As proof that DNA is powerful, especially the male line, compare the above sculpture of Henry as a child to the current Prince George, the son of Prince William and Kate Middleton:
Posted on 01/28/2018 9:43:51 AM PST by beaversmom
1
Henry VIII was slim and athletic for most of his life
At six feet two inches tall, Henry VIII stood head and shoulders above most of his court. He had an athletic physique and excelled at sports, regularly showing off his prowess in the jousting arena.
Having inherited the good looks of his grandfather, Edward IV, in 1515 Henry was described as “the handsomest potentate I have ever set eyes on…” and later an “Adonis”, “with an extremely fine calf to his leg, his complexion very fair…and a round face so very beautiful, that it would become a pretty woman”.
All this changed in 1536 when the king – then in his mid-forties – suffered a serious wound to his leg while jousting. This never properly healed, and instead turned ulcerous, which left Henry increasingly incapacitated.
Four years later, the king’s waist had grown from a trim 32 inches to an enormous 52 inches. By the time of his death, he had to be winched onto his horse. It is this image of the corpulent Henry VIII that has obscured the impressive figure that he cut for most of his life.
2
Henry VIII was a tidy eater
Despite the popular image of Henry VIII throwing a chicken leg over his shoulder as he devoured one of his many feasts, he was in fact a fastidious eater. Only on special occasions, such as a visit from a foreign dignitary, did he stage banquets.
Most of the time, Henry preferred to dine in his private apartments. He would take care to wash his hands before, during and after each meal, and would follow a strict order of ceremony.
Seated beneath a canopy and surrounded by senior court officers, he was served on bended knee and presented with several different dishes to choose from at each course.
3
Henry was a bit of a prude
England’s most-married monarch has a reputation as a ladies’ man – for obvious reasons. As well as his six wives, he kept several mistresses and fathered at least one child by them.
But the evidence suggests that, behind closed doors, he was no lothario. When he finally persuaded Anne Boleyn to become his mistress in body as well as in name, he was shocked by the sexual knowledge that she seemed to possess, and later confided that he believed she had been no virgin.
When she failed to give him a son, he plumped for the innocent and unsullied Jane Seymour instead.
4
Henry’s chief minister liked to party
Although often represented as a ruthless henchman, Thomas Cromwell was in fact one of the most fun-loving members of the court. His parties were legendary, and he would spend lavish sums on entertaining his guests – he once paid a tailor £4,000 to make an elaborate costume that he could wear in a masque to amuse the king.
Cromwell also kept a cage of canary birds at his house, as well as an animal described as a “strange beast”, which he gave to the king as a present.
5
Henry VIII sent more men and women to their deaths than any other monarch
During the later years of Henry’s reign, as he grew ever more paranoid and bad-tempered, the Tower of London was crowded with the terrified subjects who had been imprisoned at his orders.
One of the most brutal executions was that of the aged Margaret de la Pole, Countess of Salisbury. The 67-year-old countess was woken early on the morning of 27 May 1541 and told to prepare for death.
Although initially composed, when Margaret was told to place her head on the block, her self-control deserted her and she tried to escape. Her captors were forced to pinion her to the block, where the amateur executioner hacked at the poor woman’s head and neck, eventually severing them after the eleventh blow.
Edward didn't marry Elizabeth Woodville until 1464, and it looks like Eleanor didn't take her alleged vows with Edward all that seriously since she married someone else before he did. There is no date provided for this alleged wedding. As I said, Stillington never brought it up until after Edward's death, at an appropriate time when Richard was usurping the throne. Stillington had an excellent reputation as a canon lawyer and theologian, so it is hard to believe that he would have married these two kids without witnesses. At the time, a marriage without witnesses was automatically considered to be invalid. So why did Stillington wait until after Edward's death to come up with this story?
Stillington, who had previously been Bishop of Bath and Wells, and High Chancellor of England, and had enjoyed the favor of Edward IV, was arrested between February 27th, and March 5, 1478 on a charge of "violating his oath of fidelity by some utterance prejudicial to the King and his estate." No one knows what he allegedly said to give offense. It's been suggested that he may have been instrumental in spreading the gossip of Edward's illegitimate birth to help George, the Duke of Clarence, but there's no real proof of that, and if he had been a real threat, he would have been done away with. He was released from imprisonment on June 20th of that same year, and although he was given some decent positions at court, he never regained his former influence with Edward. So what was Stillington's motivation to come forward with this story. Was it to gain favor with the new monarch? Could be, but there's no record that Richard rewarded him like he did his other supporters. But Stillington could have been hopeful that he would be able to regain his previous influence. It should be noted that there is no record that Stillington appeared before the Privy Council, or was even examined by the Council about his allegations. If this was supposed to be such a credible tale, why wasn't it reported in the Council's meetings at the time?
