Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Death of Prince Arthur

Because of the sudden death of a young boy the course of history was changed forever.
Although the Prince, who was fifteen remains a somewhat anonymous figure, his death was to prove one of the most momentous or portentous in English history. As a result the succession passed to his brother, the future King Henry VIII, and even more significantly, led to that King's marriage to Arthur's widow, Catherine of Aragon.

There is an online life of the Prince here and the Oxford DNB life by Rosemary Horrox can be read here.

From his surviving portraits the Prince sometimes appears, like his younger brother, to have taken after his mother's family in his appearance and as an adult King Henry VIII looks to have resembled King Edward IV. (Read entire post.)
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2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thought you would appreciate this: http://justanotheramericaninparis.blogspot.com/2010/10/passage-de-la-reine-de-hongrie.html

Also, have you ever considered writing a book on the spiritual life at Versailles? It would be fascinating to read about the devotional practices, liturgies, sins and conversions of those at court. Not to mention, the attempt of Her Majesty to reform the morals of her subjects.

Would also love some more information on the Duchesse de Char. She seems to be an obscure figure.

I fully enjoy reading your blog.

elena maria vidal said...

Thank you for the link and the kind words. My novel TRIANON deals with all the things you suggest. I have never heard of the Duchesse de Char, so sorry.