#haters gonna say anne didn’t love elizabeth

[katherines-howard]

[scotianostra]

On July 29th 1567 King James VI was crowned at Stirling.

Picking up from last wednesday's post when Mary was forced to abdicate, the powers that be wasted no time in getting the formalities over and crowning the 13 month old son of Lord Darnley.  The last time James saw his mother, Mary was in 1567, when he was barely a year old.

Because of his young age a regent was appointed to act as head of state.  In fact, during his minority a succession of regents were chosen to rule in his stead.  

The first regent was Mary’s half brother, James Stuart, Earl of Moray,  Upon the Earl’s death in  1570, Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox, who was James grandfather, became the second regent.  His regency didn’t last very long, as he died in 1571.  The third regent was James’s guardian, John Erskine, the first Earl of Mar whose regency also didn’t last long, he died in 1572.  The fourth and last of the regents was the very powerful James Douglas, Earl of Morton.

In spite of his mother’s Catholic faith, James was brought up in the Protestant religion. He was educated by men who had empathy for the Presbyterian church. His marriage to Anne of Denmark (a protestant country) no doubt pleased his Protestant subjects.

James VI is said to have had a terrible childhood, much like his forebears, including his great-grandfather. He had been used and abused by his tutors who were just looking to someone to manipulate and to mold into their little puppet. He was then told that his mother was the most horrible person in the world to the point that he did not know what the truth was anymore. When he was a teenager he became very independent and learned to hide his feelings very well but he also started working for his mother’s release, although some historians dispute this.

He was vocal in his opposition for his mother's trial and subsequent execution and I even read that James was "Desperate for his mother's life". He even destroyed the casket letters in 1584, which although may confirm that they may have had actual proof against Mary, was definitely a move so that his mother can rest in peace after her death and that her memory and legacy will stop being trashed and disgraced because of the letters.

Who knows what really went through his mind. Did he really care about her? Or was he was just looking to release her because he was worried that her execution and her bad reputation would also affect him and his chances to get the throne? There is some reason to believe this last one because Fontenay, the French Ambassador, noted that whenever James talked about his mother, he never “inquired anything of the queen or of her health, or her treatment, her servants, her living, and eating, her recreation, or anything similar.” And how could he when he never knew her and the people who raised him kept telling him ugly stuff about her? To those that were closest to the young King, his mother was the devil incarnate. 

Whichever was, Elizabeth I was never going to release Mary Queen of Scots anytime soon and she must have made this very clear because the following year in 1585, when James was 19, he agreed with her decision to keep his mother in prison and even called Elizabeth “Madame Mother”. Imagine how this  made Mary feel,her only son, the only hope she had to get free, calling her jailer ‘mother’. It was at this point that she started looking for other means to be released. Ultimately we know they all failed.

I didn't really want this to turn into another post about Mary, but she is so involved in the history of it all she will inevitably turn up time and time again. Anyway more on Young james.......

King James was tutored by George Buchanan and Peter Young.  He was a dedicated student and by the age of 8 he was fluent in French, Latin, Greek, and English. This stern upbringing would inspire him to appreciate the arts and sciences and encourage the learning of them all throughout his reign, the King once remarked, that he could speak Latin before he could speak his native Scots. Because of his linguistic capabilities, King James typically did not need a translator when conducting business with other heads of state. King James grew into a powerful king with a powerful pen--he had peace at home and abroad, something few of his ancestors could dream of. His motto was His motto was "Beati Pacifici,"--Blessed are the peacemakers, not to mixed up with -Blessed are the cheesemakers, which of course came from The Life of Brian! ;)

King James' great aspiration to be the first King of both Scotland and England was realized in 1603 upon the death of Queen Elizabeth. When he ascended to the English throne that year he had already been king of Scotland for 36 years. He was now known as King James VI of Scotland & I of England. This came with its own dangers, and of course one of the most famous plots in history, still remembered every November in is known as Guy Fawkes Night.

As a Scotsman ruling over the English, the King endured much racism and slander--especially from the once powerful English Lords and Ladies who he replaced with his Scottish countrymen. Unfortunately, many of today's historians look to the writings of hostile sources such as Sir Anthony Weldon and Francis Osborne as accurate descriptions of the king, nowadays we would say, Haters gonna hate! 

The king wrote of his enemies: "They quarrel me (not for any evil or vice in me) but because I was a king, which they thought the highest evil, and because they were ashamed to profess this quarrel they were busy to look narrowly in all my actions, and I warrant you a moat in my eye, yes a false report was matter enough for them to work upon."

The thing with King James is he believed in the doctrine of the divine right of kings and the monarch's duty to reign according to God's law and the public good. This would be handed down to his son Charles I and then to Charles II leading to the loss of many lives during their reigns in The English Civil War,The Bishops Wars and of course The Killing Time.

