Queen Catherine Parr

02/28/2026

28 FEBRUARY 1552: BURIAL of Anne Parr, Countess of Pembroke

Lady Pembroke was buried with huge pomp in Old St. Paul’s Cathedral in London next to her ancestor Prince John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster [and his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster] and her one time brother-in-law, John Neville, 3rd Baron Latimer on 28 February 1552.

The Pembroke tomb was a magnificent structure consisting of effigies of the earl and his Lady Pembroke lying on a sarcophagus, attended by kneeling children, and the whole covered by an elaborate canopy resting on stone shafts.

Sadly, the tomb was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Lady Anne Herbert [Parr], Countess of Pembroke died at Baynard’s Castle on 20 February 1552; at the age of thirty-six. Lady Pembroke had out-lived her sister, the Dowager Queen Katherine (d. …

02/28/2026

William Byrd (/bɜːrd/; c. 1540 – 4 July 1623) was an English Renaissance composer. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continent. He is often considered along with John Dunstaple and Henry Purcell as one of England's most important composers of early music.

Byrd wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard (the so-called Virginalist school), and consort music. He produced sacred music for Anglican services, but during the 1570s became a Roman Catholic, and wrote Catholic sacred music later in his life.

02/28/2026

02/27/2026

Happy Black History Month in the US.

Filmmaker and current Folger Artistic Research Fellow Fred Kuwornu found himself looking at Renaissance paintings and wondering who the Black Africans were in some of these iconic works. What were their stories? How did they come to Europe? In his groundbreaking documentary, "We Were Here," Kuwornu shares the diverse African presence he discovered in Renaissance Europe. More on the blog at the link below 🔽

02/26/2026

After arguing with someone who claims she descends from Charles I (or whatever) and that there is no evidence that Anne Vaux married Sir Reginald Bray(e)...
This is literally what the epitaph of Sir Reginald Bray(e) says.

Can't argue with seeing this and the coat of arms which shows the Vaux and Bray(e) arms together at Holy Trinity in Northamptonshire.

So, yes, Princess Diana descends from this line.
Thanks for stopping by!

02/26/2026

This article was published in 2021, but after Gareth Russell - Historian/Author left a comment on the debate over who this truly it, it's worth the read.

I tend to lean towards it being Anne of Cleves.
Poor Katherine Howard and Anne Boleyn.
Henry really didn't want them remembered, did he?

Please feel free to leave your opinion on who you think it is.
Cheers!

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/may/01/how-holbein-left-clever-clue-in-portrait-to-identify-henry-viiis-queen

New evidence shows miniature long held to be of Catherine Howard could depict Henry’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves

02/26/2026

I'm pretty sure this isn't a portrait of Anne Askew.
Not sure why it's attributed to being her. Once labeled Mary, Queen of Scots.
It's dated 1560. That's well after she was burnt at the stake for heresy.
She was of no status and wouldn't have been able to afford someone like Hans Eworth, right?

What's your opinion?

An Unknown Lady, called 'Anne Ayscough/Askew, Mrs Thomas Kyme (1521-1546)'
Hans Eworth (Antwerp c.1525 – ?London after 1578)

https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/1298241

02/24/2026

Opinions on this over a decade later are most welcome. 🙏

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In her latest book "Tudor", Leanda de Lisle suggests (via Starkey) that it was Lady Elizabeth who tipped King Henry off to Queen Catherine's extreme religious inclinations with her New Year's gift presented here; "Prayers and Meditations" (1545). Apparently Henry was not pleased with the gift. Opinions?

In her latest book "Tudor", Leanda de Lisle suggests (via Starkey) that it was Lady Elizabeth who tipped King Henry off to Queen Catherine's extreme religious inclinations with her New Year's gift presented here; "Prayers and Meditations" (1545). Apparently Henry was not pleased with the gift. Opinions?

02/24/2026

I feel like Juana of Castile—kept powerless, controlled, and told it’s ‘for my own good.’
When people take your resources, your access to loved ones, and your basic autonomy, that’s not care. That’s captivity with better PR.














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