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Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth: Sibling Rivalry Gone Wrong

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In honor of Siblings Day (which was on April 10, I know), I made sure I posted a pic of me with my bros and sis on Facebook. I believe in eternal families, and I feel blessed with a wonderful family—even if we disagree at times. No family’s perfect, but at the end of the day we still are bounded by blood and there’s love there.

But I’ve decided to focus this article about certain siblings in a family that no one would like to join. This is a true tale of two sisters and their little brother whose tale has been examined and analyzed endlessly.  They each became powerful rulers but at painful prices. They even denied at times that they were blood related, but there’s no question they were. The real question is did they still love each other in the end?

Presenting from eldest to youngest:

Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward.

All children of King Henry VIII’s. But with such a father figure, could the kids build lasting relationships?

Tough Tudor Love

Seventeen-year-old Mary, daughter of Katherine of Aragon, was ordered to recognize her baby sister, Elizabeth, as a princess. But Mary still recognized herself as a princess. But had a hatred been born? Not necessarily.

Mary did hold a grudge against Elizabeth’s mother, Anne Boleyn. Yet some sources say that Mary actually liked Elizabeth and gave her attention and gifts that Elizabeth lacked when their father became interested in a new woman called Jane Seymour.

Shortly after Anne’s beheading, Henry married Jane. She was able to unite Mary and Elizabeth with Henry. She was also able to give Henry a male heir named Edward. Edward’s big sisters played important roles in his life and his christening. Mary (now age 21) was named godmother and Elizabeth (at age 4) carried the chrisom. Sadly, Jane died soon after her son’s birth. Her stepdaughters probably did sympathize with Edward. Their mothers had been taken away from them too.

Katherine Parr, Henry’s sixth and final wife, is credited for bringing the family closer together. But after Henry’s death, the feelings between the Tudor siblings became increasingly shakier. Extreme sibling rivalry took swing.

Conflict of Interest

As a staunch Protestant, the young King Edward pushed to reform England to his faith. It was an especially perilous time for Catholics. Mary, a devoted and famous Catholic considered hiding outside the country. She feared for her life. The two once had been tight.  Now they found themselves in tough spots. Just because she was his sister didn’t provide her life insurance. Edward did sign the death warrant for his scheming uncle, so it was uncertain if Mary would be an exception. Understandably, she avoided court. Running out of excuses to avoid family gatherings, she made an appearance at Edward’s court in Christmas of 1550.

Edward humiliated his sister for beliefs and made her cry; in turn, he also cried. The two kissed and made up, but peace in the Tudor family lasts for only so long.

Not long after, Edward wrote to that she was breaking the law. Her known devotion to her religion was now considered treason. Edward wrote: “I have natural affection for you. Do not seek to diminish it.”

Neither changed their ways.

Toward the end of his life (age 15), Edward crossed out Mary from the line of succession and put Protestant cousin Jane Grey before his sisters.

Pardon Me

Mary rallied troops and Jane Grey was dethroned. Though her cousin was a pawn in others’ agendas, Mary was counselled to behead Jane because of her associations with conspirators.

If Mary could put her cousin to death, could she do the same to her sister?

Elizabeth quickly recognized her sister as queen.  Doubts emerged with rumors of Elizabeth being involved in a plot to dethrone her sister, and Elizabeth was sent to the Tower of London. She feared for her life. (I think this happened before.) The night before her arrest, Elizabeth pleaded her innocence in a letter to Mary and signed it, “You Highness’s most faithful subject that hath been from the beginning and will be to my end.”

That didn’t stop Mary.

Permissions to stop arrest denied, but Elizabeth was granted the finest rooms in the tower by protocol and was proclaimed free to roam in the gardens. Three months later with no proof, Mary was persuaded to let her sister go free. The damage was done, but would Mary have executed her sister?

Edward could have executed Mary but didn’t.  Mary could have executed Elizabeth but didn’t. But nothing was above the Tudors.

Revenge

When Elizabeth took the throne, she undid her sister’s Catholic reform but actually did continue Mary’s plans for fiscal reform and exploration. Sadly though, Elizabeth seemed to have encouraged propaganda that darkened her sister’s name.

But hey, Elizabeth’s reign has been described as “glorious.” Yet, it was still just as dangerous as the reigns before her. No one was safe—especially family members. Elizabeth took a page out of her siblings’ book and beheaded her Catholic cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, for possibly trying to take her” throne.

When naming her heir, though, Elizabeth named the Scots Queen’s son, James, to rule.

When Elizabeth died, the kingdom was ready for fresh faces and was delighted with a cute family to look at. The head of the family was no other than James, I of England and VI of Scotland.

Giving It a Rest

James made it a point give his mother a proper tomb at Westminster Abbey. Mary, Queen of Scots, would be proud. James made other changes in Westminster that possibly would have embarrassed others.

The Tudor sibs were already suited in Westminster Abbey, but sisters Mary and Elizabeth got shuffled into the same tomb. Maybe James was ensuring that Elizabeth kept her side of the bargain to Mary and really was faithful to her end. The tomb carries a message in Latin. The English translation is:  “Partners both in throne and grave, here rest we two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, in the hope of one resurrection.”

