Much more than Ladies of Wax...

The Flanders Mare rides in

The very first time I saw Henry, I thought, "Who is this madman?!"

It all started when I landed at Deal in Kent in December of 1539. The trip from home to England was long and arduous. It took an extra six weeks to get to the coast, before boarding and sailing to England. By the time I arrived at port, I felt like I had been dragged through the mud - which is quite true, considering the raging rainstorm going on at the time. It delayed casting off by a week and even then, a decision was made to go ahead and sail despite poor weather. I was tempest-tossed by the time I got to Deal and felt rather like a drowned rat. Well, more like a muddy, drowned, bedraggled and completely exhausted rat.

The reception at Deal was rather lovely, however. I couldn't understand a word of what was going on, but it seemed as though the entire town turned out to see me. That was a first - no one had really bothered to see this old maid (of 24) with such excitement before. I enjoyed a short stay at Deal and was able to dry out a bit, before proceeding on to Rochester for New Year's Day and to meet my future husband.

On New Year's Day, I was in my chambers at the Abbey of Rochester, watching the entertainment provided by the townspeople. It was bull-baiting and I must confess, not all that interesting. I was more interested in the arrival of my fiance, which was supposed to be sometime that evening. While I was looking out the window, I was approached by a tall man in a mottled cloak, who was accompanied by five other men in similar cloaks. He lifted me to my feet, kissed me roughly upon the lips and presented me with a ring from King Henry as a New Year's present. I was so shocked and abashed, I didn't know what to say, so I said, "Thank you". I had no idea who he was or what he was going on about - or even how he got into my chambers. I kept one eye on the window the whole time, in case my future husband should arrive and find a strange man in my chambers. The cloaked man left abruptly.

A few minutes later, the cloaked man returned, but this time he was wearing a coat of purple velvet. Mein Gott! The cloaked man was Henry, the man I had been waiting for! I humbled myself, sinking to my knees and lowering my head to his majesty. Henry kindly raised me to my feet and we talked for several hours. Well, we spoke through translators, so the conversation was quite stilted. And it was rather difficult to express my feelings to my future husband through a third party.


I ended the evening with a distinct impression of his Majesty's exquisite manners. He was the most polite and courtly man I have ever met. A little on the rotund side for my tastes (seriously, a 54" waist...) and twice my age, but nonetheless, a very polite man.

- Anna of Cleves

Me So Thorny

Nicole/Kathryn H here!

As I promised in an earlier entry, I need to tell you about The Rose Without A Thorn's thorns.

I keep delaying this post because I find Kathryn's story so compelling that I just keep reading, keep finding new information, and keep trying to compile it into one fabulous post of informational doom.

So, instead I'm going to divide it up once more, to make sure that I do justice to a person who I'm becoming more and more attached to.

Before she came to court, Kathryn had been very poor. Her father being the second son of the old Duke of Norfolk, her family had no real inheritance, and, with a lot of children, her family ended up in constant debt. He sent her to live with her step-grandma, the good ol’ Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. The Duchess had a house full of children—wards, servants, future courtiers, et cetera—and she paid almost no attention to their upbringing. Kathryn did not have a formal education, was allowed to [gasp!] befriend servant and aristocrat alike, and more or less run wild. As she grew into early adolescence, the wildness of childhood morphed into a sort of disregard for “normal” aristocratic conventions. Not realizing the effect her actions could have on her ever-manipulating family, she just sort of took what happened to her.

The first thing that happened to her was her music teacher, Henry Manox. He was supposed to be teaching her the flute and the virginal (…how ironic…). Instead, he was plying the pretty twelve-ish-year-old to have sex with him.

While Kathryn never went *ahem* “all the way” with him, she did “[suffer] him at sundry times to handle and touch the secret parts of my body which neither became me with honesty to permit nor him to require.”

