History is the Name, Fashion is the Game

Kathrine Parr (Unknown Author, National Portrait Gallery) Katherine Parr was the final wife of Henry VIII, famous for being the one wife who “survived” and was not divorced or beheaded. Many give her the label of a nursemaid, step mother, and boring last wife but Katherine was so much more than that. She loved fine clothes, music, dancing, and most importantly education and religion. She is the first woman and Queen in England to write a book under her own name. In many ways I think she is a perfect mixture of qualities that Henry’s first two wives, Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn had. She was smart, strong, and kind her great tragedy is that when she could finally marry the man of her dreams he betrayed her and when she could finally have a child of her own, it cost her life.   I think Katherine’s unyielding compassion, patience, and kindness for others cannot be understated and it is something I greatly admire her for. She was a happy, optimistic person who for a sh...

 Jane Grey (The Streatham portrait believed to be a copy of a contemporary portrait of Lady Jane Grey, 1590) Lady Jane Grey is one of my personal favorite Tudor women; she was highly intelligent for her age and a major bookworm. She was strong and independent making it is such a great tragedy that her life was cut so short. She was caught up in a game of thrones against Mary I, ironically, a woman who was just a steadfast and true to her own religion as Jane was. Funny how they had such similar qualities but they fell on opposites sides of the war when it came to religion. Not much is known about her life and later historians and influential people would paint her to fit into a certain mold but I believe Jane broke molds. Regardless, she was fierce in the face of adversity and proudly stood up for what she believed in which earned her the title of a protestant martyr. Many would claim Jane was an innocent victim but I believe she was a strong young woman in her own r...

 Anne Boleyn ( Anne Boleyn by Unknown English artist late 16th century, based on a work of circa 1533-1536, National Portrait Gallery) I will start off my month of bad-ass and inspirational women with the woman who first started my love of the Tudor period and inspired me to research further into history and that woman is Anne Boleyn.   Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I have been massively in love with Anne; her story, her character, her being, since I was in eighth grade. I still remember the moment in World History when my teacher, Mrs. Butler, talked about how Anne had come to England on a boat from France. How when she came to England, the King had been so determined to have her that he changed the world to get her. I still remember that, and the clear mental image I had in my head in that moment of a girl stepping off a boat into England, unknowingly about to change the world.   I have loved her since that moment and maybe it’s because I saw s...