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The big chief Editor: King Henry VIII
The Features Editor: Henry Tudor
The History Editor: Edward Tudor
The Picture Editor: Elizabeth Tudor
The Photographer: All of us.
The Features writers: YOU.
The Letters page: YOU.
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Welcome to the new magazine “The Tudor Dynasty” Just send in your story or picture to the appropriate editor and we will
review it for publication. We do have some simple rules that you should adhere to: Henry’s 10 Rules.
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explain with as many diagrams or pictures you can muster.
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7. This magazine is free for anybody to read and so must respect all religions, beliefs, races and handicaps.
8. Any article sent to the magazine is for free publication; any copying of the articles by a third party for financial gain will
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9. If you have a strong opinion about any article, please be respectful to the author and accept they have the right of their
viewpoint as much as you have yours.
10. Keep your articles to the point; don’t wander off into cloud cuckoo-land.
King Henry VIII
Chief Publisher Honcho and Bling designer.
The Battle of Bosworth Field, 22 August 1485
Three Interesting Questions
By Bill Walker
Bosworth Field could be one of the most significant battles in History. A real turning point, the start of Modern Times,
the launch pad for the Tudor dynasty and the root of Henry VII’s power and that of his illustrious son.
The story of the battle is well known. On 7th August 1485 Henry Tudor, earl of Richmond, son of Margaret Beaufort and
claimant in the Lancastrian line, landed at Milford Haven, bringing from his refuge in Brittany a polyglot force of English
nobles, French mercenaries and even a few Scots. They aimed to seize the kingdom from the Yorkist Richard III, an
able ruler who unfortunately could not please all noble ambitions, had recently lost his son and heir and more culpably,
was believed to have secured the throne by dubious means, not least due to being implicated in the disappearance of
his two young nephews, the rightful heirs.
Richard wisely gathered an army 10,000 strong in the centre of his realm and moved eastwards to meet Henry’s force,
swollen from 2000 to some 5000. They met on 22nd August south of Market Bosworth, Leicestershire, Richard holding
the high ground and repelling Henry’s initial attacks supported by archery and cannonade. Richard, receiving little help
from his reluctant commander the earl of Northumberland and seeing his supposed allies Lord Stanley and Sir William
Stanley leaving the sidelines to throw their lot in with Henry, led an unwise cavalry charge towards his enemy, only to be
borne down and slaughtered. The circlet of gold fallen from Richard’s helmet was placed on Henry’s head to triumphal
and relieved acclaim from the victors. Richard’s naked and torn body was carried slowly to the Greyfriars of Leicester.
Henry Tudor shortly became Henry VII.
However History is never that simple. To the current eye the first key question concerns the very name of the battle.
Bosworth Field is the name eventually derived from the nearest town, Market Bosworth and Richard is said to have
taken up position on nearby Ambien ( or “Ambion”) Hill where the visitor centre is positioned today. However there is
remarkably little primary evidence concerning the details and the site of the battle, Henry’s pet chronicler Polydore
Vergil being the first to make an extant “history” and that was at least eighteen years after the battle with only his
assertion that he spoke to eye-witnesses. The largest number of artifacts have been found at Dadlington, a village
which contains Redemore, a name used to the describe the battle in early sources. Yet another claim is made for
Atherstone. Just a year ago £1 million Lottery funding was made available to field archaeologists to pursue the
mysteries of the place and pattern of the battle.
See the map of where the Battle took place on the next page
Continued:
Secondly, Bosworth Field is a good example for the “What if” or counterfactual school of History. What seems a
fairly straightforward victory for Henry, especially considering the hesitancy and desertion of allies, may well have
had a different outcome. Arguably Henry was fortunate to arrive in Wales at all. His erstwhile host the duke of
Brittany had recently been ill, allowing his minister to arrange the sale and betrayal of Henry; fortunately the latter
was able to take a short sabbatical in France and the duke recovered. Once in Wales he avoided conflict with
Rhys ap Thomas, who had sworn no rebels would enter Wales “except they should pass over his belly”, by
arranging to walk over a bridge with this conscientious king’s officer positioned under it!