Then came Francis Dereham, a gentleman in her step-grandmother’s service. By all accounts, they were in love. They exchanged lovers tokens; Francis gave her money when he had it; they even called each other “husband” and “wife”. How adorable. Not surprisingly, they were also getting busy. After the Dowager Duchess had gone to bed, Francis would sneak into the girls’ dormitory—a practice not unknown in the Duchess’s house—and engage in, as one witness put it, “puffing and blowing.” Heh.

All this constitutes evidence of a betrothal/pre-contract of marriage. In England at the time, if a couple exchanged vows of later getting married and then consummated their relationship, they were actually legally contracted to one another. Personally, it sounds like a convenient way of binding Tudor mansluts to the women that they would otherwise just be playing while simultaneously preventing an army of bastard children, but maybe that’s just me.

About the same time Kathryn was sent to court, Francis went to Ireland to earn money, likely for his later marriage to young Miss Howard. Some say he turned to piracy, which, of course, makes him extremely attractive in my mind.

Upon his return, he found Kathryn had become Queen of England. [Though she was not, as yet, crowned. Her coronation was delayed, likely because the King and his Council were waiting for her to conceive.] The Dowager Duchess urged him to seek employment in Kathryn’s court; the young queen, fearing blackmail, immediately hired Francis.

However, Francis would not receive the queen’s attention in the way he had come to expect. Kathryn’s eye had fallen upon Thomas Culpepper, a “beautiful youth,” a courtier, and a lord high in the king’s favour. They were absolutely in love. Letters from Kathryn to Thomas were filled with a heartsickness familiar to any lovers kept apart for more than a day.

Later, both would deny sleeping together, and it is not known to this day whether or not they ever did anything beyond steal kisses behind closed doors. Most historians assume that they were lying to cover up their misdemeanors, but, still, the mystery remains. How tragic if they were condemned only for falling in love? But, alas, loving someone more than the king is treasonous in thought even if deed cannot be proved...

More on how they were caught at a later date.

just a friendly rivalry...right?

Brianna here, Jane Seymour in our play.

I was just doing some reading and came across an interesting tidbit from the pages of History.

Very little is known about Jane before the time she caught the eye of our Harry.  But there is some conjecture, based on a portrait by Holbein, in the royal collection at Versailles, entitled maid of honour to Mary of England, Queen to Louis the Twelfth; which hangs besides one of Anne Boleyn of a similar title. Could it be that Jane finished her education at the court of France? 

If so, she would have been living in the same court as Anne Boleyn, at the same time, and they both were likely to have returned to England and Henry's court together as well.

Can it be that these two queens, from similarly power-hungry families, may have been girlhood companions? Maybe even girlhood rivals, raised to the same purpose of gaining Henry's affections for the benefit of her family?

How fascinating!

Anne brought France back with her and revolutionized the English court with music, wit and fashion. Jane, as Queen, sent it all back again. 

And then there's this:

"If tradition is to be accredited, Jane had been introduced to Court but a short time, when the Queen, seeing a splendid jewel suspended from her neck, expressed a wish to look at it. Jane blushed, and drew back; when the Queen, whose jealousy had already been aroused against her, violently snatched it from her neck; and, on examining it, found it to contain a miniature of the King, presented by himself to her fair rival."

http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/janeseymour.htm

When sometime later Anne walked in on Henry with Jane seated on his knee and happily accepting his caresses, she flew into a passion and ordered Jane away from court.  But Jane ignored the orders of her mistress and sovereign (and long-time rival?) and stayed. Thus was Anne started off, and eventually she was finished off too. This boldness from the future Queen who is only ever accredited with modesty and virtue!? There is definitely more to Queen Jane than meets the eye- after all she raised no moral qualms when she was betrothed to King Harry the day after Anne was beheaded!

So, Jane the Queen- Henry's perfect bride- turns out to be quite the mystery. Not so boring after all, eh girls!?

And if she really was a rival to Anne Boleyn since childhood, (and possibly learned all the same tricks from France but chose to use them very differently) that gives me a great 'real-life drama' to take with me as I work to embody some version of this woman on stage!

Oh, my Heart!

 

"Oh, my heart!"
By King Henry VIII

O, my heart! and O, my heart, It is so sore! Since I must needs from my Love depart; And know no cause wherefore!

