without asking too many questions, Fowler approached Edward a few days later, somewhat unsubtly repeating Seymour's queries. Edward's first reply was to suggest Anne of Cleves, but then, giving the matter more serious attention, answered that he thought Mary to be the best choice, if only 'to change her opinions'.

When Seymour heard, he laughed. 'I pray you, Mr Fowler, if you may soon, ask his Grace if he could be contented I should marry the Queen.’ He also wanted to know if Edward would write a letter on his behalf in support of the marriage.

It was at this time that Seymour, without Fowler's knowledge, began to visit Edward in private. It was not long before he had persuaded him to write a letter to Katherine, dated 25 June. Despite Edward writing to Katherine at the end of May urging her to 'continue to love my father', now the king seemingly endorsed her relationship with Seymour, since the letter ingeniously made their marriage appear as Edward's personal request to Katherine.

Moreover, it gave specific assurance that Edward would safeguard Katherine against any reaction from Somerset, who the couple knew would be furious at their secret union: 'Wherefore ye shall not need to fear any grief to come, or to suspect lack of aid in need; seeing that he, being mine uncle, is so good in nature that he will not be troublesome ... if any grief shall befall, I shall be a sufficient succour.'

The entire letter was no doubt composed by Seymour, who probably dictated it to the king.(…) When news of his brother's marriage leaked out, Somerset was furious. Edward's blessing made Somerset all the more enraged, and the king was not immune from the brunt of his anger, noting in his journal that 'the Lord Protector was much offended’.

But it was his wife Anne, the Duchess of Somerset, who took the greatest offence to the union. Described as 'a woman for many imperfections intolerable, and for pride monstrous, subtle and violent' who held Somerset under her sway 'by persuasions cunningly intermixed with tears', she detested Katherine.”

SKIDMORE, C. “Edward VI: The Lost King of England”.

[nostalgia-tblr]

The book I am reading about royal heirs who didn't become King (occasionally Queen) of England has finally got to Edward V (there are a LOT of Edwards in this story so far, as well as a lot of Henrys and a number of Matildas that defies all common sense), which means AT LAST we shall get to the glorious reign of Hot Richard \o/

[endlessly-cursed]

𝑴𝑨 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺 + 𝑭𝑨𝑪𝑬𝑳𝑬𝑺𝑺 ⁎✶✧

Lennox, Mary Ann, Stephanie, Harry, Diana, Lucille & Yvonne

Idea inspired by @kathrynalicemc

[tudorblogger]

Book and Writing Update

[fuzzysparrow]

Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Farleigh Hungerford Castle is a medieval fortress located in Somerset, England. The castle was built in two stages, starting in 1377 by Sir Thomas Hungerford (d. 1397), who amassed his wealth as John of Gaunt’s (1340-99) steward and speaker of the House of Commons. Sir Thomas’s son, Sir Walter Hungerford (1378-1449), expanded the castle until he died in 1449. Despite periods of the castle held by…

[bones-ivy-breath]

The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV by Anne Somerset

[thegirlinthepinkwheelchair]

Eastern Shore Town Hall

Image ID: Eastern Shore Town Hall. Maryland Department of Disabilities is gathering input from the disability community to create the next State Disabilities Plan and determine priorities for the next plan. Share your thoughts and experiences! To the right is a photo of disabled people with varying disabilities. You can download the PDF here via Google Drive to share with your networks and…

[karmaalwayswins]

Michigan September 22-25, 2023

Detroit Concours d'Elegance.

"After Cubism" exhibit at Detroit Institute of Arts.

"Ofrendas: Celebrating el Dia de Muertos" exhibit at Detroit Institute of Arts.

"James Barnor: Accra/London" exhibit at Detroit Institute of Arts.

Detroit Shipping Company.

Bailemos Social Night, Ann Arbor.

Country Rigatoni, Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant, Troy.

YA Salsa Social, Troy.

"Cinematic Couture" exhibit, Somerset Collection, Troy.

