As we discussed in Part I, Louise of Savoy was a huge influence on her son and instrumental in bringing him to the throne of France. (Please see here for this post: http://www.historynaked.com/louise-savoy-kings-mother-part/ ). So in 1515, Francis ascended the throne of France, but he went off to enjoy the pleasures of being king and […]
Tag: Tudors
Louise of Savoy- The King’s Mother Part I
The royal line of France is somewhat of a tangle because of their insistence on Salic Law, which said the crown could not be claimed through the line of female descent. (For more on why this was enforced, see this post: http://www.historynaked.com/tour-de-nesle-affair-medieval-soap-opera/ ) This did not stop French history from being full of powerful and […]
Kidnapping a King- The Fall of Thomas Seymour
Henry VIII had labored over the need for a son. He changed the country’s religion and sent two women to their death- one by neglect the other to the block- to get his much beloved son. Finally, Edward was born to his third wife, Jane Seymour, on October 12, 1537. Jane died in the process […]
Anne of Cleves- The Ugly Wife
When we discuss Henry VIII, we talk about his six wives- the faithful one, the coquette, the mother, the ugly one, the flirt and the nurse. Anne of Cleves was famously called by Henry VIII “the Flander’s Mare” and claimed that he was incapacitated by her “slack breasts” and “evil smells”. But what do we […]
Accession Day
Many people in England were sick of the reign of Mary I. Protestants were being burned on a regular basis, inflation was sky high and she had lost Calais, the last outpost of English dominion in France. Mary herself was desperately unhappy as she had not provided the realm a Catholic heir and was essentially […]