Warwick Castle and Tussauds

Check this out! Apparently Warwick Castle (see John Dudley, Earl of Warwick and his royal meddlings regarding Lady Jane Grey) was owned for several years (recently) by Tussauds, who did a heap of renovations and added their famous wax figures.

Why do I even know about this? A friend from college (the lovely and talented Chris B.*) recently posted pics from her trip to England and couldn't resist sharing this beautiful photo:

Want to see more? Here, another visitor (who may be almost as lovely and talented as Chris), has posted her pics on Flickr of the figures depicting Henry and his wives. Henry and wives in wax.

Isn't this fascinating? (Mental note: Visit Warwick Castle when in England.)

Seeing all of these waxen ladies together in one room, I can't imagine they would have sat there in such a docile manner. Aragon would be trying to kill Boleyn, Parr would be bossing everyone around and telling them to mind their manners, Cleves would have stood on the sidelines wondering what was going on, Howard would maybe have helped Aragon just because it looked like fun, Seymour would have stood there disapproving of it all and Henry would be wondering what the hell he got himself into!

*Chris B's last name omitted to protect her from pre-renaissance-obsessed stalkers.

Morning Glow

What follows is an account of Kathryn Howard's typical morning routine. Forgive the terrible grammar and lack of punctuation. Kathryn is a sweet but poorly educated girl.
Hearts,
Nicole/Kathryn Howard

Waking up is lonely. It has been even worse because I keep dreaming of TC wishing he was with me. That would be wonderful would it not? Opening my eyes and seeing him right there with the curtains of the bed still closed maybe a little bit of light peeking through the curtains but still mostly dark. Perhaps he would be watching me sleep with that look in his eyes that he sometimes gets when we are together. They are already quite green but when he looks at me like that they turn into a different color almost like a forest at night but with more light somehow. I usually just think about that for a good five minutes after I wake up. Well first I wish I was back asleep because then I could dream some more. Plus being a queen is such hard work and I like to stay up late doing whatever so yeah I am usually pretty tired. So I just sort of lie there with the curtains closed trying to roll over as quietly as possible so that none of my ladies know I am awake. Cause as soon as they do they want to talk or help me dress or get me breakfast. Which is really great cause I do not have to do those things myself but some of them are a little bit annoying you know? I mean I totally like being with all my ladies but I cannot really talk to them about what I really want to talk to them about :)

Here's a picture of my bed:

So yeah I lie there for a while cause it takes me a while to really wake up. Sometimes I braid my hair just so it doesn’t get in my face later while I am eating and stuff. When I finally do get up I put on my dressing gown and pray the rosary a little bit. I am not as religious as some of the girls at court but I really do want to make my family proud by being a good Catholic queen. Sometimes I add a little prayer thanking God and Jesus Christ for giving me my queenship and letting me be so happy as I am right now. I sometimes wonder and even ask them if I could maybe be a little bit happier perhaps if the king died and then I married TC. I absolutely cannot say that out loud so really I can only talk to God about it…

Then I have a little breakfast with my ladies. Sometimes the king likes to break his fast with me but usually he’s been up for a little bit at least before me doing kingly things that mostly don’t concern me. We eat eggs usually and some kind of fruit whatever is in season but my favorite are berries and also anything exotic that comes into the palace from ambassadors and other foreign people. We all gossip as we eat and talk about what we will do that day and what we will wear. I think my ladies like me. I like all of them. They are all very sweet and we do get along quite well. We laugh a lot and dance a lot and talk about most everything.

Then I start to ready myself for the day. I splash a little water on my face and have my ladies comb my hair. This doesn’t take really long for me. Everyone always tells me how pretty I am and I have to agree so usually I look well enough without doing very much washing or combing or pinching or face-painting as some ladies have to.

