When all of history sits on your doorstep,
the adventures never end!
A Serialised Novel suggested by Readers
The adventurous siblings in our story are inspired by the three children of Henry VIII: Mary, Elizabeth and Edward Tudor were restrained by the royal realities of their time, so we decided to set them free - and give them a bit of fun!
Here’s how we’ve diverted from the Grim Tudor Truth:
In our story, Mary is only a few years older than Elizabeth. Actually, she was 17 when Elizabeth was born. By that time Henry had divorced Mary’s mum (Catherine of Aragon) for Elizabeth’s mum (Anne Boleyn).
Confused? You’re right to be! It can seem like a bad case of revolving doors when you learn about Henry VIII’s wives in school. They seem to get ‘voted’ in and out like contestants on Love Island! Actually, Henry was married to his first wife for almost 24 years – that’s nearly quarter of a century before Henry dumped Catherine of Aragon for Anne Boleyn.
Before getting hitched to Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon was married to another bloke: Henry's’ Brother! Yep, Henry had a big brother Arthur, who was super flash and loved by everyone, and destined to make The World's Most Glorious King. Except he caught a mystery illness and died when he was only 15. 15 years old?! Yep, they married young in Tudor England. Not a bad idea when there was a mystery illness round every corner...)
When Henry divorced Mary’s mother, Mary went from being heir to the throne and Top Tudor Teen Star to having to serve as a Lady in Waiting to her screaming baby half-sister Elizabeth. Mary cried for days, and to be honest, we can’t blame her. (We’d have thrown a broom at least).
But hey, it was a royal roundabout in Henry VIII’s reign, and soon Princess Elizabeth was also in disgrace, what with Henry Chopping Her Mum's Head Off. Let the marital mayhem begin!
Here’s the full list of Henry VIII’s wives. (Spoiler alert: There’s six of them – and they’re mostly called Catherine!)
Catherine of Aragon: Divorced
Anne Boleyn: Beheaded
Jane Seymour: Died
Anne of Cleves: Divorced
Catherine Howard: Beheaded
Catherine Parr: Survived!
Now the super cunning among you will have spotted this is where our story veers Wildly off the truth! Because we’ve kept all Henry’s ex-wives hanging out together at court. Partly because we do Not condone chopping heads off anyone. But (let’s be honest) mostly because it makes for more fun. Think of them as the Spice Girls but with worse teeth and a smattering of Latin.
Jane Seymour died 12 days after having Edward. He gained the throne he was only 9. He was a KS2 King! Imagine getting into Year 5, and being told you have to do fractions, spellings and, oh yeh, rule the country.
In the end, he only got to reign for 6 years before tuberculosis (a nasty lung disease) finished him off. But not before he made it clear he Didn't want either of his sisters to take over. Bit harsh! He left the crown to another teenager, Lady Jane Grey, because she was a strict Protestant like him. Poor Jane only lasted 9 days before losing her head (literally). When Mary finally made it on to the throne, the people loved her! It didn’t last...
She was a strict Catholic (when lots of people in England were starting to be Protestant). Mary believed God wanted her to marry Philip of Spain. Which didn’t make up for the fact no-one in England did.
Mary knew lots of people wanted her popular (Protestant) younger sister on the throne, so she imprisoned her in the Tower of London. But Elizabeth got off lightly: Mary had 300 people burnt at the stake in her 5 year reign. No wonder she’s earned the nickname Bloody Mary!
But we’ve got to remember that history was written by all the Protestants who came afterwards. In fact, Henry VIII executed up to 57, 000 poor sods in his 36 year reign. And Elizabeth had nearly 2.5k executed (though only 5 by burning. Phew).
Mary has got a bad rap in history, so we’ve written her as a bright girl desperate for opportunities to learn and experiment. We’ve made Edward weedy but with a mischievous glint in his spectacles. And we’ve made Elizabeth desperate for adventures. In reality, she sent explorers off to cross the globe (and play pirate!) while she was stuck at home in a whalebone corset fending off suitors like the French Duc D’Anjou (who she called her little ‘frog’. We’re guessing he didn’t look like Chris Hemsworth). So we’ve let her escape and explore for herself.
Elizabeth went from this...
To this – Some glow-up!
That’s how we’ve re-written history. Give it a go, and send your stories in. Or supply us with more Terrific Tudor Facts, and we’ll see if we can weave them in to chapters to come!
The adventurous siblings in our story are inspired by the three children of Henry VIII: Mary, Elizabeth and Edward Tudor were restrained by the royal realities of their time, so we decided to set them free - and give them a bit of fun!