As a lover of the theatre, King James became patron to the troop of one of his most famous subjects--William Shakespeare, the playwright. Shakespeare's troop came to be known as the King's Men. Shakespeare and the King held a special relationship as they both loved literature. It is said Shakespeare wrote his famous play, "Macbeth" specifically for King James.  The "Scottish Play" as it is known in theatrical circles may well be one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, but when you look at the real history of Macbeth, the play was basically The Braveheart of it's day!

Afew other facts surrounding James and his legacy, the US  Jamestowne is home to the ruins of the first permanent English speaking settlement in the country, and named in his honour. 

To this day the translation of the bible he ordered is known as the Authorized King James Bible. He appointed 54 men to the committee who were not only the best linguists and scholars in the kingdom, but in the world. Much of their work on the King James Bible formed the basis for our linguistic studies of today.

King James had a life filled with accomplishments but  he was a man acquainted with grief. He was a sickly man who had physical handicaps in his legs and allegedly a tongue that was too large for his mouth! As a result of his unsteady gait, the king had numerous falls, accidents and injuries. He suffered from crippling arthritis, abdominal colic, gout, inability to sleep, weak/spasmic limbs, nausea, frequent diarrhea, and kidney pain. Some believe that he may have had congenital diseases of the nervous system. Sometimes the pain was so great that the king became delirious.

To add to his ill-health, the James it is thought  suffered from depression from the death by his eldest son, Prince Henry in 1612 and his Queen in 1619. James VI was no stranger to pain and sorrow.

I didn't set out to put a long post like this together sometimes they just happen, King James VI & I died on March 27th , 1625 at Theobalds Park in Herts, England. He was 58 years old when he died and had been King of Scotland for most of those years, as well monarch of England for 22, he was buried at Westminster Abbey. 

Unlike many Scottish monarchs, King James died in his bed at peace with his subjects and foreign countries. He also passed royal power on, intact, to an adult son which was also quite unusual.

[mermaidsirennikita]

TWP 1x01

The White Princess: it is a thing that exists.

I’ll preface this by saying that I’m not even gonna touch the Elizabeth/Richard stuff because I super... do not care.  I don’t feel like there’s much solid to suggest anything about the status of Anne and Richard’s marriage, I really don’t care much about Anne Neville, I profoundly don’t believe that Richard ever seriously intended to marry EoY or that they carried on a romance, but it’s honestly the least of the inaccuracies in this franchise and doesn’t affect much in the storyline.  Either way Richard and Anne are dead and EoY marries Henry VII.

Plus, I mean.... I’m not gonna complain about historically inaccurate incest because that would be a bit hypocritical, yes?

Casting-wise, I think we’re good.  I prefer Michelle as Margaret, because she is Michelle.  Essie’s EW is good, though I’ll always prefer Rebecca Ferguson because she’s one of my bbs.  Henry VII seems well-cast for all that they’re botching him, and I am... attracted to him, though I don’t completely understand why and am somewhat ashamed of it.

Jodie is fine as EoY, but I honestly keep getting distracted by how much I dislike her voice.  It has a really childish tone to it that irks me.  I think I like her more than Freya, though, as Freya always seemed rather blank. Jodie’s a better actress.

The rape scene.  I’m probably going to watch the rest of this series because I just....  Listen, if I watched all of TWQ, I’m going to finish this off.  What I hated most about this scene besides its very existence is that the actors have chemistry.  You could totally have a hate-to-love storyline here, and they would sell it.  I could have totally seen an awkward sex scene that neither really want but both consent to happening, where they don’t really enjoy it but... rape isn’t involved.  I imagine that the consummation of many arranged marriages went down this way--you don’t really wanna be there but you consent because it’s the norm, and you don’t super enjoy it because you’re strangers who don’t know each other and are suddenly having sex, BUT IT ISN’T RAPE.  This was rape.  Even if they had Lizzie say it wasn’t for some reason--like her being all “let’s get it over with” suddenly makes it okay that she was being forced to report to Henry’s chambers in an effort to conceive--it was rape.  Henry clearly didn’t exactly wanna be there either, but he had the power in that situation, even if his mom was manipulating him.  I’ll try and put the scene out of my head to at least wring some kind of enjoyment out of their other scenes, but...  Ugh.

I also really dislike the fact that H7 haters are going to suddenly act as if a Philippa Gregory story is accurate in order to prove~ how evil he was.

The costumes aren’t TWQ bad, but they still aren’t great.  Idk what is up with Maggie B’s hair.  The music being reused is kind of hilarious.  A lot of characters acted super irrationally, and the entire thing framed Henry VII’s actions as EVIL because he was a Tudor.  Like it was somehow weird for him, a new king with a new house, to want people to swear fealty.  Like he was irrational for being suspicious of Yorkists even as they actively plotted his downfall.

Also, Elizabeth Woodville is still a witch even though she still says they should pray for her kid’s safety and doesn’t actually 100% believe in her witchcraft.  K.

It was ridiculous, but I’m pretty much bound to watch it because I’m stubborn af.