Eleanor of Castile was born in late 1241 as the daughter of Ferdinand III of Castile and Joan, Countess of Ponthieu. Her early years are shrouded in mystery, but we know she was present at her father’s deathbed in 1252. He was succeeded by her elder half-brother, now King Alfonso X, who was 20 years older than Eleanor. [read more]
King Henry I of England (r.1100-1135) holds the record for an English monarch with the most acknowledged illegitimate children. He is estimated to have had between 20 and 25 illegitimate children, most of them daughters. Unfortunately, not much is written of these daughters. The chroniclers seemed to care more about his illegitimate sons, especially Robert, [read more]
Read part one here. On 11 June 1509, Catherine finally became Queen of England, as the wife of King Henry VIII. Preparations immediately began for a joint coronation, and they were crowned on 24 June 1509 in Westminster Abbey. It was a happy match and Catherine was soon pregnant with her first child. On the [read more]
Matilda of Scotland was born in the late summer or early autumn of 1080 as the daughter of King Malcolm III and (Saint) Margaret of Wessex. She was christened with the name Edith. As her mother was a literate woman, it is likely that Margaret supervised Matilda’s early education. She spent part of her childhood [read more]
Queen Boudicca has captured the imaginations of countless people for hundreds of years. She has become the United Kingdom’s cultural symbol of freedom.[1] She was a famous warrior queen who led her people against a Roman revolt in 60 or 61 CE. She was a woman that had considerable influence and motivated numerous Celts in a [read more]
Matilda of Flanders was born circa 1031 as the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders and Adela of France. It is likely that she could read and write, but there is very little information on her upbringing. In 1047, William, Duke of Normandy, who was of illegitimate birth, wanted to ally himself with someone [read more]
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