There are many, many Anne Boleyn books to read. I’ll give you a few more in this post. I’ve already posted my favorite ones here: Introduction to Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn, Continued First, some jewelry comments for those who haven’t read the other Anne Boleyn entries or who have questions about the Boleyn initial necklace…
History
Thursday Book Club: Anne Boleyn, Continued
My interpretation of Anne Boleyn’s famous initial pendant (Boleyn Necklace © Wendy Brandes 2007-2008) (Photo by John Muggenborg) I’m continuing last week’s post on Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, or “Henry teh 8” as I will now call him thanks to whoever hit my blog with that search term. In…
Thursday Book Club: Introduction to Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn Good lord! When I said I’d do a Thursday book post, I didn’t realize Thursdays were going to start coming at me so fast and furiously! When did every day become Thursday? I feel like I just did Katherine of Aragon a minute ago. Katherine was the first of the six wives of…
Thursday Book Club: Katherine of Aragon
Okay! Back to Henry VIII and his six wives. Let’s begin at the beginning with wife #1: Katherine of Aragon (sometimes spelled “Catherine”). Katherine of Aragon in her later years, via NPG London via TudorHistory.org Katherine was the youngest daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, and sister to Juana la Loca. She married England’s…
Feminism Reaches the Tower of London
Moira Cameron, a 38-year-old Scottish woman, became the first woman Beefeater today. Embed from Getty Images This makes me happy, not only because I love ground-breaking women, but also because the Yeoman Warders (“Beefeater” is a nickname for the Yeoman Warders) protect the crown jewels. And you know how I feel about jewels! As for…
My Aristocratic Title
My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Very Lady Wendy the Euphonious of Hardy St Thomas Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title (I found this on Hopscotch, which normally specializes in cute bunny things. I think I should be a queen, however. Don’t you? Really…just a noblewoman. Unacceptable.)
Thursday Book Club: The Six Wives of Henry VIII
I’ve been wondering whether I should start working on the six wives of Henry VIII. There are scores of books about the ladies in question and Henry himself. Then there are Henry’s children too. This could take months! But I’ve decided it’s not going to get easier if I wait, so here we go. Before…
Mad Juana
When I stumbled across a group called Mad Juana, I was intrigued because Juana La Loca is one of my favorite queens. I thought to myself, “Self, how great would it be if you really liked their music?” And I do! Seriously. It’s not just the name of the band. There’s a goth-accordion-flamenco vibe going…
Boleyn Necklace = Ugly Betty Necklace
If something seems familiar about Anne Boleyn here, it might be because you recognize the necklace from the television show Ugly Betty. When I first saw the Ugly Betty promos, I was VERY relieved that I’d decided to do my own interpretation of the necklace, rather than a reproduction. My version is below. (Photo by…
Wendy’s Book Club: Introduction
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “There is no history, only biography.” I agree. Most of the books I read are either biographies or historical fiction about queens and other intriguing women. My main jewelry collection is called Vivat Regina (Latin for “God Save the Queen.”) Each Vivat Regina piece is named for a different queen, and…