Henry Stafford was born on 4 September 1454, the only son of Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Stafford and Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Stafford, (a cousin of Margaret Beaufort, Henry Tudor’s mother). When his father died of the injuries he sustained fighting for the House of Lancaster at the First Battle of St Albans in 1458, the… Read more Why Did Buckingham Turn on Richard III?
Philippa of Clarence, the only legitimate child of Lionel of Antwerp and his wife Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster, was born on 13 August 1355. She was the maternal ancestress that gave the Yorks their claim to the English throne, and the unsuspecting progenitor of the Wars of the Roses. Lionel of Antwerp… Read more Philippa of Clarence
Princess Elizabeth Tudor, the 4th child and second daughter of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was born on 2 July 1492. She seemed healthy enough as a baby, but the little girl died while she was only a toddler in the royal nurseries at Eltham Palace on 14 September 1495. Her parents were,… Read more Elizabeth Tudor, and Medieval Child Mortality
Henry VIII married his brother’s widow, Katherina of Aragon, at a small ceremony in Greenwich on 11 June 1509. They were a handsome couple, and initially very much in love. Henry probably lied when he claimed his father had told him to marry her while Henry VII was on his death bed, but the… Read more Henry VIII’s First Wedding
Lady Margaret Beaufort, the sole living child and heir of John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and his wife, Margaret Beauchamp of Bletsoe was born on 31 May 1443. Through her father she was the great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster through the legitimized eldest son of his third wife, Katherine Swynford. Thus… Read more The Lancastrian Heir is Born
Cecily Neville, Duchess of York was born (or at least Christened) on 3 May 1415. Her father was Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and her mother, Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland, was the granddaughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and Katherine Swynford. Thus Cecily was the great-granddaughter of King Edward III.… Read more Cecily Neville, Duchess of York
Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk, 6th Earl of Suffolk – fourth born but now oldest surviving son of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and his wife Elizabeth of York, grandson of Richard, 3rd Duke of York and nephews of King Edward IV and King Richard III, and thus the… Read more The Execution of Edmund de la Pole
Isabella I of Castile, co-ruler of Aragon and queen of most of the Iberian peninsula, one of the strongest monarchs of the Medieval period, was born on 22 April 1451 in Madrigal de las Altas Torres, Ávila. She was the eldest child of John II of Castile and his second wife, Isabella of Portugal. Her… Read more Isabella I, Strong and Devout and Cruel
Henry Carey, the only son of William Carey and his wife, Mary Boleyn Carey, was born on 4 March 1526. Although he has been rumored to have been the illegitimate son of King Henry VIII, the baby was most likely William Carey’s biological son. Several excellent historians, such as Eric Ives, note that Mary was… Read more Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon
On 3 March 1284 King Edward I, Longshanks, enacted the Statute of Rhuddlan, also known as the Statute of Wales. The statute is named for Rhuddlan Castle, one of the new fortifications Edward built to quell any potential Welsh resistance. This statute turned the formerly independent kingdoms of Wales into the English Principality of North… Read more The Statute of Rhuddlan