Then I dress. Well my ladies dress me. This is one of my favorite parts of being queen because not only are my dresses really really nice but there is more than just some random maid helping me put my clothes on and I really like the attention. I know I should not say that because we ladies are supposed to be humble and not really supposed to like attention but this is a journal so who’s really going to read it really? So I can talk about secret things like what I pray about and how I really like all the attention of being queen and of course TC. These are absolutely not the things that I talk to my ladies about as I get dressed even though we usually find plenty to talk about.

Here are some of my dresses:

I am really fond of the blue dress.  It goes very nicely with my hair and eyes.  Really anything blue or purple.  I also like the metal colors like gold and silver.

And that is pretty much it. I either go out into the palace after that or maybe spend some more time with my ladies. It really all goes around what Henry is doing that day. Sometimes we go riding together or sit together while he holds court which is probably the most boring for me. It is different everyday. Being Queen of England is exciting like that! Different things everyday never knowing what to expect. I really do love being queen. Henry loves me very much and treats me very well and even if his leg does stink sometime I get so many lovely things and meet so many lovely people and go so many lovely places that it really is all worth it. I hope.

Hearts and smiles,

Kathryn

First Royal Photo Shoot

A Rose Without A Thorn

That was what Henry called Kathryn Howard, his fifth wife, and, as I research, I'm finding myself drawn to the same things that Henry himself saw in her.

She entered the court as a lady attending on Queen Anne of Cleves; all accounts imply that the king fell in love at first sight.  According to Charles de Marillac, France's ambassador to England, Kathryn was "a young lady of extraordinary beauty" and "superlative grace."  Other sources cite her cheerfulness, vivacity, and, of course, youthfulness--she was only about fifteen!  Henry liked these things because, as an ill man approaching 50, her sunny personality renewed his own joie de vivre.  I like these things because, to me, she sounds like the most popular girl in school.  Not the one who's popular because she's mean, exclusive, and fashionable, but the one who's popular because she's pretty, friendly, confident, and actually well-liked.

Henry's marriage to Anne was annulled on July 9th, 1540, leaving him free to marry Kathryn almost immediately on July 28th.  The king was totally besotted with his new bride.  He could deny her nothing, and Kathryn received many gowns, jewels, and other tokens of Henry's adoration.  Kathryn welcomed his affection and returned the attention.  Some later denounced her as being ignorant and frivolous, caring only for dancing and parties and courtly luxuries, but Henry indulged this behaviour.  He relished watching her dance with the other young men at court, and even the women--she and Anne of Cleves once danced into the wee hours of the night after the King had gone to bed.

She was also quite kind-hearted.  The only time she manipulated her power as queen was to help a few people confined to the Tower.  The Duchess of Salisbury was an old woman whose blood ties to the Plantaganets, though she had served Henry's court faithfully for many years, still threatened the Tudors' claim to the throne.  She had been imprisoned for quite some time without proper clothing or heat, and Kathryn used her own coffer to buy new heavy materials to make the woman warm dresses and underthings.  She also freed Sir Thomas Wyatt, a former admirer of Anne Boelyn's, who was often a guest in the tower for various misdemeanors.  Wyatt was popular, and Kathryn's aid was welcomed by the people of the court.

That is the rose without the thorn.  If Kathryn's transgressions hadn't come to light, her sparkling spirit would have been remembered as the joy of the court.  But, alas, she will instead be remembered as foolish, ignorant, and a bit of a slut.

Later, I will show you all those thorns!!

Hearts,

Nicole/Kathryn Howard

anne boleyn: beloved and beheaded

Ok you guys. CLEARLY there was a bit of "Drama" surrounding Annie B. But was she not the most faaaaaacinating queen? She got ole Kathy A off the throne and slipped right in.

She totz would of had healthy babies if not for Henry's syphilis. 

Check it:

• 
  
  She convinced Henry that the Bible should be translated into English and made available to common people instead of just the clergy.
• 
  
  No religious heretics were burned at the stake during the period of time that Anne was queen. However, Henry VIII had heretics burnt both before and after her tenure. We can only speculate on how many lives Anne saved.
• 
  
  Anne distributed a fortune in charity among the English people.
   She also sewed clothing with her own hands for distribution to the poor, and was known on at least one occasion to have personally tended to the ill on her travels. Few of her biographies mention her charitable acts at any length, and these were also not much publicized during her own lifetime.
  
