Category: Film & TV

Notes from TV documentaries and the like based on the Tudors and the Wars of the Roses.

Elizabeth I Episode 2 Starring Lily Cole

~ Helene Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Episode 2 – The Enemy Within, aired 16.05.2017

Elizabeth I c.1563 Hampden portrait by Steven van der Meulen
Elizabeth I c.1563 Hampden portrait by Steven van der Meulen

Aged 25 Elizabeth is queen but not safe

1559 Elizabeth crowned queen, but her path to power had been a long battle

She had survived but could never drop her guard

War was raging across Europe as Catholics and Protestants tore each other apart – Elizabeth was plunged into the middle of the battle

Elizabeth most powerful protestant monarch surrounded by catholic enemies

 

Privy council believed Elizabeth needed to marry

Elizabeth declared she was already married to England – sounded great, but just words

Queen had a good reason for not wanting to wed – would reduce her power, wanted to be a real queen not queen in name only

Understandable but left a huge problem – who would rule if she suddenly died?

Continue reading “Elizabeth I Episode 2 Starring Lily Cole” →

Elizabeth I Episode 1 Starring Lily Cole

~ Helene Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Episode 1 – Battle for the Throne, aired 09.05.2017

Elizabeth I coronation portrait c.1610 copy of a lost original
Elizabeth I coronation portrait c.1610 copy of a lost original

Elizabeth I was England’s greatest queen – strong-willed, passionate and brave

Vulnerable woman surrounded by danger

Enemies scheming for her crown and plotting against her life

Would never know a moment’s peace

From the minute of her birth she was thrust into a bloody game – life and death

Never knew who to trust and who to fear

Hopes, fears, enemies who stalked her at every turn

What drove her enemies? Risks? Plots? How close they came to destroying Elizabeth

Elizabeth fell prey to a ruthless lord, sister’s love turns murderous

Continue reading “Elizabeth I Episode 1 Starring Lily Cole” →

Historical Inaccuracies in ‘The Tudors’ Season 4

~ Helene Harrison ~ 2 Comments

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Tamsin Merchant as Katherine Howard and Torrance Coombs as Thomas Culpeper

Episode 1 – Moment of Nostalgia

  • Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and his wife, Katherine, are separated – later on in the series he has an affair. In reality, there is no evidence that the marriage of the Brandons was unstable, it seems to have been relatively happy.
  • On screen, Henry Howard, is shown as being in his mid-forties and calls Katherine Howard his niece. In reality, Henry and Katherine were cousins, and he was actually only in his mid-twenties at this time.
  • When Princess Elizabeth meets Katherine Howard she looks around 13/14 years old, but in reality she would only have been around 6/7.
  • Henry VIII speaks of the death of the French dauphin just after his marriage to Katherine in 1540, but the dauphin died in 1536.
  • Henry VIII is shown condemning Viscount Lisle to death, but he actually died in 1542 when being given news of his release.
  • A marriage between Princess Mary and the Duke of Orleans is proposed on screen, but the duke was already married in reality by this point.
  • There is no evidence that Anne Stanhope cheated on her husband, the Earl of Hertford, let alone with his brother. This perhaps parallels the supposed affair of Hertford’s first wife with his own father.

Continue reading “Historical Inaccuracies in ‘The Tudors’ Season 4” →

Historical Inaccuracies in ‘The Tudors’ Season 3

~ Helene Harrison ~ 2 Comments

Henry VIII by Hans Holbein 1540
Henry VIII by Hans Holbein 1540

Episode 1 – Civil Unrest

  • Henry VIII introduces Ambassador Chapuys to Jane Seymour, like it was her first time meeting him – she had been at court for some years serving both Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, so would have met the ambassador before.
  • Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, served as Jane’s principal lady-in-waiting – Jane Boleyn did serve under Jane Seymour, but the latter’s principal lady-in-waiting was actually her sister, Elizabeth Seymour.
  • Francis Bryan first appears in season 3 – he was actually active at court from 1528, and was instrumental in helping Cromwell to bring about the fall of Anne Boleyn, although this isn’t shown.
  • Francis Bryan threatening to beat Mary’s head against the wall until it was as soft as a boiled apple – these words were spoken to Mary, but it was before her mother had even died (season 2) and it wasn’t by Francis Bryan, but by either George Talbot or Thomas Howard, both staunch Boleyn supporters.
  • The women at the Tudor court all seems to wear crowns and tiaras – all women in the Tudor court would have worn hoods rather than these, even queens.

Continue reading “Historical Inaccuracies in ‘The Tudors’ Season 3” →

Britain’s Bloody Crown Part 2 14.01.2016

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Edward IV
Edward IV

One of the most turbulent and violent periods in Britain’s history.

1461 Henry VI had the throne snatched away by young and charismatic Edward IV – he was helped to the throne by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick – the Kingmaker.

It took Edward 7 years to learn that to save the country a good king must do bad things.

3 months after Richard Duke of York’s death Edward IV takes his revenge on the king.

The bloodiest battle on English soil ends (Towton) and Edward IV succeeds as the king and queen’s forces have been wiped out and Henry VI and his family are forced to flee to Scotland.

