Some ladies who served at the tudor court are only faceless silhouettes lost to the sands of time, but there are those who dedicated their lives to please their royal mistresses and left documentation, allowing us to piece their life stories together and link them to the stories of Tudor queens. Some were beloved, others hated.
This is the story of the ladies of the Tudor court like you’ve never read it before.
The Forgotten Tudor Women: Anne Seymour, Jane Dudley & Elisabeth Parr
Anne seymour, jane dudley and Elisabeth Parr all have their own unique stories to tell. Anne seymour served all of henry viii’s six wives and brushed with treason more than once, but she died in her bed as a wealthy old matriarch. It’s high time for these women’s stories to be heard. Jane dudley was a wife and mother who fought for her family until her last breath.
Yet anne, jane and elisabeth lived through all this and left their indelible marks on history. Born into the most turbulent period of england’s history, these women’s lives interplayed with the great dramas of the Tudor age, and their stories deserve to be told independently of their husbands.
The Forgotten Tudor Women: Margaret Douglas, Mary Howard & Mary Shelton
Beautiful and skilled in poetry, mary attracted henry VIII’s attention and became his mistress in 1535, but many don’t realize how important her contributions were to the literary scene of the time. All of these women received attention in academic circles and are the subjects of countless biographies.
Everyone knows that Henry VIII had six wives, two sisters and two daughters. Margaret douglas was the daughter of Henry VIII’s elder sister Margaret, Queen of Scotland. Her legacy includes marrying her son to Mary, Queen of Scots, and playing the doting grandmother to King James VI and I. She was imprisoned thrice, as she admitted, and each time, “not for matters of treason, but for love matters”.
Mary howard was the daughter of Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk, leading peer of the Tudor court. Not many people, however, who were close friends, a daughter-in-law and a mistress, realize that Henry VIII also had a niece, but who today remain on the fringes of history. Widowed at the age of seventeen, by her father’s admission, Mary fought for her rightful jointure and was, “too wise for a woman”.
Mary shelton, like mary Howard, was related to Anne Boleyn and became her servant at court.
Golden Age Ladies: Women Who Shaped the Courts of Henry VIII and Francis I
Louise of savoy knows that her son Francis is destined for greatness, but he faces new challenges after his accession, trusting his mother to become regent during his absence. Mary tudor agrees to marry louis xii, a man thirty-four years her senior, she decides to become no man’s pawn and marries for love, but after his unexpected death, creating one of the greatest scandals in Renaissance Europe.
Claude of france may have been meek and submissive, but there is more to her character than meets the eye. Brought up at the french court, Anne Boleyn boldly refuses to become Henry VIII’s mistress. Witnessing the warring political factions at court, humiliated by her husband’s relationship with Diane de Poitiers, the young Catherine de Medici, learns how to navigate the murky waters of courtly intrigue to emerge as the leading force on the international stage of sixteenth-century Europe.
In this new book, sylvia barbara soberton paints a vivid picture of the rivalry between the courts of England and France during the reigns of Henry VIII and Francis I. Her refusal triggers the King’s divorce case and eventually leads to the change of religious persuasion of the entire nation. Margaret of alençon, francis i’s sister, faces new challenges as her brother’s captivity after the Battle of Pavia propels her onto the diplomatic stage of Europe.
Ladies-in-Waiting: Women Who Served at the Tudor Court
Drawing on a variety of sixteenth-century sources such as manuscripts, household accounts, chronicles and personal letters, Victoria Sylvia Evans explores the role of ladies-in-waiting at the Tudor court.
The First Diana: Almost a Princess: The Tragic Story of the First Lady Diana Spencer
In this intriguing book look into her life and read about the plot to marry her to the Prince of Wales. The duchess has a plan, audacious and ambitious she will see her Little Di a princess. Find out what happened to the intended marriage and follow Diana through the tragedy that became her life. This is a personal and moving portrayal of an amazing and almost unheard of woman who died too soon and yet left the world a better place.
Now a no 1# bestseller. 1710-1735born in 1710 lady diana spencer was tall, beautiful, and had the backing of family and money. Follow her as the duchess falls out with Queen Anne and is estranged from the Royal Court. See into her life as offers of marriage abound, and yet each one is turned down as not good enough.
Will she become a princess?despite the vast wealth of her grandmother, Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough and one of the most powerful women in England, Diana’s life was not easy.
Henry VIII's Nearest & Dearest - The Tudor Brandons: Mary and Charles
. They returned to court and despite their ongoing disagreements throughout the years, especially over the king's marriage to Anne Boleyn, the Tudor Brandons remained Henry's most loyal subjects and perhaps more importantly, his beloved family. Charles rose from being Henry's childhood friend to becoming the Duke of Suffolk; a consummate courtier and diplomat.
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The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain's Greatest Dynasty
What did the monarchs eat? what clothes did they wear, sexual lives, the private lives of the tudors charts the course of the entire dynasty, schoolrooms, and bedrooms at court, upbringing, bought, and taking us into the kitchens, how were they treated? What games did they play? How did they practice their faith? And whom did they love, and cared for? How did they wield power? When sick, and how did they give birth to the all-important heirs?Exploring their education, bathrooms, and how were they designed, surfacing new and fascinating insights into these celebrated figures.
England’s tudor monarchs—henry vii, edward vi, henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I—are perhaps the most celebrated and fascinating of all royal families in history. In the private lives of the tudors, acclaimed historian Tracy Borman delves deep behind the public face of the monarchs, showing us what their lives were like beyond the stage of the court.
. Their love affairs, their political triumphs, and their overturning of the religious order are the subject of countless works of popular scholarship.
Rival Sisters: Mary & Elizabeth Tudor
I stood in danger of my life, my sister was so incensed against me, ” Elizabeth reminded her councillors when they pressed her to name a successor. It is time to tell the whole story of the fierce rivalry between the Tudor half sisters who became their father’s successors. It is the relationship between elizabeth and her Scottish cousin Mary Stuart that is often discussed and pondered over while the relationship between Elizabeth and her own half sister is largely forgotten.
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The Queen's Midwife Tudor Tales Book 1
Alice becomes the confidante of two very different queens, faces the wrath and unpredictability of King Henry VIII, and experiences her own romances and heartache in this gripping tale. The tudor tales seriesbook 1: the queen's midwifebook 2: the haunted headsman: the shadow of a tudor queeNBOOK 3: THE TUDOR BOY.
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Scourge of Henry VIII: The Life of Marie de Guise
. A political power in her own right, spending her formative years at the dazzling, she was born into the powerful and ambitious Lorraine family, licentious court of François I. Although briefly courted by henry VIII, she instead married his nephew, James V of Scotland, in 1538. Content until now to remain in the background and play the part of the obedient wife, determination, courage, Marie spent the next eighteen years effectively governing Scotland—devoting her considerable intellect, charm, and energy to safeguarding her daughter’s inheritance by using a deft mixture of cunning, and tolerance.
Mary, queen of scots continues to intrigue both historians and the general public—but the story of her mother, Marie de Guise, is much less well known. The little-known story of the mother of mary, queen of Scots and her feud with the Tudors: “Will fascinate anyone who loves a simmering, twisting tale” All About History.
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