I wonder how awkward the family reunion after this life really was for the Tudors. Was it as bad as Christmas of 1550? One can hope the siblings cry tears of joy now. Perhaps they still attend family counseling sessions.

Best wishes to Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth. May there be a reconciliation. It would take a miracle, but it’s a miracle that three siblings each ruled England separately—and miraculously didn’t kill each other!

 

The King and I

Blog, Investigators

Readers doubted Audrey Strange’s theory that the remains of Richard III were located underneath a parking lot. She published an article in the Richard III Society’s newsletter, The Ricardian in 1975, that went against the popular belief that the controversial king had his bones thrown into the river.

I imagine the king that died in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 was cheering. The idea got picked up momentum over the years backed by research.

Finally 2012, the search to find if Richard III was really buried in a church beneath a parking lot was executed.

It took “four years of fighting” for Philippa Langley to see her goal happen. She had gathered funds and finally persuaded the Leicester City Council to grant permission to tear up a parking lot. She rallied support from the Richard III Society and stayed in contact with those who felt they had enough proof that Richard III was buried in the former Greyfriars Friary Church located underneath a parking lot in Leicester. Understandably, there were skeptics.

 

Richard Buckley of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services doubted the skeleton of a king that lived in the 1400s would be found. Even though he would “eat his hat” if King Richard III was discovered,  he stilled the join team to search for the king.

“There are people who have these great dreams of finding things. As an archaeologist, I know how many variables there are at play on an excavation. So the chances of finding Richard was a million to one,” Buckley said.

 

Before the dig was under way, Philippa checked out the neighborhood that the parking lot was meshed in. When she got to the parking lot itself, she noticed a parking space with a painted “R.”  Besides the spot being saved for a living person, Philippa had an “intuition” that Richard’s body would be close to the reserved spot. She recalled, “I got the strangest sensation when I was in that area in that place. I absolutely knew that I was standing on Richard’s grave.”

The very first day of for excavation, a skeleton buried close to the “R” was discovered.

Only minutes after discovering the first skeleton, Philippa described a “paranormal” event. “The biggest darkest cloud came over and there was this incredible, tempest. The tempest arrives the minute we discover human remains. If it was Richard, he was ready to be found. He wanted to be found.”

The days went on with additional discoveries in other trenches. Yet Philippa was sure that the skeleton the team found on day one was Richard. On day 12, Philippa met geneticist, Dr. Jo Appleby and her assistant Dr. Turi King. As Philippa watched the two work in the trench near the “R,” she felt that intuition and was relieved his exhumation would be peaceful. She then realized that it would “be carried out by women. I wonder what he would have thought of that.”

And guess what? DNA tests that corresponded with descendants from his sister Anne of York proved that the skeleton was King Richard III. Now let’s go back to possible thoughts of the king. My theory: gratitude, shock, and awe. Maybe relieved that the men were also involved but still shocked that it had been women who had contributed greatly to his discovery.

Yet, he wouldn’t be altogether surprised.

Richard III’s queen, Anne Neville, showed she was also diligent and aggressive.  Stay in tune to read how Anne Neville was the businesswoman version of Cinderella.

Oh! And p.s.! The doubtful Richard Buckley graciously ate a baked cake shaped like a hat.

Sources: Smithsonian’s Richard III documentary, The King’s Grave by Philippa Langley, Michael Jones

 Featured image of Langley with the reconstructed face of Richard III fromhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Other images from:
http://nerdalicious.com.au/
http://www.richardiii.net/

 

 

Shared Names and Letters

Blog, My Family

I hear my mom’s voice.

“Sarah! Come here! You have got to see this!”

Common comments from my mom preparing for a biography lesson for Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. Though I have mixed feelings about the club, I like how it motivates my mom and others to be detectives. The poor and limited material the members are given causes my mom to really search for the facts. Through her diligence, women in the past have been brought back.

Besides, it’s entertaining seeing Mom getting excited about new discoveries. So during a “come here” moment, she introduced me to Sarah Gordon Guymon. She pointed to a brown and white picture of an old woman on the computer screen. “She shares your name,” my mom announced.

Was I supposed to be excited? It looked like the typical photograph of the olden days that is easy to find online. After I received further information bit by bit, I felt honored to share our first name.

Sarah crossed the plains to Utah at age 59! Wow. I really don’t hear about those kind of success stories especially considering she lived years after she reached the Salt Lake Valley.

Another “come here” moment came when my mom discovered that my dad’s direct ancestor, Hannah Patten, was only one of the few women over 59 in the wagon company. She was 63. No doubt they knew each other. Sometimes you just get those feelings.

I came to know Sarah more when my mom showed me some of her letters. At first, I thought I was in for an “oh that’s nice” moment. But the letters really brought life. The letters were addressed to her sons who didn’t join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and therefore, didn’t head west with Sarah and others in the family. She expressed how much she missed them but wanted them to join her if they thought if the trek was worth it.

Sarah understood the principles of her faith. The importance of family, but individuals using their agency. Giving love ones a choice is a Christlike example I hope to emulate.Right then, I knew I wanted to share those same characteristics.Like sharing her name, wouldn’t it be an honor to share those traits?

Thank goodness for people like Mom who really want to know the person behind the name. Such people deserve gratitude. I’m sure that the individual who has passed on wants to give such people an award.

 

 

Featured image: pixabay.com