White Rose of Avalon

Tudor

  • Bessie Blount, Mistress of Henry VIII

    For this week’s Femme Fatale Friday, I have decided to do a short post to discuss Bessie Blount.   She was a famous royal mistress of Henry VIII during his marriage to Katherine of Aragon.   Unlike his more famous mistress during that first marriage, she never had a chance to become Queen. It is…

  • Was Greensleeves About Anne Boleyn

    For today’s blog post I would like to take a look at a popular theory about the origins of the song Greensleeves.    For anyone who does not know this song was a famous one written likely sometime during the Tudor period.    Many think that it was most likely written during the Elizabethan period,…

  • An Incredible Historical Find: Anne Boleyn’s Falcon Badge

    In recent news we have learned of a huge find in the world of Tudor history.    I found out last Wednesday, when news really began to spread, that an old Tudor artifact had come to light.    This is very huge news for me because it is the Falcon Crest of Anne Boleyn!   …

  • Anne Boleyn, King’s Concubine

    For this week’s Femme Fatale Friday I have chosen the topic of Anne Boleyn as a King’s Concubine.   This is the negative view of her taken by many, but in particular Eustice Chapyus, who was the the Imperial Ambassador and an ardent supporter of Katherine of Aragon and Mary.   This is also a…

  • The Anne Boleyn and Morgana Le Fay Connection

    Today’s post is inspired by something I mentioned in one of my twitch.tv streams.    I said I always felt there was a connection between Anne Boleyn and Morgana.    So that is my topic of discussion in this post!   Morgana was a witch and faery enchantress, and Anne Boleyn was accused of witchcraft,…

  • A Very Royal Haunting: The Ghost of Queen Anne Boleyn

    For today’s post I would like to do a short discussion of the story of Anne Boleyn’s ghost.    This is a subject that should not surprise my regular readers, as I have written about Anne many times, and have mentioned that she is my all time favorite queen!   In that way this post…

  • Elizabeth Woodville and Anne Boleyn Parallels

    For today’s post I would like to look at some of the parallels between the stories of Elizabeth Woodville and Anne Boleyn!    I have written about both of these queens multiple times, and I thought looking at them both would be an interesting post.    Elizabeth Woodville was the first “commoner” queen of England. …

  • The White Falcon

    Today I would like to discuss Anne Boleyn’s coronation song.    On Sunday June 1, 1533 Anne Boleyn was coronated Queen of England.   Her coronation ballad was titled The White Falcon, and was written to honor her new role as queen.    It was a time that Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII were at…

  • Tudor Women’s Fashion

    At the Tudor court, as with many other royal courts, fashion was an important element of how courtiers distinguished themselves.    There are strict court politics when it came to sartorial choices, yet some were able to make a splash in how they dressed. Two of the most important figures in the Tudor era to…

  • Anne Boleyn and the Art of Flirting in Royal Courts

    I have written about courtly love traditions before.   Today I want to focus on a specific element of courtly love tradition.    Flirting was something well groomed and intelligent courtiers were expected to participate in.   There were rules to how to flirt without offending the strict traditions of the royal courts! Flirting would…