Cat's Historical Doodles

Catherine was born circa 1523, in Lambeth. She was one of the daughters of Lord Edmund Howard and his wife, Jocasta “Joyce” Culpeper. Her father’s sister, Elizabeth Howard, was the mother of Anne Boleyn , so Catherine and Anne were cousins. Catherine had an aristocratic pedigree, but her father was not wealthy, being a younger son among 21 children. Joyce Culpeper died circa 1528, when Catherine was aged about 5, so she was sent with some of her siblings to live in the care of her father’s stepmother, Agnes Tilney, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. Agnes presided over large households at Chesworth House and at Norfolk House, where dozens of attendants, along with her many wards, resided. While sending children to be educated and trained in aristocratic households other than their own was common for centuries among European nobles, supervision at Chesworth House and Norfolk House was apparently very lax. Agnes was often at court and it seems she had little direct involvement in the u...

Jane was born in 1536 or 1537; she was the eldest daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and his wife, Frances Grey (the eldest daughter of Mary Tudor ). Jane had two younger sisters, Catherine and Mary. Through their mother, the three sisters were great-granddaughters of King Henry VII, grandnieces of King Henry VIII , and first cousins once removed of King Edward VI, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I . Jane received a humanist education, studying Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Italian. Through the influence of her father and her tutors, she became a committed Protestant. Jane preferred books to hunting parties and regarded her strict upbringing, which was typical of the time, as harsh. In early February 1547, Jane was sent to live in the household of Edward VI’s uncle, Thomas Seymour, who soon married Henry VIII’s widow, Catherine Parr . Jane lived with them until Catherine’s death in September 1548. Lady Jane acted as chief mourner at Catherine’s funeral; Thomas Se...

Henry was born on 28 June 1491, at the Palace of Placentia. He was the third child and second son of King Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth of York . Of Henry’s six siblings, only three survived infancy: Arthur, Margaret and Mary . Henry was given a first-rate education from leading tutors, becoming fluent in Latin and French, and learning some Italian. Not much is known about his early life because he was not expected to become King. In November 1501, he played a considerable role in the ceremonies surrounding his brother’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon . In early 1502, Arthur died at the age of 15, probably of sweating sickness. Arthur’s death thrust his duties upon the 10-year old Henry. Henry VII gave the boy few tasks; Henry was strictly supervised and did not appear in public. As a result, he later ascended the throne untrained in the exacting art of kingship (in other words: spoiled) . Henry VII still wanted to seal a marital alliance between England and Spain, so he...

Catherine was born on 27 October 1401, in Paris. She was the youngest daughter of King Charles VI of France and his wife, Isabeau of Bavaria. While it has been suggested that Catherine was neglected as a child by her mother, a more modern examination of the evidence suggests otherwise. According to the financial accounts of Isabeau, toys were purchased, religious texts were provided, and Catherine was sent to a convent to receive a religious education. Early on, there had been a discussion of marrying her to Henry, son of King Henry IV of England, but the King died before negotiations could begin. In 1414, however, the now King Henry V reopened the discussion of the match. Henry V went to war with France, and even after the English victory at Agincourt, plans for the marriage continued. Catherine was said to be very beautiful and when Henry finally met her at Meulan, he became enamoured. In May 1420, a peace agreement was signed (the Treaty of Troyes) and Charles VI of Fran...

Isabel was born on 5 September 1451, at Warwick Castle, the seat of the Earls of Warwick. She was the elder daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (aka Kingmaker), and his wife Anne de Beauchamp. Isabel had a younger sister, Anne, who would become Queen of England as Richard III ’s wife. In 1469, when Isabel was 17, her ambitious father betrothed her to George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and heir presumptive to the throne of England; he was the brother of King Edward IV and the future Richard III. King Edward opposed the marriage because it would bring the already powerful Earl of Warwick too close to the throne. However, George and Isabel did get married in secret, in a ceremony in Calais on 11 July 1469. Following the marriage, George joined forces with Warwick and changed sides in the Wars of the Roses: he allied with the Lancastrians (led by Margaret of Anjou ) against his own brother and the Yorkists. When Isabel’s sister Anne married Edward of Westminst...

Anne (Danish: Anna) was born on 12 December 1574 at the castle of Skanderborg. She was the daughter of King Frederik II of Denmark and his wife, Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. Her birth came as a blow to her father, who was desperately hoping for a son. Sophie would eventually give birth to a boy, the future Christian IV. Anne and her older sister, Elizabeth, were sent to Güstrow to be raised by their maternal grandparents, the Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburg. Güstrow provided Anne with a frugal and stable life during her childhood. Christian was also sent to Güstrow to be brought up but, in 1579, he returned to Denmark with Anne and Elizabeth. Anne enjoyed a close, happy family upbringing in Denmark. Suitors from all over Europe sought the hands of Anne and Elizabeth in marriage, including King James VI of Scotland, who favoured Denmark as a reformed Kingdom. Queen Sophie was a diligent a matchmaker Sophie and, in July 1589, the agreement for a marriage with the King of Sco...

Mary was born on 18 February 1516 at the Palace of Placentia, in Greenwich. She was the only child of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon , to survive infancy. Mary was a precocious child. In July 1520, when she was barely 4 and a half years old, she entertained a visiting French delegation with a performance on the virginals. By the age of 9, Mary could read and write Latin. She studied French, Spanish, music, dance, and perhaps Greek. Mary had, like both of her parents, a very fair complexion, pale blue eyes and red or reddish-go lden hair. In 1525, Henry sent Mary to the border of Wales to preside over the Council of Wales and the Marches. She was given her own court and many of the royal prerogatives reserved for the Prince of Wales. Some called her the Princess of Wales, but she was never invested with the title. Mary spent three years in the Welsh Marches and returned in mid-1528. Throughout her childhood, Henry negotiated potential future marriages...