Photo Credit: karmaalwayswins

[shierakqiyas]

EXPLORING THE PARALLELS BETWEEN DAENERYS TARGARYEN AND ELIZABETH I OF ENGLAND

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth are the last descendants of their dynasties (House Targaryen & House Tudor)

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth are daughters of tyrant Kings (Aerys Targaryen & Henry VIII)

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth are the third in the line of succession to the throne which make them unlikely heirs but the unpredictable deaths of their respective siblings made them rise to power and becoming Queens regnant that ruled in their own rights.

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth are preyed upon by their guardians. ( Jorah mormont is dany's sworn protector/knight and Thomas seymour is elizabeth's stepfather)

He should not be doing this. I am his queen, not his woman. (...) It was a long kiss, though how long Dany could not have said. When it ended, Ser Jorah let go of her, and she took a quick step backward. “You… you should not have…”

—Dany, A storm of swords

Seymour’s own behaviour was not calculated to make this seem unlikely, for he treated Elizabeth in a boisterous way that was too tinged with sexuality to be dismissed as playfulness pure and simple. He liked to engage the teenage girl in suggestive banter, coming into her bedchamber before she was fully dressed so that he could “bid her good morrow and ask her how she did, and strike her upon the back or on the buttocks familiarly”. If he found her still in bed, “he would put open the curtains and … make as though he would come at her”, forcing Elizabeth to burrow helplessly under the bedclothes. “One morning he strave to have kissed her in her bed”, which even Mrs Ashley thought was going too far, and she “bade him go away for shame”. Mrs Ashley’s presence ensured that these sessions could not get too out of hand, nor was Elizabeth herself an altogether willing victim. She was able to outwit the Lord Admiral by rising earlier than usual, so that when Seymour entered he found her up and dressed, and demurely absorbed in study.

—Queen Elizabeth I by Anne Somerset

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth are polyglots. their abilities to speak many languages allowed them to converse easily with people from various backgrounds that visited their courts.

Reznak and Skahaz waited atop the marble steps. “Great queen,” declared Reznak mo Reznak, “you are so radiant today I fear to look on you.” The seneschal wore a tokar of maroon silk with a golden fringe. A small, damp man, he smelled as if he had bathed in perfume and spoke a bastard form of High Valyrian, much corrupted and flavored with a thick Ghiscari growl.

“You are kind to say so,” Dany answered, in the same tongue.

—Dany, A dance with dragons

(..) While her mastery of so many languages later assisted her conduct of diplomacy by enabling her to converse with foreign ambassadors,

She (Elizabeth) did not see language simply as a means of communication but as an artistic medium, and it was this that inspired the singular cadences and ornate phraseology of her mature speech.

—Queen Elizabeth I by Anne Somerset

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth's take great joy in riding horses

Dany rode fearlessly, and the joy and the danger of it were a song in her heart.

Dany thought of her only as the silver. She had never loved anything so much.

—Dany,A game of thrones

She was an excellent rider, and had such a good seat on a horse that in February 1560 the Spanish ambassador reported admiringly, “The Queen rides out every day into the country on a Neapolitan courser or jennet … She makes a brave show, and bears herself gallantly”.

—Queen Elizabeth I by Anne Somerset

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth sought by many marriage suitors because of their power and high status

Both Daenerys & Elizabeth have secret lovers, Daenerys take Daario as a lover just like Elizabeth I (assumed by historians) take Robert Dudley as her secret lover. because Daario and Robert are too lowborn, their close relationships with Daenerys & Elizabeth faced with disapproval and scrutiny from people in the queens's courts.

The old knight neither liked nor trusted Daario, she knew. Even so, he had answered gallantly. "There is no woman more lovely than Your Grace. Only a blind man could believe otherwise, and Daario Naharis was not blind."

—Dany, A dance with dragons

When Kat, with her usual impetuosity, again urged that, whatever the facts of the case, the damage to her reputation could even lead to civil war, Elizabeth - emotional now - refused an appeal that she see less of Robert. She needed him, she said, because 'in this world she had so much sorrow and tribulation and so little joy'. To some of the foreign ambassadors, this was indeed becoming a scandal that could even topple Elizabeth from the throne.

—Elizabeth and Leicester: The Truth about the Virgin Queen and the Man She Loved.

daenerys art credit to :