historicall.y

After the reign of Mary I 1553- 1558, the infamous queen was nicknamed: Bloody Mary. This is because, during her five year rule, she executed a rough recording of 280 'heretics'. A 'heretic' is a person that openly disagrees with the religion of a country and its ruler.  However, her father Henry VIII had a 38 year reign with an estimated 72, 000 people he executed, yet he is not remembered because of how many people he had put to death.  If Queen Mary burnt 280 Protestants in her five year reign, then she executed roughly fifty- six people per year and about four people each month. Compare those statistics to King Henry who executed about 1, 894 people every year then about 157 people a month. Please remember that these are average statistics. Maybe people remember her as 'bloody' because of the short length of her reign? Mary's beliefs of Catholicism at that time was that, after her younger brother Edward VI had England converted to Protestantism...

Ancient Greek wedding The common age of marriage for a Greek girl was thirteen to about sixteen years old; their husband would probably be about thirty years of age and they would be chosen by the bride's father. When a girl went to be marry, she had to bring a gift or dowry for the husband- to- be and their family. The day before the girl would be married, she would have to go to the temple to sacrifice her toys to the goddess Artemis. This showed that the girl was no longer a girl but a woman, ready to wed a man. Toys that Greek girls usually played with were dolls made out of wax, clay and wood; some even had mobile arms and legs. Some also had pottery figures.  Girls would not receive any education because the ancient Greek views were that girls did not need to be learned to be good wives. Their mothers would teach them how to weave, cook and do housework.      Some girls were able to read and write a little bit but that was very rare.

Lady Maud Parr (née Green) was born in Northamptonshire on 6th April 1492. Her mother was Joan Fogge and her Sir Thomas Green. Joan Fogge was the daughter of Elizabeth Woodville's first cousin- Lady Alice Fogge, who was one of Queen Elizabeth's five ladies- in- waiting. Maud's mother died when she was an infant.  When she was about sixteen, Maud was married to Sir Thomas Parr, son of Sir William Parr. The couple had three surviving children, one of which was Catherine Parr who went on to be the sixth wife of King Henry VIII. In 1512 Maud gave birth to her first surviving child, a daughter whom she named Catherine, quite possibly after her mistress Catherine of Aragon, who also became the baby's godmother. During a sweating sickness epidemic of 1517, Thomas Parr passed away leaving Maud a widow at twenty- five with three young children.  In the court of Henry VIII, Maud was a favourite and trusted lady- in- waiting to Catherine of Aragon. When the queen establ...

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Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often in his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair declined, By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed; But thy internal summer shall not fade, Or loose possession of that fair thou ow'st, Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st. So long as men can breathe, or eyes to see, So long lives this and gives life to thee.

A fictional illustration of the trial of Rebecca Nurse Between February of 1692 and May 1693 a witch finding hysteria that occurred in Massachusetts, America. These are known as the Salem witch trials because a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several old women in the colony. The trials resulted in twenty executions, one of the so called 'witches' was seventy- one years old Rebecca Nurse. Rebecca Nurse was a devout Christian and a kindly family woman, as well as being the pillar of the community. She was born in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk and went on the Mayflower voyage to New England (aka America). Rebecca's parents were William and Joanna Towne. William and Joanna also had three other daughters- Susan (died aged five), Mary (executed alongside her sister during the Salem witch trials) and Sarah (who was also convicted but survived and defended her innocent sisters but failed and was excommunicated along with the Nurses); th...

Six years after winning the Battle of Bosworth Field, Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth of York- daughter of Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV- had their third child and second son: Prince Henry. Prince Henry was born on 28th June 1491 in the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London. No one expected the royal baby to ever become king because he had an older brother- Prince Arthur, prince of Wales. But Prince Arthur passed away in 1502 from suspected sweating sickness but it may also have been typhoid. Henry grew up as the 'spare' child. Nevertheless he was spoilt rotten by his grandmother- Margaret Beaufort, who managed his education- and his mother. At the time of his birth, Henry already had two siblings- Prince Arthur and Princess Margaret (later queen of Scotland and grandmother to Mary, Queen of Scots). He also had five other siblings: Elizabeth (died aged two), Mary (lived to adulthood and married Charles Brandon after the king of France), Edmund (died aged one year ol...

Ancient Greeks worshiped many gods and goddesses such as Zeus, Hades, Apollo and Demeter. Demeter was the goddess of the harvest and nature, she was also known as 'Mother Earth'. She was also the sister of the king of the gods- Zeus, the god of the Underworld- Hades and the god of the sea-  Poseidon. Greeks worshiped her because they believed that she would give them a good harvest in return for gifts. They would bury grain as a gift and they would also pour olive oil in. They believed they needed to honour her to be provided with a good and vast harvest. 

Probably the most remembered  war poet of all time, Wilfred Owen is known for being the man behind the memorable poems such as: The Anthem for Doomed Youth, Dulce et Decorum dest and  To Eros. Sadly, Owen was killed in action exactly one week (and nearly to the hour) before the end of the First World War, in France aged only 25 years old.  Wilfred Edward Salter Owen's was born on 18th March 1893 to Thomas and Harriet Susan Owen in Shropshire. Owen was the eldest of four siblings- Harold, Collin, Mary and Millard. Harriet Susan had high hopes for her eldest son and was extremely proud of him. As a young child Owen lived with his parents in a house owned by his maternal mother's father- Edward Shaw, but after Mr. Shaw's death in 1897, the house was put up for sale and the Owens faced an economic crisis. The family moved to the back streets of Birkenhead where Thomas (Tom) Owens had a temporary job, working for the local station. Thomas was then transferred to Shrewsb...