He did it out a sense of duty. It does happen, you know.
And what possible reason could Edward have to want more than one witness? The more witnesses, the more the story could have leaked out.
Not my theory. The Pope called for her death. There were plots around England to kill her. Remember the Spanish Armada? Spain attempted to invade England to displace Elizabeth and wipe out the Protestant reformation in the British Isles. John Knox in Scotland was calling for the eradication of the 'monstrous regimen of women', in reference to Elizabeth and Mary of Scotland.
Thanks. I’ll have to look up more about her.
If Stillington stepped forward after Edward’s death out of sense of duty, why didn’t he do it at the time Edward married Elizabeth Woodville? Where was his sense of duty then? Talbot was already married to Butler by that time. Why didn’t he come forward then either? I guess after almost 20 years, and Edward’s death, he finally had a flash of conscience, and spilled the beans about a previous marriage he officiated at, that had no witnesses, and under church law, was not a valid marriage either. Kind of sounds like all the “me toos” claiming sexual harassment many years after the fact. No proof, but it sounds good, and gives them their 15 minutes of fame.
But according to Blackadder II, Elizabeth said that all the Catholics were demanding to have their heads nicked off!
LOL!!
Except thats not really the case, the French nobility still exist and there are three noble house waiting in the wings should a miracle occur and duty calls. There’s a House of Bourbon contender, House of Orleans contender and an upstart House of Bonaparte contender. I think if the chance ever occrs - “Nobility Wrestling” and televise t!
Elizabeth 1 didn’t persecute Catholics until several attempts on her life had been made.
“In the belief that the revolt had been successful, Pope Pius V issued a bull in 1570, titled Regnans in Excelsis, which declared “Elizabeth, the pretended Queen of England and the servant of crime” to be excommunicated and a heretic, releasing all her subjects from any allegiance to her. Catholics who obeyed her orders were threatened with excommunication.
The papal bull provoked legislative initiatives against Catholics by Parliament, which were, however, mitigated by Elizabeth’s intervention.
In 1581, to convert English subjects to Catholicism with “the intent” to withdraw them from their allegiance to Elizabeth was made a treasonable offence, carrying the death penalty. From the 1570s missionary priests from continental seminaries came to England secretly in the cause of the “reconversion of England”. Many suffered execution, engendering a cult of martyrdom.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England
Why didn’t people speak up about the Clintons’ criminality? Why didn’t people speak up about Weinstein? Fear, loss of face, loss of position and power. In Stillington’s case, he could have ended up in prison before execution (although the Plantgenets weren’t into murdering clergy or women; the Tudors brought that innovation). But definitely prison.
He spoke up when it was safe to do so.
They did. Check out Robert Aske and the Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536. Many stood against Henry and he murdered a goodly number of them, it was horrid and vile and unchristian. This rebellion carried on in different forms through Edward and Elizabeth's reign. At one time any Catholic priest found in England was subject to the death penalty. Look up priest holes and the English martyrs, St Edmund Campion and his companions.
Stillington shouldn't have had any fear of stepping forward with the knowledge of Talbot having been married to Edward when she married Butler in 1449. Edward hadn't met or married Elizabeth yet. He wasn't even King until 1461, and would have been only 7 at the time Talbot married Butler.
That’s true about Robert Aske. Thanks for reminding me about that. Henry got rid of everyone who wouldn’t support any desire he had. England might have been a better place had he never woken up from the coma he’d been in.
The good old days weren’t so hot.
As proof that DNA is powerful, especially the male line, compare the above sculpture of Henry as a child to the current Prince George, the son of Prince William and Kate Middleton:
I’ll bet George’s cousins will look a bit different.
Jane Seymore was good as Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Except that Prince George, his dad William, grandfather Charles and great grandmother Elizabeth II are of the House of Windsor - previously called Saxe-Coburg and Gotha but changed to Windsor during WWI as to sound less German. Possibly somewhere distantly related to some Tudors but not directly in lineage.
Don't understand why they have Prince Harry's title as Prince of Wales.
Diana was a direct descendant of Edward I (Longshanks). Maybe that’s where she got some of her height from. Edward I was 6’2”. Diana was 5’10”.
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