12 Days of a Tudor Giveaway Day 11

Day 11

First off, sorry that there is no pictures of the prizes today, I cannot get them to load.



Day 10 Winner is: Beth. Please send your mailing address to:
newroyalreviews at yahoo dot com

Each Tudor had something distinctive to add to this dynasty. Henry VIII believed that he needed a great war so history would remember him for all eternity. He didn’t get his great war, but be did become the King most people remember. Can you imagine what he would think if he could see the Tudor phenomenon that is going on.

On to your Tudor questions:


Liz-Do you think Edward's death was natural?
History records Edward as being a ‘strong and healthy baby’ and he remained so until his fifteenth year.

In January 1553, Edward became ill with a fever and cough that continued to worsen. The Imperial Ambassador, Scheyfve reported that “he suffers a good deal when the fever is upon him, especially from a difficulty in drawing his breath, which is due to the compression of the organs on the right side ...”, although by early April the boy king was feeling well enough to move from Westminster to Greenwich. Yet, April ended with him once again falling ill. May 7th the royal doctors recorded the he was “much amended” and was seen looking out of the window watching ships glide along the Thames.

June 11 Scheyfve reported that his was spitting up phlegm that was stained with blood. The royal doctors now believed he was suffering from “a suppurating tumor” of the lung and admitted that Edward was beyond recovery.

July 1st Edward made his last appearance in public, when he appeared at the window in Greenwich Palace. Those who saw Edward said that he was “thin and wasted”. 5 days later he died.

The cause of Edward’s death is not certain and this left many to remark that he was poisoned, although no evidence has been found to support that theory. The surgeon who examined Edwards’s body found that “the disease whereof his majesty died was the disease of the lungs”. Which led the Venetian ambassador to report that Edward died of consumption, which is the diagnosis accepted by a vast majority of historians. Given that Edward had contracted measles and smallpox the previous year, which had lowered his ability to fight off diseases, tuberculosis would have been a plausible diagnosis.

If we take into account his mother, Jane’s inability to fight off infection, Edward may have inherited a faulty immune system that was unable to fully fight off diseases. His pale colouring, may also hint at anemia which lowers the immune system considerably.


Cheryl Esselman-Do you think Princess Mary was mentally unstable during her reign as queen?


Mary lived a life of never knowing if she was going to survive from one hour to the next. First she was the pearl of her father’s world, then she was cast out, then halfway accepted back into his life. Because her life was on the line so many times, she became overly leery of people and extremely paranoid. But, you must remember that both her father and grandfather suffered from paranoia. Add into the mix a husband who professed his love for her sister and was looking for any reason to get rid of her, a string of failed pregnancies as well as her obsession to reverse the changes her father made all the while trying to keep her mother’s Spanish habits alive, and you have an unstable combination.


While her reign was extensively recorded, those recording were extremely biased depending on the recorders religious persuasion. Catholic recorders portray her as a saintly queen who could do no wrong. Reformers recorded her as a murderous villain who could do no right. What we are lacking is a nonbiased view of Mary, so often historians are left to pick one side or another, and I believe that gives us a skewed portrayal of the woman she actually was.

Theses are the facts that both sides agree upon:

Mary lived a life of never knowing if she was going to survive from one hour to the next. First she was the pearl of her father’s world, then she was cast out, then halfway accepted back into his life. Because her life was on the line so many times, she became overly leery of people and extremely paranoid. But, you must remember that both her father and grandfather suffered from paranoia. Add into the mix a husband who professed his love for her sister and was looking for any reason to get rid of her, a string of failed pregnancies as well as her obsession to reverse the changes her father made all the while trying to keep her mother’s Spanish habits alive, and you have an unstable combination.

Mary had an unlucky reign, and it was said that during her time as queen England had the worst weather ever recorded. She found herself repeating her parents marriage and her desire to please her husband and provide an heir took precedence over matters of State.

Was she mentally unstable? At times I believe so. But, I also believe that she was her father’s daughter without his ability to rule. Her top focus was an heir yet she was too in love with Philip to away with him like Henry had done in his quest for an heir. She was also in love with a man who didn’t love her back.

Mary was the first woman to successfully claim the throne of England and I have to wonder what would have been recorded if it had have been a man making the choices she made.

When Mary died John White, Bishop of Winchester, had this to say at her funeral:



praised Mary: "She was a King's daughter; she was a King's sister; she was a King's wife. “She was a Queen, and by the same title a King also."

I will answer these questions tomorrow as they go along with the last giveaway:

Gisele Alv- I know that Elizabeth never got married but is there any information about if she at least once, fell in love?

Carol L.- I wonder if her and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester were ever involved or were in love?


Today’s giveaway is:

Philippa Gregory Pack:

The Constant Princess
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Boleyn Inheritance
The Queen’s Fool
The Virgin’s lover
The Other Queen
The White Queen
The Read Queen




The books were kindly donated by a small bookshop called “Write To Read”


Today’s Rules:
1. Leave a comment with your name and an answer to the questions:

Lets have a little fun. If you were casting the Tudors, what actor/actress would play them?

Tudor Trivia: Do you have a Tudor-related question? If so, then this is your time to ask it. Questions will be answered in the last post.

2. Giveaway Worldwide.
3. You do not need to leave your email address as the winner will be announced the next day. The winner will also be announced on the right side of the blog under the Royal Winners banner. You have until the 23rd to respond with your shipping address. You may want to subscribe to Royal Reviews via feed burner which is located in left side of the blog so that the winners and new giveaways will be sent directly to your inbox.
4. Followers will receive an extra entry so make sure you let us know if you follow us. You will also receive an extra entry if you post about the giveaway.