White Rose of Avalon

Royal History

  • Christopher Marlowe: Playwright Spy

    For day five of Elizabethan Intrigue week I have chosen to focus on the figure of the great playwright, Christopher Marlowe.   Christopher Marlowe, who was known to his friends as Kit, died a mysterious death.   His death has long been attributed to his other job, spy for Elizabeth I! Kit Marlowe is best…

  • Sir Francis Drake: Elizabethan Pirate

    For day four of Elizabethan Intrigue week I have chosen to discuss the figure of Sir Francis Drake.   The most famous privateer at the court of Elizabeth I, was none other than Francis Drake!    He worked on some of the earliest English slaving missions to Africa.    He was second in command during…

  • Sir Walter Raleigh

    For day three of Elizabethan Intrigue week I have decided to focus on the figure of Sir Walter Raleigh.   If you are a fan of the All Souls trilogy of books, and the A Discovery of Witches television series (which is based on it) then you may remember Walter Raleigh as a character during…

  • Sir Francis Walsingham: Elizabethan Spymaster

    For day two of Elizabethan Intrigue week I have chosen to focus on the figure of Elizabeth I’s spymaster. Francis Walsingham was an important figure in Elizabeth’s court.    Walsingham was a devout Protestant, who went into exile in Switzerland and Italy during the reign of Mary I.   When he came back to the…

  • The Death of Amy Robsart Dudley

    To start Elizabethan Intrigue week, I felt it only right to chose an event from the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign.    The death of Amy Robsart Dudley is a Tudor age mystery that remains technically unsolved to this day.   Amy Dudley was the wife of Robert Dudley, the Queen’s master of the horse, and…

  • Announcing Elizabethan Intrigue Week!

    Starting today it is Elizabethan Intrigue Week here at White Rose of Avalon!   Each day will feature a post discussing a person that lived at, or event that occurred at the court of Elizabeth I.    That means seven posts filled with court gossip of the era, and high drama!   The court of…

  • My Top 5 Anne Boleyn Biographies

    Today I want to countdown my favorite biographies of my favorite historical Queen of all time! Number 5: Anne Boleyn: Young Queen to Be by Josephine Wilkinson ~This biography takes the unique view of telling the youthful years of Anne Boleyn, and not focusing on her time as Queen! Number 4: Anne Boleyn by Amy…

  • My Personal Rankings of the Queens of Henry VIII

    Today I would like to do a countdown of my opinions on the wives of Henry VIII.   While all the Queens here had their merits, and their flaws, I have a definitive opinion on who I like best (and worst). Number 6: Jane Seymour ~It is unsurprising to anyone who has read this blog…

  • Studying French

    Today I want to discuss my love of the French language.   Since I was in eighth grade I have been studying French!   I studied French for a total of five years in school (eighth through twelfth grades), and I am now quite fluent in the language.    It is one of the most…

  • Queen of Fashion

    For today’s post I wanted to do a book review of a biography of Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France! Marie Antoinette has been the subject of many biographies.    Some good, others not so well researched.   My favorite biography of the last queen of France is titled Queen of Fashion.    I…