Book Review -- "The Royals" by Leslie Carroll

This book was a major disappointment and had major flaws in The Tudors section. First off, Henry VII was basically skipped over, no picture -- the Tudors section starts with the portrait of Elizabeth I. According to the author "Henry Tudor's blood was barely blue being five generations from Edward III" and "Henry was not born to the crown" -- the latter being true, but to skip such an important figure along with Elizabeth of York is unforgivable.

Image thought by some, uh who, to be Anne Boleyn

Another major error was the portrait of Anne Boleyn; the style of the clothes and hair is from the late 16th/early 17th century - Anne would not have worn the 'Elizabethan collar'. It may be a modern interpretation, but to use it as the sole portrait of Anne is rather odd.

I also disliked how Catherine Parr's section was full of errors and made her look like a harlot after the death of Henry VIII.

First off, there is no proof that Catherine was romantically involved [meaning sleeping with] with Thomas Seymour before the death of Lord Latimer or before the marriage of Henry and Catherine. Also, Thomas was sent away on business for the king, he didn't make himself scarce.

The statement that four out of six wives were redheads is incorrect.

Historians are not 100% sure that Catherine was part of Lady Mary's household.

The discussion of theology became a problem when Catherine started preaching to the King -- after the whole scandal they continued talking about religion, but it was more toned down.

I'm not sure where the info is coming from that Henry told his physician that he wanted to "get rid of" Catherine Parr. There were rumors, set up most likely by the Catholics at court, which also included Henry wanting to marry the Dowager Duchess of Suffolk, Queen Catherine's friend, who was even more prone to speak her mind when it came to matters of religion. There was no doctor involved in telling Queen Catherine about Henry's intentions. A warrant was drawn up which was taken to Queen Catherine. She went to King Henry arguing that she was "but a woman" and that she was merely trying to distract the King from his infirmities.

Catherine pushed Henry's wheelchair in the gardens?? The correct info has the two sitting in the garden when they were approached by Henry's guards.

The Queen Dowager, Catherine, waited a few MONTHS, not weeks, before re-entering into her "relationship" with Seymour. I don't think Catherine would have been that disrespectful, but just to be clear -- the King gave her the go ahead to re-marry who she wanted. They were thought to be married in the spring months, possibly May of that year.

Where the statement that Catherine was acting like a "trollop" came from, I would love to know. Seymour asked the King for permission to marry the Dowager Queen. Yes, Lady Mary was upset and thought Catherine should have waited a tad longer but in the two biographies I've read on Mary (Anna Whitelock and Linda Porter) she never once called Catherine a trollop. In fact, Mary disliked Seymour more than anything as he pestered her about matters of state. Mary eventually came to forgive Catherine -- Catherine received a letter from Mary while she was pregnant and Catherine named the baby girl after her step-daughter.

The stories of Seymour and Elizabeth are quite interesting and many theories have been put out there, but what actually happened in that household is another story as Elizabeth's lady, Kat Ashley, was the main contributor to the testimony. Kat herself encouraged Elizabeth to flirt with Seymour and had a crush on him herself. "But the doctor's dirty hands caused an infection"... there are many contributing factors to the fever that caused Catherine to die, much like the death of Jane Seymour. And the last sentence of Lady Jane being raised as a surrogate daughter -- she was a ward. This book and this chapter reads more like a romance novel then an actual history book.

The author put an actual biography of Catherine Parr (Susan James) within her chapter full of sources that is actually well respected; perhaps the author should have actually read the book before "quoting" it.

The chapter on The Tudors reads more like a romance novel than a history book; that might explain why the author chose the "romanticized" portrait of Anne Boleyn. No citations are given as to where the info comes from and major mistakes were made. The only good thing about the book is the reproduction of one of Anne Boleyn's letters and the letter from Katherine Howard to Master Culpepper.

One positive note the author made about Catherine Parr:

"Perhaps the most mature and educated of Henry's wives." 

So why did she paint Catherine as such a "trollop"?? You've got me! Other then that, don't waste your money. Historically inaccurate indeed!

