Cat's Historical Doodles

Diana Frances Spencer was born on 1 July 1961, in Sandringham. She was part of the Spencer family, a family of British nobility with royal ancestry. Diana was the fourth child of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and Frances Roche. She grew up in Park House, part of the Sandringham estate, and was educated in England and Switzerland. In 1975, Diana's father inherited the title of Earl Spencer and she became known as Lady Diana Spencer. Diana came to prominence in February 1981, when her engagement to Charles, Prince of Wales, was announced to the world. Their wedding took place at St Paul's Cathedral on 29 July 1981 and reached a global television audience of over 750 millions of people. Diana was 20 years old and Charles was 32 years old. During her marriage, she took the titles of Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay and Countess of Chester. Diana and Charles had two sons: William, born on 21 June 1982; and Henry (aka Harry), born on 15 September ...

Margaret of Anjou (French: Marguerite) was born in 23 March 1430 in Lorraine, and she was the second eldest daughter of René of Anjou and his wife, Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine. She was Queen of England by virtue of her marriage with Henry VI of England and was one of the key figures of the Wars of the Roses; at times, she even led the Lancastrian faction personally. Henry VI suffered from frequent bouts of insanity, leaving Margaret to rule the kingdom in his place. It was Margaret who called for the Great Council in May 1455 that excluded the Yorkist faction. This provided the spark that would later ignite a civil conflict that lasted for more than thirty years, decimated England’s nobility and caused the deaths of thousands of men. One of the men fallen during the Wars of the Roses was her own son, Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. After the Lancastrian defeat at Tewkesbury, the victorious Yorkist faction took Margaret prisoner and...

Isabella (French: Isabelle) was born in 1295 in France, and was daughter of Philip IV of France and his wife, Joan I of Navarre. She was notable at her time for her beauty, diplomatic skills and intelligence. At the age of 12, she was sent to England to marry Edward II and become Queen of England; when she arrived, England was going through a period of conflict between the King and the baronial factions. In the early years of her reign, Isabella supported Edward and the patronage of Piers Galveston, his favourite, while bolstering her own authority and power. After the death of Galveston, Edward turned to a new favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger, and together they attempted to take revenge on the barons for the death of his favourite - resulting in the Despenser War. At this point, Edward and Isabella's marriage was at a breaking point (she couldn't stand Despenser) and she travelled to France under the guise of a diplomatic mission. While in France, Isabella began...

Margaret was born on 14 August 1473, in Somerset. She was the only surviving daughter of George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, and his wife, Isabel Neville. Her mother and her younger brother, Richard, died when Margaret was only three. When Margaret was 5, her father was caught plotting against the King, Edward IV. He was arrested and executed, and his titles and lands were forfeited. After the death of Edward IV, her uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, declared the King's marriage null and void, and all the children illegitimate. Richard himself ascended to the throne as Richard III . During Richard's reign, Margaret and her brother, Edward, lived in Sheriff Hutton Castle, in Yorkshire. Richard III died in the Battle of Bosworth, defeated by Henry Tudor. Henry succeeded him as Henry VII and ended the Wars of the Roses by uniting the houses of Lancaster and York. He married Margaret's cousin, Elizabeth of York , and Margaret and Edward were taken into their c...

Madeleine of Valois was born on 10 August 1520. She was the fifth child of King Francis I of France and his wife, Claude . She was a frail child and her father, fearing for her health, sent her to live in the warm Loire Valley. She was raised by her aunt, Marguerite of Navarre, until her father’s second marriage, when his second wife, Eleanor of Austria, took her into her household. Three years before Madeleine’s birth, the Franco-Scottish Treaty of Rouen was made to bolster the Auld Alliance after Scotland’s defeat at the battle of Flodden: in this treaty, it was included a marriage to a French Princess for the Scottish King. A marriage was planned between James V of Scotland and Madeleine. However, as Madeleine’s health was frail, another French bride was proposed: Mary of Bourbon. Mary was then contracted to marry the Scottish King and he travelled to France in 1536 to meet her, but smitten with the delicate Madeleine, he asked Francis I for her hand instead. Initially, Francis ...

Costa Nova is located on the west coast of Portugal, in the district of Aveiro. The ex-libris of this place are, of course, the colourful haystacks. Once used by fishermen to store their fishing material, they are used now as beach houses.

Sebastião was born in Lisbon on 20 January 1554. He was the son of João Manuel, Prince of Portugal, and his wife, Joanna of Austria. When his father died, Sebastião was still in his mother’s womb. This left the kingdom startled: João Manuel was the only son of the King, João III, and the succession was dependant on the birth of baby Sebastião. There was no shortage of heirs to the throne in Portugal. The real problem was, because of the marriage of Maria Manuela of Portugal and Philip II of Spain, the Kingdom would be inherited by their son, Carlos. This would mean the union of Portugal and Spain, thing that all Portuguese dreaded. Eighteen days after the death of João Manuel, Joanna went into labour and 20 January 1554, Sebastião was born and the news were received with happiness and prayers. Because people looked forward to his birth so the dynasty would be secure, he received the nickname of T he Desired One . Sebastião was a bright and lovely boy; tall, slim and blond, he...

Anne was born on 6 February 1665, during the reign of Charles II, her uncle. She was the fourth child of James, Duke of York and his first wife, Anne Hyde. Anne had seven siblings but only she and her sister Mary survived childhood. Anne and Mary grew up in their own establishment at Richmond and were raised as Protestants. In 1673, the Duke of York’s conversion to Catholicism became public and he married a Catholic princess, Mary of Modena. They didn't have any living children and Mary and Anne were second and third in the line of succession after their father. King Charles started to look for a suitor for Anne. An eligible prince was needed and Prince George of Denmark was chosen. Anne and George married on 28 July 1683. Though it was an arranged marriage, they were faithful and devoted to one another. In 1685, Charles died and Anne’s father became James II and VII. To everyone’s consternation, James started favouring Catholics. Anne shared everyone’s concern and conti...