Question from Cara - Westhorpe Hall

Does Westhorpe Hall, where Mary Rose Tudor and the Duke of Suffolk lived, still exist?

Question from Orla - Close friends of Margaret Beaufort

Hello,

Just wondering if Margaret Beaufort had any notable close friends? (asides from her son)

Question from Liz M - Anne Boleyn poem

Can anyone help me to find a poem about Anne Bolyne pleading to Henry for her life, I heard the poem over fifty years ago and one of the lines went something like this:-

'Her little feet in scarlet shoon they made a pleasant sound across the pavement where the moon made patterns on the ground'

Question from Liz - Forms of address for a queen consort

Forms of address for a queen consort. I have a few questions about this. I'm writing a novel set in the period and want to use the correct terminology where possible. Was 'Majesty' reserved for the king or Queen regnant alone? Did they use 'Ma'am' or is it a more recent development? Was 'Highness' used for a queen consort? How would a servant address for example Jane Seymour when she was queen and how might her brother have addressed her in public?

Question from Jim in St. Louis - Descent of Henry VIII's wives

Were ALL of Henry VIII wives decended from the same ancesestor - namely old Edward III?
I can find that Anne and Katherine Howard are easy (!) to trace back to Edward III, but the others- I'm not so sure.

Question from Robert - Murray Gray claim to the throne

i recently listen to a program on the radio where the subject was about a gentleman called murray gray who he was the rightful heir to the crown due to his lineage from the Tudors true or false

Question from Stacey - Elizabeth asking about execution

I recently read online that Elizabeth asked Mary that if she was going to be executed to be beheaded by a swordsman from France like her mother, Anne Bolyen was. Is this true?

Question from Laura A - Note from Cromwell to Rochford at trial

In Alison Weir's King and Court, it is stated that, during the trial, Lord Rochford was given a note by Cromwell regarding Anne Boleyn accusation of Henry VIII's impotence (as denounced by Lady Rochford).

I have read elsewhere that Anne Boleyn's brother would have saved his life if he had not read it aloud as this was a great embarrassment for the king.


What can you tell me about this? Is there any truth in it? What are the sources?

Thanks!!

Question from Scarlet - Margaret Tudor's annulment from Angus

Was looking for annulment info & a link brought me to a Q & A here regarding the Seymour-Filiol fun, so I said o! why didn't I think of inquiring here first? (probably because I enjoy clicking historical links to see where they lead, but that's beside the point....)

Annulment, in particular, as it relates to Margaret Tudor's from Angus. I'd thought (& as the Seymour question replies bear out) that while Catholics could get what we'd today term a legal separation, one of the parties involved would have to take religious orders or die to free up the other to remarry. Why Campeggio nudged Catherine of Aragon with the convent notion prior to Blackfriars, right?

Angus outlived MT by 6 yrs & married Margaret Maxwell after MTs 1541 demise, so OK, his remarriage seemed in line with the church. But how did MT marry Methven in 1528 while Angus was still breathing, not in a cassock, & in custody of James Vs person? What was the trick to MT taking another spouse after her annulment was granted?

You always see that they got a "divorce", which was impossible under existing canon law at the time, but I never see grounds for it mentioned; not that any of the ones that existed for an annulment would've permitted MT to remarry in the haste that she did. If that was invalid, surely it was cause for MT to kick Methven to the curb rather than bothering to reconcile with him yrs later.

That was after Henry's break with Rome, & I've seen some English muttering that JV married "French papists" & Mom was an "even worse papist" (can't recall where I saw this, & not surprising as I read too much history), so apparently MT was considered a good little Catholic lass. Angus was busy sucking up to Henry (hypocritically frowning at Sissy's "divorce", likely jealous he couldn't get one himself), not returning to Scotland until after both MT & JV were dead, to kick off the Rough Wooing on Henry's behalf.

So if there was no divorce & the rare possibility of remarriage after getting an annulment didn't apply here, how did MT pull this off?

I'll feel really stupid if I've missed something glaringly obvious, but this is bugging me. Thanks in advance if you know anything!

Scarlet

Question from Jo - Life expectancy in early 16th century

What was the life expectancy during Henry VIII's reign?

