Best selling author Philippa Gregory shared in a tweet yesterday that Simon & Schuster has revealed the new cover designs for her latest book on the Tudors, The Taming of the Queen. Check it out here:
https://twitter.com/PhilippaGBooks/status/606131063551860736
1553 was a big year for Henry VIII's court, and this week was especially busy. He officially deposed of one queen, and quickly declared another. It's good to be king.
Portraits of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn
Henry VIII had his favorite ways of killing someone off...usually gruesome. But his subjects had their own creative ways to die. I found this old (2011) BBC article on 10 strange ways that people died in Tudor England. It's based on research done by an Oxford University historian, Dr. Steven Gunn.
Henry VIII didn't have any trouble letting people know what he was thinking. Unfortunately, he was constantly changing his mind. When it came to his succession, it took him three times to get it right.
His First Act of Succession was passed by Parliament on this day in 1534.
The Succession Portrait by Hans Holbein shows Henry seated with his heir Edward and Edward's mother Jane Seymour (painted posthumously). Mary is shown standing on the left side of the portrait, and Elizabeth on the right.