Here’s how we’ve diverted from the Grim Tudor Truth:
In our story, Mary is only a few years older than Elizabeth. Actually, she was 17 when Elizabeth was born. By that time Henry had divorced Mary’s mum (Catherine of Aragon) for Elizabeth’s mum (Anne Boleyn).
Confused? You’re right to be! It can seem like a bad case of revolving doors when you learn about Henry VIII’s wives in school. They seem to get ‘voted’ in and out like contestants on Love Island! Actually, Henry was married to his first wife for almost 24 years – that’s nearly quarter of a century before Henry dumped Catherine of Aragon for Anne Boleyn.
Before getting hitched to Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon was married to another bloke: Henry's’ Brother! Yep, Henry had a big brother Arthur, who was super flash and loved by everyone, and destined to make The World's Most Glorious King. Except he caught a mystery illness and died when he was only 15. 15 years old?! Yep, they married young in Tudor England. Not a bad idea when there was a mystery illness round every corner...)
When Henry divorced Mary’s mother, Mary went from being heir to the throne and Top Tudor Teen Star to having to serve as a Lady in Waiting to her screaming baby half-sister Elizabeth. Mary cried for days, and to be honest, we can’t blame her. (We’d have thrown a broom at least).
But hey, it was a royal roundabout in Henry VIII’s reign, and soon Princess Elizabeth was also in disgrace, what with Henry Chopping Her Mum's Head Off. Let the marital mayhem begin!
Here’s the full list of Henry VIII’s wives. (Spoiler alert: There’s six of them – and they’re mostly called Catherine!)
Catherine of Aragon: Divorced
Anne Boleyn: Beheaded
Jane Seymour: Died
Anne of Cleves: Divorced
Catherine Howard: Beheaded
Catherine Parr: Survived!
Now the super cunning among you will have spotted this is where our story veers Wildly off the truth! Because we’ve kept all Henry’s ex-wives hanging out together at court. Partly because we do Not condone chopping heads off anyone. But (let’s be honest) mostly because it makes for more fun. Think of them as the Spice Girls but with worse teeth and a smattering of Latin.
Jane Seymour died 12 days after having Edward. He gained the throne he was only 9. He was a KS2 King! Imagine getting into Year 5, and being told you have to do fractions, spellings and, oh yeh, rule the country.
In the end, he only got to reign for 6 years before tuberculosis (a nasty lung disease) finished him off. But not before he made it clear he Didn't want either of his sisters to take over. Bit harsh! He left the crown to another teenager, Lady Jane Grey, because she was a strict Protestant like him. Poor Jane only lasted 9 days before losing her head (literally). When Mary finally made it on to the throne, the people loved her! It didn’t last...
She was a strict Catholic (when lots of people in England were starting to be Protestant). Mary believed God wanted her to marry Philip of Spain. Which didn’t make up for the fact no-one in England did.
Mary knew lots of people wanted her popular (Protestant) younger sister on the throne, so she imprisoned her in the Tower of London. But Elizabeth got off lightly: Mary had 300 people burnt at the stake in her 5 year reign. No wonder she’s earned the nickname Bloody Mary!
But we’ve got to remember that history was written by all the Protestants who came afterwards. In fact, Henry VIII executed up to 57, 000 poor sods in his 36 year reign. And Elizabeth had nearly 2.5k executed (though only 5 by burning. Phew).
Mary has got a bad rap in history, so we’ve written her as a bright girl desperate for opportunities to learn and experiment. We’ve made Edward weedy but with a mischievous glint in his spectacles. And we’ve made Elizabeth desperate for adventures. In reality, she sent explorers off to cross the globe (and play pirate!) while she was stuck at home in a whalebone corset fending off suitors like the French Duc D’Anjou (who she called her little ‘frog’. We’re guessing he didn’t look like Chris Hemsworth). So we’ve let her escape and explore for herself.
Elizabeth went from this...
To this – Some glow-up!
That’s how we’ve re-written history. Give it a go, and send your stories in. Or supply us with more Terrific Tudor Facts, and we’ll see if we can weave them in to chapters to come!
That’s how we’ve re-written history. Give it a go, and send your stories in. Or supply us with more Terrific Tudor Facts, and we’ll see if we can weave them in to chapters to come!
Email us to get more ideas for history fun. BE FIRST to read new Nick in Time chapters as we write ‘em!
Email us to get more ideas for history fun. BE FIRST to read new Nick in Time chapters as we write ‘em!
