Question from Peggy - Margaret Wentworth Seymour

Just curious. Does anyone know what happened to Margaret Wentworth Seymour the mother of Jane, Thomas, and Edward? I know her husband died when Jane was Queen but it seems as if she's never mentioned again.

Question from Lis - Bleaching linen, etc. in Tudor times

I was told (quite a long time ago now!)that the Tudors used urine to bleach/whiten their linen shifts. I know that urine was used in the preparation of leather and wool. However, recently I was told that urine was not used on the shifts to bleach them, but that wood ash was used instead. Help! Any comments/suggestions/references/information would be gratefully received! Thanks.

Question from Chad - Jane Seymour miscarriage?

I read once that Jane Seymour suffured a miscarriage before giving birth to Edward VI. Is this true?

Question from Patrick - Elizabeth I and "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Hey there am doing an in depth comparison between Elizabeth I and a midsummer nights dream. I'm trying to get an actually bibliographic link between the "idleness-In-waiting" flower AKA the Pansy and Elizabeth but i can't seem to find it in anything I can reference.
yeah this is for uni

Question from Roo - Catherine's reaction to the Divorce

Please help if you can.
Wjsat was Catherine of aragons reaction when henry went to so much trouble to divorce her?
If anyone has any information reguarding this question then please inform me.
Roo x-x-x
Age: 12

Question from Mike - The bloody wedding sheets

I read somewhere that during Henry VIII attemps to obtain a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, he ordered the sheets from the marital bed of his brother Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon be produced. Which would have been some 20+ years past.

So, my question to you is this, was it or is it a custom to preserve the sheets of the royal couples wedding night? Or is it just some made up fable.

Question from Ron - Info on a Lady-in-Waiting

Like Carolyn I also have an ancestor reputed to have been a "Lady-in-Waiting" in the 15th Century.
Her name is Anna Margaretta Regina Pedissiqua who married Thomas Berry at Berrynarbor, North Devon circa 1480/ 1483.
Any information will be most welcome and I will be happy to swap info with interested parties.

Question from Ani - Tudor history programs

I am a high school student and would like to know if there are any good colleges in either the USA or England that offer good programs in Tudor history. I would like to become a professor of Tudor History when I get older so any information would help.

Thanks,
Ani

[we've had a question like this before, but I figure it wouldn't hurt to put it out there again]

Question from djelliott - Tudor Rose needlepoint designs

I am looking for a needlepoint-appropriate Tudor Rose design. Anyone seen one? Is there any 'right' or 'wrong' color scheme? I've seen one design on the net that shows a narrow red edge and pink (?).

Question from Mike - Elizabeth at Philip and Mary's wedding

Did Elizabeth play a role in the wedding of Mary and Phillip?

[editor's note -- great question! I've never thought about that before!]

Question from Lyn - Part-time Tudor history course

I would like to do a part - time course in Tudor History, either by correspondence or actual attendance (nr Yeovil Somerset) but am having trouble finding anything suitable. Any suggestions please.

Question from Jo - Anne and Henry's wedding gift bed

I would like to know what happened to the bed that Francis 1st had made for King Henry V111 and Anne Boleyn as a wedding gift.
It was mentioned in a book by Thomas Hackett.

Thank you
Jo

Question from Misty - Henry's feelings about Anne's imprisonment, etc.

I wrote a piece on Anne Boleyn for my blog www.madameroyale.com, and I started to research on how henry felt when he threw Anne in the tower and how he felt about her death. In your findings have you uncovered any information? I have found it particularly hard to anything on this subject.

Thank you,
Misty from Madame Royale

Question from Helen - BBC Tudor Feast program

Hi,

I am trying to find a copy of the BBC 2 programme a Tudor Feast.

Does anyone know where I can get a copy or where if there is a site I can download it from?

Also could anyone point me in the right direction for finding out how the Tudors decorated their homes at Christmas?

Thanks

[note - the second part of this post was already dealt with in another post a few days ago]

Question from Barbara - Descriptions of Henry's Wives

Can you direct me to original source descriptions of the physical appearance of each of the wives of Henry VIII?

Question from Lis - Christmas decorations in Tudor times

Can anyone tell me - or tell me where to find! - information on the type of decorations, if any that were common at Christmas in Tudor times? Not so much at court, but, for example,in the house of fairly wealthy Elizabethans? Obviously no Christmas trees etc, and I know they used greenery for garlands etc; but did they use anything else for decoration?

Question from Marcy - Henry VIII son by Mary Berkeley (Perrot)?

Did Henry VIII father a child by Mary Berkeley, who took her husband's name Perrot? I understand he later became Sir John Perrot. Thanks

Question from Sara - Kathryn Howard's birth year

I know that for many people during the Tudor Dynasty, their dates of birth are not known since they did not keep good records. One of those people is Katherine Howard. I noticed that on your website it says she was born in 1521, while in other places it says 1525. In Alison Weir's "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" it says why she thnks it's 1525, but are your reasons for the 1521 date?

Question from Richard - John Heron and Cardinal Morton

im having trouble working out the roles played by John Heron and Cardinal Morton, in the Henry VII's reign.

can anyone help?

Question from Mike - Henry VII's claim to the throne

I'm sure you must have answered this question a million times, but I'll ask again since I'm new to this blog which I think is wonderful.

Exactly what was Henry VII claim to the throne of England?

Question from Patricia - Letter of Elizabeth I in the Tower

I am looking for any letters that Elizabeth I wrote while she was in the Tower of London. If anyone could help me I would greatly appreciate it.

Also, was Elizabeth's "Tide Letter" written while she was in Tower of London or somewhere else?

Question from Mike - Anne Boleyn's year of birth

Does anyone know the exact date/year that Anne Boylen was born? Everywhere I've read so far has given me conflicting dates.

To pre-empt any further questions about Margaret Tudor...

As I'm sure some of you have figured out by now, the portrayal of Margaret Tudor's story in the Showtime series is NOT the same as the life of the real Margaret Tudor. In the series, the story is basically that of Mary Tudor (Henry VIII's sister), but my guess is that they decided to use Margaret's name to avoid any confusion with the other Mary Tudor (Henry VIII's daughter).

Since the series started out in 1520 when Francis I was already King of France, they couldn't fit the real marriage saga of Mary Tudor into the series timeline as it actually happened in history. In reality Mary married Louix XII of France in 1514 and he died a few months later in 1515 and was succeeded by Francis I. Since this all took place before the time that the series started (1520), they moved it to a later year and used the King of Portugal instead of the King of France. Mary (or Margaret, in the series) does later marry Charles Brandon and they are the grandparents of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey.

The real Margaret Tudor was married to James IV of Scotland (and had two marriages after that) and was the mother of James V of Scotland, who in turn was the father of Mary Queen of Scots. Margaret's great-grandson was James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England after the death of Elizabeth I. So, as you can see, Margaret's real story is very different from that of the character with that name in the Showtime series.

Now, to complicate things even further, the character biographies on the Showtime series website give the history of the REAL characters, which will be quite confusing to anyone who reads them and is watching the series (and seeing a different story!).

Question from Kelly - Sybilla of Cleves

I am looking for any information at all about Sybilla of Cleves.

Question from Brian - Tudor family history

Hello, my name is Brian Tudor Harris Jr. My grandmother is from england. just want to know how to look up family history to see where i am related to the tudors. thanks