July 2022 – Kirsten Claiden-Yardley

Becoming Elizabeth: A timeline

Watching Becoming Elizabeth, I think that most people (existing Tudor fans included) would be forgiven from coming away asking: but what are the timescales for these events? This is not a show that flashes up subtitles with the date and, with the exception of Katherine Parr’s pregnancy where we can guess the number of months, the pacing is unclear. It has also simplified some events (for example the 1549 rebellions), left lesser known individuals out and given their actions to the main cast, and moved some events around. So, if you are left wondering when the events occured, here is a select timeline of the period.

*In the interest of avoiding spoilers, the timeline currently covers only the events shown up to the end of episode 6. I will update it once the show has ended!

Top Tudor Castles (and ice cream): Part 1

England is blessed with a large number of castles (both ruined and adapted for later use) many of which are of interest to fans of the Tudor period. It is also often possible to combine two of my favourite pasttimes – visiting historic sites and eating ice cream. In this series of posts, I am going to give you run down of my favourite castles with a connection to the Tudor period (and the opportunities for eating ice cream in the local area!). This first post mostly covers northern England/Midlands, further south to follow in part 2.

Norham Castle (Northumberland)

Why should I visit? One of the most important castles in the English/Scottish border area. Between the 12th and 16th centuries, the castle was beseiged at least 13 times. In the Tudor period, it was captured by King James IV of Scotland when he invaded England in 1513. Afterward the English victory at the battle of Flodden, the castle adapted for artillery but, in the 1590s, Elizabeth I refused to spend any more money on its upkeep and it soon feel into disrepair.

Becoming Elizabeth explained: Was Elizabeth Tudor known as Princess Elizabeth

One thing I have noticed about the dialogue in Starz Becoming Elizabeth is the tendency to refer to Elizabeth as “Princess Elizabeth”, “princess”, “the princess” etc. It seem a logical choice – after all she is the daughter of a King – but is it accurate?

Becoming Elizabeth Explained: Robert and Guildford Dudley

In episode 2 of Becoming Elizabeth, we were introduced to two young men – Robert Dudley (wearing a fetching pearl earring) and his brother, Guildford. Elizabeth is shown to already know the two brothers and she introduces them to Lady Jane Grey. Robert goes on to play an important role in episode 3 when he makes Elizabeth understand her own power as the daughter of a King, and shames her for humiliating Lady Jane. Both boys have an important role in episode 5 – they are with the King when Thomas Seymour comes to steal him away, culminating in Seymour attacking Robert – and, in episode 6, Robert goes with his father to deal with rebels in Norfolk. But who were Robert and Guildford?

*In addition to this post about Guildford and Robert, you can find my post about Robert and Elizabeth here!