Base-born sons: Arthur Pantagenet, John of Gloucester and Henry Fitzroy.

wonders if HVII had any…

Mary tried to walk a middle ground when it came to religion. Many people didn’t like this. The Protestants didn’t like her because they thought her too Catholic, and the Catholics thought she wasn’t doing enough for their religion. I think this aversion to blood shed on the issue of religion stems from her time in France where she witnessed the persecutions of the Huguenots and Protestants by the Catholic French monarchy.
Yes, James (her half brother) was a good councillor but was VERY ambitious. I believe there had been talk of King James V (Mary and James’s father) legitimizing James so he could inherit the crown. But, James’s mother Lady Margaret Douglas nee Erskine was married to Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven at the time, so that idea was scrapped. I think James viewed the Crown as his, and felt it should be his. He wanted to control the strings with Mary as the puppet. Anytime Mary tried to flex her own muscles, all hell broke loose. James was also behind every plot against Mary, such as the Rizzio murder and the plot to kill Darnley, but was smart enough to cover his tracks.

black_mamba said

Mary tried to walk a middle ground when it came to religion. Many people didn’t like this. The Protestants didn’t like her because they thought her too Catholic, and the Catholics thought she wasn’t doing enough for their religion. I think this aversion to blood shed on the issue of religion stems from her time in France where she witnessed the persecutions of the Huguenots and Protestants by the Catholic French monarchy.
Yes, James (her half brother) was a good councillor but was VERY ambitious. I believe there had been talk of King James V (Mary and James’s father) legitimizing James so he could inherit the crown. But, James’s mother Lady Margaret Douglas nee Erskine was married to Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven at the time, so that idea was scrapped. I think James viewed the Crown as his, and felt it should be his. He wanted to control the strings with Mary as the puppet. Anytime Mary tried to flex her own muscles, all hell broke loose. James was also behind every plot against Mary, such as the Rizzio murder and the plot to kill Darnley, but was smart enough to cover his tracks.

That all comes down to sexual discrimination though, James and the rest believed that a woman could not hold the reigns of power as well as a man, which in more ways than one makes Elizabeth a rarity as she showed she could be a man in a man’s world as well as being a woman. I feel that personally from the time of Francis’s death, that Mary was set up and used by James, Bothwell and everyone else. Her whole life in Scotland was some sort of tragic soap opera, she was tolarated by the Lords until she could produce the one thing they needed, or should say James needed a child..Once she had produced the heir she was no longer needed. James could never rule. Scotland would in no way tolerate a bastard on the throne. Whatever else they were they were fiercely loyal to their Royal Blood line, so the next best thing to ruling for James was to be the regent.
Mary’s religion was always going to be a stumbling block to them, she simply hadn’t got a clue to where the middle line was and wasn’t prepared to give an inch. Could her reign have worked if she had followed Elizabeth’s lead? I don’t think so. Elizabeth always tried to keep religion out of the politics of a situation, and judged a person on their merits and talants not their religion if she had I doubt Cecil would have held such favour as he was Puritan in his beliefs. Mary only trusted those who were Catholic and as a result the rot set in..

Louise said

Boleyn said

Louise said

Hello Bill,

I tried to write a biography on the life of George Boleyn, but you’re right that you need to be an historian as well as a good writer to succeed. I sent my book to two historians who I admire greatly and neither of them felt the book was worth proceeding with. Even Claire came to accept it was pants, and she loves everything, which tells you how bad it was!

Anyway, my writing days are over, and my book is consigned to the trash where it, and I, belong.

Louise I think you should rewrite your book Claire gave me some advice sometime back she said that everone has at least one book in them. Having read so many of your postings I’ve read a very intelligent and capable woman. You can do it Louise and I for one would be only too pleased to read it. George Boleyn is and always has been a bit of an enigma and you are just the person to show us the real George. Do not let anything stop you, you are bound to get people who will knock you back, make you doubt, or question your sanity, but if you believe wholeheartedly in your heart and mind that you can do it, you will.. Go for Louise, I believe in you, and what’s more I’ll be very proud of you too.