More seriously on the morning of the battle, what if Richard had attacked first before Henry’s troops took position
over the rough ground? Even the sun is said to have shone in Richard’s eyes ( difficult from the west!?). What if
his best commander John Howard, duke of Norfolk had not been killed in the first exchanges or Henry’s military
genius John de Vere, earl of Oxford, had not managed to slip away to meet his new master. Could Richard have
maintained position later and not rushed headlong at Henry- or possibly withdrawn to fight another day? What if
Lord Stanley had believed Richard’s threat to execute Stanley’s son Lord Strange held as hostage, and thrown in
his lot with the king? Richard is said to have struck down Henry’s standard bearer; he must have fought his way
very close to his nemesis. What if Henry had died on the battlefield? In sum, it was possibly a close run thing; of
such shades of fortune are major turning points made.
Or are they? Was the battle all that important? Are historians of England justified in broadly labeling all since
1485 as “Modern Times” as opposed to Medieval Times? The Tudor dynasty is supposed to mark the start of a
power monarchy, yet the Yorkist kings had reduced the power of the nobility ( a lot had died in the Wars of the
Roses!), fostered trade, built up royal finances and tried to impose energetic government guaranteeing domestic
peace- all features ascribed to the “new” Tudors. Furthermore, Henry had a most troubled time securing his
realm; there was yet another pitched battle at East Stoke ( near Newark) in 1487 and several reasonable and
false but dangerous claimants to his throne.
Nonetheless Henry did win the battle, he did survive, he did begin the building of the Tudor monarchy, he did
display tremendous energy in government and he passed a promising heritage in a changing England to his
son. And all this started with Bosworth Field- or wherever the battle took place!
Find out by visiting this
website:www.richard111.com/roll_call_of_the_battle_of_boswo.htm
King Edward VI
By Pam Seres
I, King Edward VI, was born on October 12, 1537. I was the long-awaited
son of King Henry VIII. My mother, Jane Seymour, was his third wife and
Queen.
My birth was rejoiced all throughout England. Two thousand guns were
fired from the Tower of London the day I was born.
Sad news followed a few days later when my mother, Queen Jane, died
on October 18, 1537 from childbed fever. I missed her in my childhood
years but never lacked for attention. My father, King Henry VIII, doted on
me with much love and affection as did the people surrounding me. I
sometimes felt overwhelmed and wanted some freedom.
Early on I became a sickly child. I loved to learn and could speak Latin at
the age of seven. I enjoyed playing tennis when my health permitted.
I later learned that my half-sister’s Mary and Elizabeth were deemed
illegitimate upon my birth. This made me very sad. I loved them both but
differed on religion with Mary.
My father, King Henry VIII died on January 28,1547. I was very sad as
He was a good Father and King. His face always showed delight and
love in me when I saw him.
During 1552-53, I became very strained from my physical activities in the
bitter winter. I caught a cold that I couldn’t get rid of. As I laid dying, I
thought about who should be my successor.
I was brought up a Protestant though I always loved my older half-sister,
Mary, I did not want to be succeeded by her with her Catholic beliefs.
I had grown to love and admire my cousin, Lady Jane Grey, who shared
the same religious beliefs I did. I always dreamt that someday we would
marry and be the King and Queen of England. I was sad that could now
never be. With the help of my advisors, upon my death, I named Lady
Jane Grey as my successor to the throne.
Just like
his father
Elizabeth’s journey to the throne.
For Judith in New Zealand
When I was young my Mother, Ann, died. I can only remember her vaguely because I was only about 2
years old, she was nice and loved me a lot, and it was when I was 8 years old I found out how she had
died. I had found out my step mother Queen Catherine Howard was executed for treason and someone
told me that my Mother had died the same way! This really upset me; I found out my Father, the King had
not tried to stop the execution because he had already found another woman for his wife. She was called
Jane. I began to fear and hate my Father after that.
My sister Mary was also mean to me, her Mother Queen Catherine of Aragon had been divorced from
father and had just died alone away from the people she loved, I came along and she resented my
presence. Not just jealousy but the fact that I was not a Roman Catholic like her, I was in the new Church
of England and that made matters worse between us. When my brother was born, Edward, we all thought
that Father would settle down now and forget the problem of heir to the throne, but no Edwards Mother,
Queen Jane she died only 14 days after the birth. The worse thing that happened to Mary was that Father
ordered her to look after Edward and me like a nursery nurse, when she was a real princess, her hatred of
me and Father just got worse to the extent that she became focussed on revenge. When Father died,
Edward was now King of England but he was too young to rule so his Uncles, the brothers of Jane
Seymour looked after England. They were Protestants and that changed the country too much in one go.
Edward died young and then his cousin was put on the throne to try and keep Mary off it, we all knew she
would change the church back to Roman Catholic, marry a foreign King and take revenge on the people
who had upset her the most.