  
  Not a witch, but a saint. A hot sexy alluring saint...who thinks all the other queens are BORING. Except maybe for Kathy H. "Get it guuuuuuur!"
  
  
  
  
  
  
        Henry and I on a date! 
  
  
  
  
                                                 Just look at me!(her!)

• 
  

Oh the Henrys we knew

Alas, the man some of us knew and loved grew to be a man it was surely hard to love at all....

From Good King Hal, and what a handsome rogue was he; brimming with charm, wit and good cheer.......To a mercurial old man with a rotting leg and a temper that could kill a girl, literally. But whichever Henry he was to us each, he was Husband and King to us all.

The Flying Nun

I'm convinced. I think I'm the Flying Nun.
-Anna of Cleeves

Dead Queens Silent Film Promo

In the mood for a film this afternoon?  Click below!
Six Dead Queens Silent Film promo!

Darling, isn't it? For Piccolo's annual gala last fall, our theme was "Golden Age, Silent Stage".  Since the Piccolinis love to entertain, we couldn't just simply announce our next season.  We pulled out the stops and did an old-fashioned film preview party, complete with silent previews of our entire 2009-2010 season.

(What we should have also gotten on film, were the bystanders who were staring at us as we filmed this! Apparently the good people of Evanston aren't used to seeing this kind of thing take over their grassy parks. Hilarious!)

It's all about Jane

 Brianna here, playing Jane Seymour in our show.
Motto: Bound to Obey and Serve
Can I love someone who makes me want to roll my eyes? Definintely.
Not a whole lot is known about Jane, and she gets pretty eclipsed by Anne Boleyn's glittering fame. But the more I discover about this seemingly prim, conservative Queen, the more I discover a tenacity and an edge about her that I really like. So much decorum had to conceal one iron personality! (Although she was also known to be very gentle, and there's something under-appreciated about the Nice Girl, isn't there?)

Jane Seymour was hanging around court for a while, serving both Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn when they were Queens, but it took awhile for her to catch Henry's eye. Once she did, however, he never forgot her, and she was immortalized as his Queen posthumously in the famous Tudor family portrait years after her death. After all, she was the only Queen who managed to secure the line and satisfy his obsession by giving him a son. (Score one for me in the battle of true Queendom!)


The physical opposite of Anne Boleyn, Jane was petite and buxom with very pale skin and golden hair. In other words, she was a great example of the popular look of the day- some noblewomen had themselves bled by barber-surgeons to get that wan, pale skin! No wonder Henry noticed her when he was fed up with tall, dark Anne. In fact, Henry VIII was betrothed to Jane on the 20 May 1536, the day after Anne Boleyn's execution. All of Anne's rooms were stripped of her crest and initial, and it was done so hastily that you can still see the A's peeking out from under the J's.


Jane wasn't as educated as the proceeding Queens, but she probably hit the mark when it came to the sort of woman Henry really wanted for a wife. She was demure and agreeable on the surface but a firm household manager known for her resolute manner and etiquette. She banned the loose manner of the court than Anne had cultivated and strictly contolled the appropriate dress and manner of her ladies. French fashion was out.
Jane did try to sway Henry in affairs of the state just once, when she asked for pardons for participants in the Pilgrimage of Grace Rebellion-- but Henry flipped out and reminded her what had happened to proceeding Queens when they tried to "meddle." Yikes. Jane must have learned to operate more subtly pretty quickly after that!


Jane was renowned for her beautiful needlework, which Henry was very fond of. (You'll catch Katherine of Aragon yammering on about how she hand-embroidered Henry's shirts...well big whoop. She wasn't alone on that one! ) She was very dedicated to the family and managed to get Mary Tudor welcomed back to court by her father, though she was unable to secure Mary a place in the line of succesion. The two women were both of the 'old faith' (Roman Catholic) and became good friends. And speaking of family...


