Henry VIII

11 Stories

'Bunch of Amateurs' Uncover Lost Tudor Palace

Royal manor house at Collyweston was visited by kings and queens

(Newser) - They had "no money, no expertise, no plans." Yet a group of amateur archaeologists have managed to find a lost English palace visited by kings and queens, which had become the stuff of legend. The village of Collyweston in Northamptonshire lies on the medieval route that connected London...

Behind Famous Execution, 'It's Henry Pulling the Strings'
Henry VIII Laid Out Details
of Famous Execution
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Henry VIII Laid Out Details of Famous Execution

Tudor document shows the king's instructions on the fate of Anne Boleyn

(Newser) - A passage in a 16th-century record book is getting fresh attention as it shows that King Henry VIII planned Anne Boleyn's execution to the letter. "For years, his trusty adviser Thomas Cromwell has got the blame. But this shows, actually, it's Henry pulling the strings," Tudor...

Meghan Markle's Ancestor Beheaded by Harry's Kin

And family tree reveals a great-great-great-grandfather was a slave in Georgia

(Newser) - Meghan Markle's family tree has shown that beau Prince Harry is a distant cousin (they share an ancestor dating back to the 15th century), but there's a darker revelation: One of her ancestors was beheaded on the orders of Henry VIII. Lord John Hussey was born around 1465,...

Hidden Notes in Old Bible Shed Light on Reformation

It was a 'slow, complex' process, not a clean break, says researcher

(Newser) - The scribbles sat hidden for nearly 500 years. Then, while perusing one of seven surviving copies of England's first printed Bible, historian Eyal Poleg of Queen Mary University made a surprising discovery. "At empty spaces at the end of prologues and sections, or at blank margins, a very...

Behind Henry VIII's Bad Behavior: Brain Injury?

The anger and forgetfulness started after jousting and horse accidents

(Newser) - Henry VIII may be best known for having had six wives, killing two of them, and establishing the Church of England in the process. Now a behavioral neurologist at Yale is posing an explanation for the English monarch's famously erratic behavior: traumatic brain injury. (Interestingly, a 2009 documentary for...

1,000 Priests: Gay Marriage Means Catholic 'Persecution'

British Catholics fear a return to days of Henry VIII

(Newser) - More than 1,000 Catholic priests have written a frantic letter arguing that same-sex marriage laws in Britain would "severely" limit their freedom to promote and practice their faith, the Daily Telegraph reports. "After centuries of persecution, Catholics have, in recent times, been able to be members of...

Historical Novel Wolf Hall Captures Booker Prize

Hilary Mantel's story set in Henry VIII's court was favorite for prestigious award

(Newser) - A novel set in the court of King Henry VIII won this year’s Man Booker Prize, Britain’s top literary honor. Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall was a heavy favorite, and the book drew praise from the panel of judges as “a thoroughly modern novel set in the...

'Disease of Kings' Becomes Middle Class Scourge

Gout is not just for Henry VIII anymore

(Newser) - It used to be called the “disease of kings” because only aristocrats could pig out enough to get it. But these days, gout, an extremely painful arthritis of the foot and other joints, is spreading like wildfire through America’s ever-widening middle class, the New York Times reports. Drug...

Henry VIII Hooked on Women: Historian

Reared in feminine household, Henry king became 'emotionally dependent' on women

(Newser) - Henry VIII may have been cruel to some of the women in his life, but he was "emotionally dependent" on them, according to a top expert on the oft-married king. Being raised in a feminine household after the death of his dad led Henry to fall in love and...

'Tudors': Flashy Fiction Is Far From Fact

Historians balk at steamy soap, but fans aren't deterred

(Newser) - In the battle of fact versus flair, it’s pretty obvious which side “The Tudors” comes down on. Showtime’s steamy period soap opera, which premiers its second season tonight, trades a chubby, tight-wearing Henry VIII for slim, sexy Jonathan Rhys Meyers. “It’s sloppy filmmaking,” one...

Boleyn No History Lesson
Boleyn No History Lesson
NEW RELEASE

Boleyn No History Lesson

Historical soap opera adds spice to the Tudor court

(Newser) - The Other Boleyn Girl is anything but a dry history lesson about the 16th century, critics say—don't take it too seriously, and you'll be all right. It "probably shouldn't be the way in which high-school kids learn about Henry VIII and his court, but it's a fun movie,...

11 Stories