Young Lady Jane Grey was Queen for only 9 days, the Seymour’s and Greys had put her there as a
Protestant Queen, she really did not want to be Queen at all and because she was the grand daughter of
King Henry’s sister Mary Tudor, she became the logical choice of the Protestants. Mary took the throne
back and Jane was executed for treason along with her Father and Uncles. Queen Mary was a nasty
person, she took revenge on her old enemies, she forced me into near-solitary confinement and I even
ended up in the Tower of London. She married the King of Spain, but never had children; she executed
Protestant clergy and anybody who supported them. She was called “Bloody Mary” after the blood on her
murderous hands. I thought I was going to be killed but one day when I the Tower I found out Mary had
died. I came out of the Tower of London, Queen Elizabeth I.
I decided that my life would be long and dedicated to healing the country of the mess my family had
caused; I would not marry, not have children and not castigate people for their religion.
Elizabeth
Mary
Edward
On his horse with his hawk in his hand…
By Bob Richards
As I was driving along in Cheshire, along the A49 near to Tarporley, I came upon a sign
which proclaimed the way to the wild bird centre. ‘Aha’ I thought, ‘This will be good for the
King Henry website…some pictures of Hawks being flown.’ And that was where it all
started.
The staff were very helpful, once I’d explained what I wanted. They agreed to let me
photograph as many of the birds as I wished and said they would do all they could to
help…..and that’s just what they did.
Now it should be explained that all of these birds are wild and predatory, but although they
are very well trained and looked after, an aura of danger always remains. Indeed there are
times when birds like this fly off, out of the immediate display area and into the wider world,
although they usually return (rather like some teenage children) when they find that the
world outside isn’t as easy or as welcoming as they thought it would be.
In this case there were various kinds of Hawks, Falcons and a vicious looking large
Buzzard, all swooping on the prey provided by their skilled handlers, wheeling speedily
over the display area before alighting to tear their meal apart and then consume it.
Now I have nothing but praise for these trainers, their skill and patience was
phenomenal…but I had asked for good pictures, and so provide them for me they would.
So from then on each bird was flown in such a way as to pass very close to me, either over
my head or perhaps to perch nearby to feed. Was the result perfect photographs? Sadly
not. To have such sharp clawed, long beaked predators within inches of me was almost
more than I could cope with, so when I came away leaving the trainers’ ears ringing with
praise, the pictures I brought with me were either distant or blurred.
My respect for those bird handlers knows no bounds…but I wouldn’t have their job for a
large collection of gold clocks, not even if they were cuckoo clocks.
My respect too, going back to the times when every gentleman had their Hawks and
Hounds, and hunting was a sport for some and a means of providing food for others. The
keepers and trainers of Hawks in those days had a difficult job, well respected and
rewarded by their masters: so let it be today.
Make a flying Hawk yourself, see
overleaf
Try this model: A glider that is
launched just by dropping it, the way
an Eagle takes off from its cliff-side
perch.
Step 1.
Get a piece of A4 paper, 80 gsm, usually of copier
quality.
Lie it in front of you in Landscape orientation.
Step 2.
Fold an edge on the long side , over by 10m,
6 times.
Step 3.
Fold up each end 30mm wide
Step 4.
Cut feathers in the back of the wing
Lots of feathers
Dear Diary:
I really do not want to be Queen of England, my Uncle is
pushing me into it. My Grandparents were the Duke and
Duchess of Suffolk or Charles Brandon and Mary Tudor,
the Best friend of King Henry VIII and his little Sister Mary.
I know they were in big trouble when they got married in
France, Charles was supposed the bring Mary back to
England to remarry the Choice of the King, but she married
my Grandfather instead because they were in love. Just
because of this marriage my Uncle believes I can become
Queen of England in place of Princess Mary. Princess
Mary will try to change the Church of England back again
to Roman Catholic, after Henry and Edward’s movement
towards the Protestant faith. My family is Protestant and so
Uncle thinks we could take over and keep the Protestant
faith for England.
I’m not sure, I am scared of Princess Mary. I must do my
duty now and be crowned Queen of England, I hope Mary
accepts this because she could start a civil war with the
number of followers she has. I would rather just go home.
Jane.
Lady Jane Grey
Chapel for Jane
Ever wanted to stay in a real Historical environment, live there, be of that
age, eat the food meet the people?
Now is your chance!
Henry Tudor has joined Stuart Bagza of European castles website, to
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soon creating a doorway for you to live the History.
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