Question from Esther - Unsigned warrant for Elizabeth's execution

The "Lion's Cub" episode of "Elizabeth R" shows that, while Elizabeth was imprisoned in the Tower, an warrant for her execution was sent to the people in charge, unsigned by the queen. (they refused to act on it). Does anyone know if such a thing actually occurred, and if so, what sources refer to it?

Question from Ellie - Elizabeth of York's fashion and jewelry

What kind of clothes and jewellery would Elizabeth of York have worn?

I was wondering what kind of style dresses, headresses and jewellery Elizabeth of York would have worn, as there are descriptions of what people more of Catherine of Aragon's generation would have worn, but not the generation above her (that of Elizabeth of York).

Thank you!

Question from Mary R - Katherine Parr biographies

Can anyone recommend a good biography on Katharine Parr?

Question from SaraMarie - Anne Boleyn's crowns

Hello,

I'm doing research on Anne Boleyn and am wondering if anyone knows about her crowns (Marquis and Queen), and what they may have looked like.

I found the description of a crown when she was given the title of Marquis, but want to know of more details and maybe drawings of what they could have looked like.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you.

Question from Marilyn R - Norfolk House, Lambeth, in Kathryn Howard's time there

I am having a final tidy-up of my research on Norfolk House, Lambeth, during the time Katheryn Howard lived there with her step-grandmother.

I would be grateful if anyone can help with any references to the domestic arrangements, other than those to be found in ‘Letters & Papers’, which were recorded after Katheryn’s fall from grace. After years of working on this, on and off, I have come up with very little in the way of contemporary references elsewhere.

I wonder if life in this household was really very different from that in other homes of the nobility which acted as sort of ‘finishing schools’ for young people. If this place was so notorious in its day it seems strange that there are no references to it in the gossipy correspondence between foreign ambassadors and their leaders when Henry married Katheryn, bearing in mind that the Dowager Duchess was one of the greatest ladies in the land, step-mother of the third Duke of Norfolk and step-grandmother to the late Anne Boleyn, whose train she carried at her coronation, and to whose child she was godmother. The ambassadors were usually on the ball when it came to a nice bit of scandal!

What I am asking is: are there any references, apart from those in ‘Letters & Papers’ to Norfolk House having a bad reputation? The ‘evidence’ in L&P is retrospective, and some of it was extracted under duress. So many people seem to have seen so much, but it was all kept quiet for years - could this really be done in a household of 100 people or more? One Andrew Maunsey, a former a servant of the Duchess, said under questioning that about a year before she came to Court he had three times seen Mistress Katheryn in bed with Francis Derham at Norfolk House. Katherine Tilney was also in the bed at the time and could confirm it, he said, which she did later; he thought a laundrywoman named Besse might also be helpful.(Beds were a luxury and the girls and women in the dormitory would have shared.)

But what about the gossip when all the naughty stuff in Lambeth (and Horsham) was actually happening? Any comments/observations will be appreciated.

Question from Elizabeth - Holbein's "Maids of Honour" painting

Hi

I have been reading about a painting by Holbein "Maids of Honour to Mary of England Queen to Louis XII."

I think it is in the Royal Collection at Versailles or in the Louvre.

I cannot find an image of it online anywhere.

Can anyone help?

Many thanks

Elizabeth

Question from Em - Weight and eating disorders in Tudor times

I have a really odd question: were people ever worried about their weight in Tudor times? Or did they just ignore it? Were disorders like anorexia and bullimia virtually nonexistent back then?

Question from Dafydd - Henry VIII and Cotter

Some years ago I watched a televised dramatisation of Henry VIII and his many wives. I can't remember the name of that particular series, but it wasn't Dr. Starkey's "Six Wives".

In two episodes of that series, the character playing Henry VIII would shout "Send for Cotter"; I seem to recall that this Cotter was summoned when Henry was having problems with two of his wives, Anne Boelyn and Catherine Howard.

Would anyone know who this Cotter was? or was he an invention of the screenwriter?

There is a Cotter Baronetcy of Rockforest, Co. Cork, who found favour with the Stuarts, but I can't find a connection to the Tudors.
Thank you.

Question from Dafydd - Documentation of Henry VII's claim of descent from Arthur

Henry VII claimed to be a descendant of Arthur of the Britons. A search on this site revealed some quite interesting inputs from various people (in 2009) regarding whether or not Henry VII was attempting to 'legitamize' the Tudor rule by making this claim. I don't wish to enter into speculation as to Henry VII's motives, but to raise another question. Did Henry VII document how he was related? i.e., is there a genealogy report somewhere for Henry VII which shows his connection, be it factual or fictitious, to Arthur?
Thank you.