English Ancestry of the Six Wives; descent from Edward I of England

The multiple descending lines from Edward I of England for the SIX wives of King Henry VIII:

The English descent of ALL SIX Queens consort's of Henry VIII

Yes, all six wives had English ancestry; some more than others. 

Would it surprise you to know that even Katherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves had Edward I in their pedigree? 

In fact, Katherine of Aragon descended from two wives of Prince John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, Titular King of Castile [the son of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault]; Blanche of Lancaster AND Constanza of Castile, heir to the throne of Castile.

1. Katherine of Aragon - daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile [2 times]

• By her mother, Isabella of Castile's paternal grandmother, Katherine of Lancaster, daughter of Prince John of Gaunt [son of Edward III] [and Constanza of Castile], she descended from Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
  
• By Isabella of Castile's maternal great-grandmother, Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of Prince John of Gaunt [and Blanche of Lancaster], she descended from Edward I and Eleanor of Castile. [Hampton Court Pedigree shows this line from Edward I's son, Edward II, onwards]
  

     2.  Anne Boleyn - daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn and Lady Elizabeth Howard [5 times]

• By both paternal great-great-grandparents, Sir James, 4th Earl of Ormonde and Joan Beauchamp; she descended from Edward and Eleanor's daughter Elizabeth of Rhuddlan.
  
• By her paternal great-grandmother, Anne Hankford, she descends from Elizabeth's elder sister, Joan of Acre.
  
• By her maternal [Howard] line she descended from Edward I and Eleanor; again by Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, by way of Lady Eleanor Fitzalan [wife of Sir Thomas Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk].
  
• By Sir Thomas Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, she descended from Edward I and Marguerite of France through their son, Thomas of Brotherton Plantagenet, Duke of Norfolk [Hampton Court Pedigree shows this line from Edward I's son, Thomas of Brotherton onwards]
  

     3.  Jane Seymour - daughter of Sir John Seymour and Margery Wentworth [twice]

• By her maternal great-grandmother, Hon. Margaret Clifford, whose father John Clifford, 7th Lord descended from Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
  
• By Margaret Clifford's mother, whose mother descended from Edward III of England by his second son, Lionel of Antwerp. [Hampton Court Pedigree shows this line from Edward I's son, Edward II, onward]

     4.  Anne of Cleves - daughter of John III, Duke of Cleves and Marie von Julich [twice]

• By both great-grandparents, Johan I of Cleves and Elizabeth of Nevers; who were great-grandchildren of Marguerite of Dampierre, suo jure Countess of Flanders. Marguerite was the great-granddaughter of Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant; daughter of Edward I and Eleanor. [Hampton Court Pedigree shows the lineage of Johan I of Cleves from Edward's daughter, Margaret of England]
  

     5.  Katherine Howard - daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Jocasa Culpepper [3 times]

• Like Anne Boleyn, by her paternal line [Howard] she descended from Edward I and Eleanor by, Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, by way of Lady Eleanor Fitzalan [wife of Thomas Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk].
  
• By Sir Thomas Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, she descended from Edward I and Marguerite of France through their son, Thomas of Brotherton Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Norfolk [Hampton Court Pedigree shows this line from Edward I's son, Thomas of Brotherton onwards]
• By her maternal great-great-grandfather, Sir William Ferrers, 5th Baron Groby, she descends from Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward I and Eleanor.

     6.  Katherine Parr - daughter of Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal and Maud Greene [6 times]

• By her paternal great-great-grandfather, Sir Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury; she descends from Edward I and Eleanor by their son Edward II of England. [Hampton Court Pedigree comes from this line coming from Edward I's son, Edward II onwards]
  
• By her paternal great-great-grandmother, Alice Montacute, suo jure Countess of Salisbury [wife of Sir Richard], by Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward I and Eleanor; and Edmund of Woodstock, son of Edward I and Marguerite of France.
• By her maternal great-great-grandfather, Sir Thomas Greene, Sheriff of Northamptonshire she descended from Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, daughter of Edward I and Eleanor. His wife, Lady Philippa de Ferrers also descended from Elizabeth's elder sister, Princess Joan of Acre, TWICE.
  

For more on their pedigrees, featuring the windows from Hampton Court Palace -- see also -- 

The Hampton Court Pedigrees