When Jane finally got pregnant in early 1537, Henry was completely indulgent. Jane's every whim was indulged by the King, convinced that his first 'true wife', carried his long hoped for son. She had a craving for quail  but it was a bad time of year in England, so Henry had them imported in for her!


Jane did it! Jane had a son! The future King Edward VI of England was born on 12 October 1537 at Hampton Court. He was whisked off to a wet nurse (Jane was not going to be caught making a fuss about nursing her own babies like Anne Boleyn had- what bad breeding-ugh!) Everyone was so excited about it, in fact, that they left poor Jane to delerium and fever. She had a difficult delivery (at least three nights) and developed puerperal fever due to a bacterial infection contracted during the birth or perhaps due to a tear in her perineum which became infected. She was dead by October 24th.
Jane Seymour was the only one of Henry's wives to receive a Queen's funeral.
(Score one more for me as the One True Queen!!)


The following inscription was above her grave:
Here lieth a Phoenix, by whose death
Another Phoenix life gave breath:
It is to be lamented much
The world at once ne'er knew two such.


After her death, Henry wore proper mourning  and did not remarry for three years.
And at the end of it all, Henry was buried with her. The only one of his wives to remian at his side for eternity.

I am so looking forward to duking it out with the other Queens- clearly the evidence is on my side- Jane is the True Queen!!

As if you had to ask....

Katharine Parr is the true queen! And I'm finding myself attracted to playing her for many of the same reasons King Henry was attracted to her as a wife.

Motto: "To be useful in all I do."

 Katharine Parr, Lady Latimer, was reported to be a doting stepmother and devoted scholar, but she was also a woman as dedicated to finery and amusements as any of Henry's previous wives. And though twice-widowed, she was still twenty years younger than the king. King Henry's first gifts to her arrived even at least 2 weeks before her ill husband, Lord Latimer, passed away. She was tall, vivacious and witty, with a kindly and sensible nature (to all of these, I can relate!). She became increasingly interested in the theological debates of the court, but she also enjoyed its less intellectual pleasures - dancing, music, banquets, grand costumes. When she became queen, this love of clothes and jewels would be indulged on the grandest scale. The king enjoyed her dancing and they both loved music. Though occasionally impotent, the king did consummate their marriage and Katharine was fond of ordering black satin nightdresses. She would often sit with the king's sore leg in her lap, or in his lap herself. Now THAT is a sign of great character!

She was the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal and Maud Greene (they were courtiers during the early years of Henry VIII's reign. Thomas was knighted at the king's coronation in 1509 and Maud was a lady-in-waiting to his first queen, Katharine of Aragon.)Katharine was the eldest of three children, born probably in 1512.

Now here's where is gets really amazing. When the king left for France on yet another expensive military campaign in July 1544, Katharine - his 'most dearly and most entirely beloved wife' - was made Regent of England. The only other wife accorded this honor had been Henry's first, Katharine of Aragon. Henry returned in October to find his affairs in good order. And..... it was Katharine Parr who encouraged Elizabeth I's education, thus creating the most learned monarch in English history. She also made John Cheke and Roger Ascham tutors to young Prince Edward; the influence of these Cambridge 'reformers' upon both Elizabeth and Edward was profound.

True, she didn't bear Henry a son (or any child for that matter). But it's hard to argue that she made a darn fine queen for Henry. No worry about infidelity, served the King before her own heart's desires, and a good, pious Protestant who enjoyed dancing and black satin. Parr is the true and best, in my eyes. Come see the show and see for yourself!

Cheers,
Denita (playing Katharine Parr)

More than a Play

Last night, the women of Six Dead Queens set off on what promises to be an extraordinary adventure!

The all-woman cast will be devising all aspects of this production save the script, which was originated by Foursight Theatre. That means we'll be getting our hands dirty as we delve into research, rehearsal and design to bring this play to life.

Tune in here over the coming months and follow the journey of the actresses-- and the Queens-- as this wonderful play comes to life.