One Thing About The Tudors That Always Fascinates Me Is What They Were Actually Like As Individuals,

One thing about the Tudors that always fascinates me is what they were actually like as individuals, how they were as people - What did Henry VIII sound like? How tall exactly were his wives? Did Anne Boleyn have a slight French accent? One Tudor monarch we have a significant description of is Queen Mary I. A Venetian ambassador had this to say about her:

“She is of low rather than of middling stature. She is of a spare and delicate frame, quite unlike her father, who was tall and stout; nor does she resemble her mother, who, if not tall, was nevertheless bulky. Her face is well formed, as shown by her features and lineaments, and as seen by her portraits. When younger she was considered, not merely tolerably handsome, but of beauty exceeding mediocrity. At present, with the exception of some wrinkles, caused more by anxieties than by age, which makes her appear some years older, her aspect, for the rest, is very grave. Her eyes are so piercing that they inspire not only respect, but fear in those on whom she fixes them, although she is very shortsighted, being unable to read or do anything else unless she has her sight quite close to what she wishes to peruse or to see distinctly. Her voice is rough and loud, almost like a man’s, so that when she speaks she is always heard a long way off.”

“[Elizabeth] was one of the most intelligent young women in the kingdom, and she had been privileged to be taught by some of the finest minds the country, including, William Grindal and the accomplished scholar Roger Ascham. Under Ascham’s tutelage Elizabeth excelled, and her brilliant mind impressed many of her contemporaries, including her tutors. Ascham later enthusiastically praised ‘my illustrious mistress the Lady Elizabeth’ who ‘shines like a star’. John Foxe also wrote about her in complementary terms, relating that she did 'rather excel in all manner of languages, manner of virtue and knowledge’. She was particularly skilled at languages, and wrote and spoke several fluently. These included Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, and Greek.”

— Elizabeth’s Rival: The Tumultuous life of the Countess of Leicester, Nicola Tallis

Owen Tudor was born in Anglesey, Wales around 1400. Owen was born into one of the most powerful families in Wales, although like many, their influence had been greatly reduced by Edward I’s conquest and the family’s loyalty to Welsh independence. Owen was descended from Welsh kings on both sides of his family. During the Glyndwr rebellion of 1401, Owen’s father and uncles sided with Owain Glndwr as he was their maternal cousin. The Tudur brothers were loyal to the last, Owen’s uncle Rhys as executed in 1412 and their lands were confiscated by the crown, Owen’s father Maredudd disappears from record after 1405, but it would seem likely he did not live long after.

Not much is known about Owen’s early life, it has been suggested he may have been one of Welshman who served with Henry V at the battle of Agincourt, Owen was certainly in the service of the king by 1421. It is known that Owen served the young dowager queen, Catherine of Valois as her keeper of household or wardrobe. After her husband’s death Catherine lived at Leeds Castle, where she was more or less forgotten about and had no official role in her young son’s reign and was forbidden by parliament to marry again without their approval. Sometime between 1427 and 1430 Catherine and Owen fell in love and married secretly, their marriage was not made public until 1432 and was not received well, although Owen was granted the rights of an Englishman.

Owen and Catherine had 3 to 4 children, their sons, Edmund and Jasper, and it is likely they had at least one daughter Margaret who may have died young or became a nun, and a son Edward who also joined the clergy. The existence of Margaret and Edward remain inconclusive however. Catherine died in 1437, after her death Owen was left without protection and was imprisoned in Newgate which he would escaped from twice. Eventually Edmund and Jasper were received at court as their half-brother Henry VI who was very fond of them.

Owen supported Henry VI against Henry’s cousin the Duke of York, in what would become the 30- year conflict of the War of the Roses, Owen fought at the battle of Mortimer’s Cross in 1461, where he was captured and quickly and illegally put to death by Edward of York, the future Edward IV. However his grandson Henry Tudor would become the eventual victor at the Battle of Bosworth on August 22nd, 1485, making Owen the direct ancestor of every English monarch since.

“...this was in pleasant contrast to the harsh treatment she received from Anne on the few doleful occasions that she was summoned to the Concubine’s court.”

Except Mary was never summoned to the ‘Concubine’s’ (lol) court .... ?

“When Jane was Queen her persistent entreaties on behalf of Mary were the eventual cause of being allowed to return to court from Hunsdon, the latest of her many country-house retreats. On her return she was treated with much kindness, given costly jewels and in due course restored to her rightful dignity of princess; this was in pleasant contrast to the harsh treatment she received from Anne on the few doleful occasions that she was summoned to the Concubine’s court. Jane would have met Mary when she in Catherine’s service, for mother and daughter were not finally separated until the summer of 1531, and obviously she came to like, or certainly feel sorry for, this, small, rather plain and myopic girl, with something of a man’s voice and more moral courage than most men. She may have also been influenced by Mary’s devotion to the old religion, and secretly admired that unshakeable integrity, which burked all attempts to effect a full reconciliation with a father whom Mary never properly understood.”

— Ordeal by Ambition: An English family in the shadows of the Tudors by William Seymour

“Tolerant, ruthless, hesitating, bold, intensely aware, and talented to the point of genius, he was always looking for the new and the original– and he found both in Anne Boleyn.”

— The challenge of Anne Boleyn (Hester W. Chapman), [ 1974 ]

“During spring 1532, Stephen Gardiner led the unsuccessful defence of the church’s liberties against Henry VIII, a stand which probably cost him his chance of becoming archbishop of Canterbury. During summer 1532, Cranmer did something even more crazy; he got married.“ 

–Diarmaid McCulloch, Cranmer