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Friday, August 03, 2012

Comment from Tracy - Mary Tudor Brandon's hair color

I have been following the Tudors since I was 14 years old after having seen "Anne Of The Thousand Days". I'm 57 now so my fascination borders on obsession.

I wanted to add an interesting tidbit to the ongoing discussion about the color of Mary Tudor Brandon's lock of hair. Whether her hair was actually a "reddish gold" or "pure gold" really can't be judged properly because of this little known fact - Did Mary use the old English beauty secret of the common use of lye for making hair more blonde than red? We won't know the answer unless there is a test for lye that can be done without compromising the condition of the lock of hair in the museum. I read this information in Maria Perry's excellent book "The Sisters Of Henry VIII". This is found on page xiv of the Introduction.

Sincerely,

Tracy Holt McClary

Related thread:
http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2009/03/question-from-kathy-description-of-mary.html

2 comments:

  1. I saw 2 rings containing locks of Mary Tudor's hair at the Gold: Power and Allure Exhibition last month.

    Her hair looked more golden than red.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I saw the hair too and I would say the hair is dark auburn, very similar to her portraits.

    ReplyDelete

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