Question from Dawn - New Year's gifts for Henry VIII in the 1540s

Hello. I am looking into who Henry VIII particularly esteemed in the 1540s (especially the last three years) and was wondering where I could get hold of the list of his New Year's Gifts for these years, which I thought might be a good indication. Where also could I get hold of a list of the gifts he gave throughout the year to his courtiers?

Also, were the New Year's gifts a solid indicator of favor? Was he expected to spend more on let's say a duke than a knight? Was he expected to give gifts to people outside his Household, e.g. ladies of the court and children?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Dawn Fenwick

Question from Afroz - Ideas for Henry VIII-related Sociology dissertation

Hi, I am an undergraduate Sociology student at the University of Nottingham. I am extremly fascinated by the court of Henry the Eight especially the relationships, lives and roles of the women around him. I want to do a dissertaion which is based around his queens. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how I could do a disseration on his Queens but relate to Sociology? I was thinking of maybe doing a comparative study on the roles of the women in that period in comparison to the roles of women in more contempoarary society?

Any reading lists and ideas will be most helpful.

Thankyou

Question from Ella - Henry VIII expressing regret for treatment of Cromwell and Wolsey

I have read that Henry VIII expressed regret that he had allowed the arrest and execution of Cromwell. Is this true? And did he ever express regret over Wolsey?

Question from Zoe - Cromwell's motive for plotting Anne's fall

I'm reading the Eric Ives book on Anne Boleyn at the moment and am having a little difficulty understanding some of his conclusions.
It's not a light read (so correct me if I'm wrong!) but as far as I can make out Ives says that Cromwell fabricated the adultery charges as a way to get rid of Anne - I get that. But he did it because he found her a threat due to their difference in opinion about the dissolution of the monasteries. Anne was angered by Cromwell diverting the proceeds to the king -she had understood that the money would go to charitable uses like schools and hospitals. But how did this difference in opinion make her a threat to Cromwell? I don't get it - am I missing something?!

Question from Rachael - Wolsey's children and Thomas More's head

What happened to Wolsey's children?

Is it true that Thomas More's head is buried in Canterbury?

[Previous thread with information on Thomas More's head linked below. - Lara]

http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2008/10/follow-up-to-question-on-thomas-mores.html

Question from Lewis - Electronic resources

Lara, there are now many more electronic resources being added to the Internet all the time, especially with GoogleBooks, and also there's EEBO etc. A couple of my recent questions have highlighted ones which are not yet in your electronic resources section. I was wondering if you thought it worth adding the resources suggested in answers to my questions, and perhaps putting a shout-out for people to suggest any other Tudor electronic resources they know of? Just a suggestion. Can I also say that I love your website, it has been a lifesaver.

Thanks,

Lewis


[Just a reminder, if people want to contact me directly you can just send me an email, you don't have to send it through the Q&A submission form. I'll address the rest of this in the comments. - Lara]

Question from Michelle - Divorce from Anne Boleyn in 1534

Hi Everyone:

I'm wondering if anyone is familiar with the rumor that Henry questioned Cranmer and Cromwell about the possibility of a divorce in late 1534? I found a reference to it on Wikipedia. The citation came from Henry VIII and His Court by Neville Williams.

Does anyone have any info on this rumor?

Thank you for any info you can provide.

Michelle

Question from Sharon - Other Boleyn relatives

Did George Boleyn have any known illigitimate children?
Did James Boleyn, Thomas' brother have any children and what were their names?

Question from Lewis - Edward VI sick while Henry VIII was alive

Did Edward VI ever become seriously ill during Henry VIII's lifetime?

Question from Harry - Illegitimate children of Charles Brandon

I read on Wikipedia that Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, had at least 3 illegitimate children. Is this true and if so, were any of them during his last two marriages?

Question from Anonymous - Consummation of Henry VIII and Katherine Parr's marriage

Robert Hutchinson describes Katherine Howard as Henry VIII's 'last sexual love'. Do you think this was right and Katherine Parr was just a nurse to him?

Previous related thread:
http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2009/05/question-from-monica-katherine-parr-as.html

Question from Joseph - Literacy at Henry's court

What percentage of Henry VIII's courtiers were illiterate/semi-literate? Was it different for men and women?