28000 men slaughtered in 10 hours, pretty much half of the troops involved in the fight.

Edward declared king in 1461, aged just 18 – 12th plantagenet king of England.

Edward needs to end the violence, assisted by Warwick, to make the country stable and safe. Continue reading “Britain’s Bloody Crown Part 2 14.01.2016” →

Britain’s Bloody Crown Part 1 07.01.2016

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Henry VI 1540 at the National Portrait Gallery
Henry VI 1540 at the National Portrait Gallery

Nearly 600 years ago Wars of the Roses fought over the crown.

30 years crown changed hands 7 times.

Struggle erupted when there was a feud between Margaret of Anjou (Queen of England) and Richard, Duke of York, over the control of the weak king, Henry VI.

Trouble began because Henry VI was so weak that a vacuum opened in England that takes 50 years to be fixed.

May 1450 Henry VI in power, Duke of Suffolk papered over the cracks, but he is now dead by rebel hands.

Summer 1450, no one now left to keep a lid on trouble for Henry VI – rebels enter London and cause violence and looting.

Henry VI never seen a battlefield, shallow, pious and foolish.

Henry VI tries to placate rebels by giving them the corrupt Lord Say – they try and execute him at the Guildhall.

England dissolving into anarchy – Henry VI leaves London for Kenilworth. Continue reading “Britain’s Bloody Crown Part 1 07.01.2016” →

Historical Inaccuracies in ‘The Tudors’ Season 2

~ Helene Harrison ~ 4 Comments

Episode 1 “Everything is Beautiful”

Henry Cavill as Charles Brandon in 'The Tudors' 2007-2010
Henry Cavill as Charles Brandon in ‘The Tudors’ 2007-2010

Charles Brandon and his ward – Charles Brandon married his ward, Katherine Brooke, but in reality she was Katherine Willoughby. On TV, Charles married Katherine in 1532, but in reality they didn’t marry until after Anne Boleyn’s coronation, in 1534.

Assassination attempt – According to the TV show, Pope Paul III organised an assassination attempt against Anne Boleyn before her coronation. In reality he wasn’t even elected until after her coronation, and there is no evidence for an assassination attempt.

Episode 2 “Tears of Blood”

Margaret More – Margaret More is shown to be in her mid-twenties when Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn, but at this point she was actually in her early thirties. Continue reading “Historical Inaccuracies in ‘The Tudors’ Season 2” →

‘The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England’ Part 3 ‘Brave New World’

~ Helene Harrison ~ 1 Comment

First Broadcast 14.06.2013

Ian Mortimer
Ian Mortimer

Ian Mortimer

Craftsmen, architects, writers, explorers, etc

Middle-classes who will radically alter our nation

Provinces – Stratford-upon-Avon = small-town merchants where money is king

Towns are driving social change

1570s buzz in the air, traders on the high street 6 days a week = wool merchants, butchers, bakers, tailors, etc

Modernisation

Great names of the age emerge from these towns – leave a lasting impact on society

William Shakespeare = upwardly mobile family, father a glover, tanyard at the back of the house

Unpleasant smells, chimneys come into vogue – can now heat every room in the home, can rise above one floor and keep them heated, cheap bricks Continue reading “‘The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England’ Part 3 ‘Brave New World’” →

The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England Part 2 ‘The Rich’

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First Broadcast 07.06.2013

Ian Mortimer
Ian Mortimer

Ian Mortimer

Elite of society

Paintings from the period focus on the rich – dancing, feasts, furs, silks

Confidence, privilege, wealth, power – doubt, uncertainty, fear

Those who have the most also have the most to lose

Hampton Court Palace = keeping up appearances, Elizabeth I inherited 20 palaces and gave 7 away, packed with the possessions of Henry VIII

Need a letter of introduction – need money

Strict hierarchy – status denoted by clothes, changed by the years, eclectic mix of styles from all over the continent

Queen encourages a feminine look, oversized codpieces gone, allowed to reveal cleavage, but not bare arms or legs = become more lavish as Elizabeth’s reign progresses Continue reading “The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England Part 2 ‘The Rich’” →

The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England Part 1 ‘The Common People’

~ Helene Harrison ~ Leave a comment

First Broadcast 31.05.2013

Ian Mortimer
Ian Mortimer

Ian Mortimer.

“Continual struggle to survive.”

Quarter of England was wild heaths, moors and forests – no roads, only paths. Dangerous.

Cottages were dark – no light, very basic. Earth floor, one fire always lit, very smoky, holes in walls.

Candles were expensive – most only had a few possessions, pots and pan, a bench, a basket, a straw mattress.

Hierarchical society = rigid class system ordained by God.

Yeoman employs workers and owns land. Husbander rents land. Labourers work on other people’s land.

Most people work on the land dawn until sunset.

Pay for a full day = 1 groat. Also equals 4p=4d. Chicken costs 4p a day to keep. Buys a small amount of ale a day, meat and fish for a week. Not enough to raise a family. Continue reading “The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England Part 1 ‘The Common People’” →