Hello Boleyn.
That’s very sweet of you. I wrote that comment quite a while ago when I was seriously doubting myself. Claire was always very supportive towards the book, but I felt it was dreadful because of errors in it and because I’m not the best writer in the world. I came to believe everyone must think it was as bad as I thought it was.
I think, in hindsight, it’s a reasonable starting point for a book on George. It needs a lot of input, reworking and rewriting. In it’s present format it’s not good enough for publication, but I know Claire’s keen to get the truth about George out there, so I think there will be a biography of George’s out there at some point. But this time one which will do him justice.

We really do need a good book on George Boleyn. He is a lot more interesting then Mary Boleyn, in my opinion.

How about a book on Amy Dudley née Robsart’s death? Really mysterious…
Check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Robsart

I agree Boleyn.
Metastatic cancerous deposits in the spine, caused by a breast tumor, seems to be the most likely explanation. But, it would be interesting for it to be examined more thoroughly, and maybe a computer re-creation of the event. I know in one of Alison Weir’s books, she suggested William Cecil had a strong motive for wanting Amy dead. This seemed a little bizarre to me though.

Louise said

Boleyn said

Louise said

Hello Bill,

I tried to write a biography on the life of George Boleyn, but you’re right that you need to be an historian as well as a good writer to succeed. I sent my book to two historians who I admire greatly and neither of them felt the book was worth proceeding with. Even Claire came to accept it was pants, and she loves everything, which tells you how bad it was!

Anyway, my writing days are over, and my book is consigned to the trash where it, and I, belong.

Louise I think you should rewrite your book Claire gave me some advice sometime back she said that everone has at least one book in them. Having read so many of your postings I’ve read a very intelligent and capable woman. You can do it Louise and I for one would be only too pleased to read it. George Boleyn is and always has been a bit of an enigma and you are just the person to show us the real George. Do not let anything stop you, you are bound to get people who will knock you back, make you doubt, or question your sanity, but if you believe wholeheartedly in your heart and mind that you can do it, you will.. Go for Louise, I believe in you, and what’s more I’ll be very proud of you too.

Hello Boleyn.
That’s very sweet of you. I wrote that comment quite a while ago when I was seriously doubting myself. Claire was always very supportive towards the book, but I felt it was dreadful because of errors in it and because I’m not the best writer in the world. I came to believe everyone must think it was as bad as I thought it was.
I think, in hindsight, it’s a reasonable starting point for a book on George. It needs a lot of input, reworking and rewriting. In it’s present format it’s not good enough for publication, but I know Claire’s keen to get the truth about George out there, so I think there will be a biography of George’s out there at some point. But this time one which will do him justice.

Yes take your first attempt at a starting point. I dare say than when Claire wrote her book about Anne, she too had the jitters, doubted she was doing the right thing etc, but she did it and as a result not only do we have a very good book to read, but an equally good forum, to throw our own ideas and theories around in, and share the odd laugh.. Take for instance my first attempt, at writing a historical fiction book. It’s more of a story really than a book, but with the appropiate spit and polish it could be good. We all have to start somewhere, and as I said in first posting you are a very intelligent woman and I’ve no doubt you could give us a very good and informative history on George. Just remember to take your time, and if you feel as if it’s getting a little too much save it and go do something else for a while and then come back to it.. Keep a pad a pen with you so that if you come up with an idea in the middle of the night or when you are out and about simply jot it down. You can do it Louise. All I will say is thank whatever we have word processors because it makes editing so much easier..LOL

Rebecca said

I would like to write about Queen Emma, mother of Edward the Confessor and the build up to the Battle of Hastings. The Saxon period fascinates me, slightly more so than the Tudor period (apologies). However, I would also like to attempt to write about Anne Boleyn.
My poem about the Battle of Hastings is published on http://www.littlegoldpencil.com

Hello Rebecca. I found this on You Tube. There is 6 parts to it. It’s a film drama from 1970 about Queen Emma. I hope it will be of use to you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..0940DDFA90