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Eleanor of Aquitaine part 7: Eleanor and Her Sons Rebel Against Henry II
As Henry, the eldest son of Eleanor and Henry II reaches his late teen years, he becomes increasingly incensed that his father is not allowing him to rule the lands of his inheritance. When Henry II promises castles in Anjou to his...
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Lady Jane Grey part 7: Lord Guildford Wants to Be King
Lady Jane and her husband, Lord Guildford have a blazing row after entering the castle. Guildford makes it known that he expects to co-rule as King while Jane does not want to promote him above a Duke. The disagreement causes tension...
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Lady Mary Grey part 3: Conditions Worsen for Lady Mary and Thomas Keyes
The birth of Mary Queen of Scots' son, James renewed pressure on Elizabeth I to either marry, or declare Lady Katherine Grey her successor. Meanwhile, Thomas Keyes' condition worsened and Lady Mary was moved house arrest at to her step...
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Lady Jane Grey part 9: Jane's Supporters Turn Against Her
Support for Queen Jane was low, even among Protestants. Members of her council slipped quietly out of the castle. Her sister's father-in-law, the Early of Pembroke went so far as to seek an anullment for his son's marriage to distance...
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Elizabeth I of England part 5: Search for a Husband and the Cult of Virginity
Politics, religion, and bad publicity complicated Elizabeth I's attempts to find a husband. Robert Dudley, the man she fell in love with was married when they met. He later became single but was thought to have murdered his wife, which...
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Lady Jane Grey part 11: Queen Mary Pardons Jane's Supporters
Jane may have only been queen for a few days, but she was about to become a legend amongst the Protestants of England. Jane, her husband, and her mother-in-law languished in prisons around London as they waited for Mary to arrive and...
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Lady Jane Grey part 3: Marriage and Path to the Thrown
In 1553, Jane was betrothed to Lord Guildford Dudley, the fourth son of the Duke of Northumberland. This match was not great for Jane as fourth sons stood to inherit little from their family's estate, but was a very advantageous...
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Lady Mary Grey part 2: Imprisonment and the Fury Elizabeth I
Already feeling threatened by her cousin Mary Queen of Scots' recent marriage, Elizabeth I unleashed the full power of her anger on the Lady Mary and Thomas Keyes. Lady Mary Grey was condemned to the more favorable sentence of house...
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Elizabeth I of England part 2: the Thomas Seymour Scandal
After the death of her father, Elizabeth went to live with her stepmother, Katherine Parr and Katherine's new husband, Thomas Seymour. Thomas' attentiveness to teenage Elizabeth soon drew suspicion from Katherine and started rumors....
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Eleanor of Aquitaine part 11: Final Years
John I and Phillip II of France continue to battle on and off. Arthur, Duke of Brittany and Geoffrey's son, rebels and attempts to take more territory. Eleanor is captured but John's forces set her free and capture Arthur and Hugh IX of...
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Lady Jane Grey part 16: a Protestant Martyr
The young Lady Jane and Lord Guildford are beheaded. Mary attempts to convert Jane to Catholicism before hear death, but Jane refuses. Her deep and outspoken commitment to her protestant faith preserved Jane's legacy as a martyr for...
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Elizabeth I of England part 7: the Queen's Legacy
By the time Elizabeth I died in 1603, public opinion of her was mixed. She had quelled religious tensions and defeated the Spanish Armada, however, the brutal and bloody tactics of her military stained her memory and the country was in a...
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Elizabeth I of England part 1: Early Life at Hatfield House
Elizabeth I of England, daughter of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII, is a renown and popular leader of the country who ruled through peace and war. When she was just two years old, her father had her mother beheaded and quickly married...
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Lady Mary Grey part 6: the Plague Ends the Grey Family's Royal Line
At the age of 33, Lady Mary fell ill with plague and died, ending the legacy of the Grey family. Lady Mary died young, as her sisters had but, unlike her sisters, she was able to live a life of relative freedom in her later years.
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Lady Jane Grey part 15: Wyatt's Rebellion
During the mid-1500s, England was caught in a theological battle between Protestants and Catholics. While Jane and the Greys were dependant on the Catholic Queen Mary to spare their lives, they were simultaneously plotting to preserve...
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Lady Jane Grey part 6: a Challenge from Princess Mary and Stuggle for Public Support
The possibility of Lady Jane Grey becoming the next Queen of England and Ireland makes many people uneasy. She soon receives a letter from Princess Mary declaring that Mary was the rightful queen and demanding that the Privy Council...
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Lady Jane Grey part 10: Queen Jane's Rule Comes to an End
Jane's father, Henry Grey, declares his support for Princess Mary, then informs Jane that her short rule is ending. Jane and her parents hope to cast the blame on only the Duke of Northumberland and his family. This seems increasingly...
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Lady Jane Grey part 8: Princess Mary and Lady Jane Prepare for War
Jane condemns Princess Mary's religion, Catholicism, but knows that this alone will not be enough. She sends an army to capture Mary and encourage people to join their cause in towns along the way. They soon find, however, that towns are...
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Royal Ghosts part 2: Katherine Howard
Katherine Howard became the fifth wife of Henry VIII when she was a teenager and he was in his late 40s. Henry soon grew suspicious of Katherine's friendships with other men, particularly her relationship with Thomas Culpepper. Katherine...
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Royal Ghosts part 1: Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn was a talented and attractive young lady who became the second wife of King Henry VIII. After a few years of marriage without a son, Henry VIII began looking for a new wife and a way to get rid of Anne. in 1536, she was...
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Elizabeth I of England part 4: Religious Tolerance and Choosing a Successor
Calming the tension between Protestants and Catholics was important to Elizabeth I of England. She re-instituted the Church of England as the country's chosen church but repealed strict heresy laws and permitted people to practice...
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Lady Jane Grey part 5: Queen of England
On July 8th, 1533, Jane was crowned as Queen of England at the age of 16. She unexpectedly and dramatically threw herself to the floor and sobbed as her parents and in-laws bent the knee to her. Was this the behaviour of a naive young...
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Lady Jane Grey part 4: Lady Jane AND Her Heirs Male
Just before his death, Edward VI made a small but important change to his will that ruled Jane's mother, Frances out of the succession and moved Jane next in line to the thrown. The fact that Jane and her sisters were born in England,...
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Lady Jane Grey part 13: the Duke of Northumberland is Beheaded
Queen Mary arrives in London. John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland goes on trial. Ironically, most of the people deciding his fate had also originally pledged allegiance to Jane. Though he is spared being drawn and quartered, the Duke of...