Left: Mary Read, Right: Anne Bonny A true pirate of the seven seas! Anne Bonny is one of the most famous female pirates ever to have terrorised the oceans! The exact date of her birth is unknown but we do know that she was born in the County of Cork in Ireland to an attorney and his maid... Anne's father, however, left Ireland and moved to the Carolinas and bought a plantation.  Over in the Carolinas, Anne was married by an infamous pirate or sailor, depending how you see it, James Bonny. Bonny hoped that Anne's father would exchange his plantation for his daughter. But, he did not expect her father to disown Anne! Bonny then took Anne to the Bahamas yet she quickly grew to despise her hard- hearted husband and fell in love with the famous Calico Jack Rackham. Calico offered James Bonny a large sum of money for his wife but, knowing what would happen, Bonny gave the matter to Governor Rogers of the Bahamas; he ordered that Anne was to be flogged and returned to her hu...

Today is worldly remembered as Holocaust Memorial Day. The Holocaust is the horrific years where the Nazis prosecuted those not  German, mostly Jews and gypsies. To learn more click on the link below. Also I highly recommend Markus Zusak's novel 'The Book Thief' The Holocaust The Book Thief- Amazon

About 800, 000 years ago, early humans arrived in Britain from places such as Asia and Africa. Historians and scientists are not exactly sure as to what species of humans they belonged to but the professionals have made a pretty good estimate of Homo erectus. 800, 000 years ago, Britain was not an island like it is now, but a country still joined to mainland Europe!  Since the time when Homo erectus arrived in Britain, evolution has made it so that only Homo Sapiens exist on our earth. Historians call the 1.8 million years ago when the early humans were dwelling in Africa, the Old Stone Age or as it is more commonly known as: the Palaeolithic era.  

The infamous picture of that woman on the English £5 note is Elizabeth Fry, a Quaker from Norwich.  She is famous for being a Victorian philanthropist because she changed the system of prison life in England.  Elizabeth was born on 21st April 1780 in Norwich to John Gurney, banker and owner of a factory, and Catherine Bell. As a child, Elizabeth was brought up with her mother's faith- a denomination of Christianity called Quaker. Part of a large family, she lived in Earlham Hall, built in 1642, with her ten siblings: Joseph, Samuel, Louisa, Daniel, Priscilla, Rachel, John, Hannah, Catherine and Richenda and their parents. At the age of twelve, Elizabeth's beloved mother died and so she had to assist in the bringing up of her brothers and sisters. As a youth, she embraced bright colours and wore French style hats in support of the French Revolution!  When Elizabeth was twenty, in 1800, she married a fellow Quaker- Joseph Fry. Together they had eleven children and m...

Stereotypically labeled as the Flanders Mare, Anne of Cleves, fourth wife of Henry VIII, has held the reputation of being ugly and unattractive ever since the Tudor king laid eyes on her in 1540! But was Anne really what all the courtiers and historians have labeled her as? To be honest, no courtier could really disagree with the king without the danger of losing his or her's life, and if King Henry disliked her looks, then the court would more than likely have agreed with him. 'Anne of Cleves' by Hans Holbein the Younger In 1539, two years after the death of Henry VIII's third and quite possibly his favourite wife Jane Seymour, the king sent a member of Thomas Cromwell's household- Christopher Mont- to inspect a suitable candidate for the king to wed. Mont returned to England from Cleves in Germany with the report that everyone praises the young woman on her beauty. This impressed Henry as Anne, the reported German beauty, had already agreed to marry Hen...

In this image of Queen Elizabeth I of England, painted in celebration of English victory against the Spanish Armada, her hand is elegantly resting on a globe. This could be translated that she is the most powerful monarch in the world at that time. There is also a crown which is probably ensuring that anyone looking at this portrait, that they know that this woman rules England. The images of a fleet of ships being destroyed is probably there to show that this is celebrating Elizabeth's victory. Her dress is embellished with small flowers. These could be Tudor roses reminding people of her powerful heritage. She wears her hair up to tell people that she may not be a man but she is as good as any man could be on the throne of England! The vast amount of pearls represents her chastity and early portraits show here with a necklace with an 'A' on it. Historians believe that it could have belonged to her doomed mother. Sir Francis Bacon did make a rather rude and unkind rem...

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock- kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs, And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, But limped on, blood- shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; Deaf even to the hoots Of gas- shells dropping softly behind. Gas! GAS! Quick Boys!- An ecstasy of fumbling Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime- Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, chocking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace Behind that wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blo...

Please note that this is in no particular order. - Beth Emmeline Pankhurst: Mrs. Pankhurst was a political activist and leader of the Suffragettes. The Suffragettes were a women's organisation who fought for women's rights to votes. Whilst the Suffragettes were fighting for their rights, the did some very radical protests. For instance, they went on hunger strike in prison and were forced fed by tubes through their noses and one woman- Emily Davidson even threw herself under a horse in an attempt to get women to vote. Eventually with all the efforts, women won the right to vote in 1918. Mrs. Pankhurst passed away on 15th July 1928.  Margaret of Anjou: Margaret of Anjou played a major part in the Wars of the Roses. She was the daughter of the king of Naples and married Henry VI in 1445 when she was 15 years old. During the war, her husband, the leader of the Lancastrian side, was ill a lot; as a result, Margaret was the mastermind behind many of the Lancastrian victories....

Echo was a beautiful wood nymph who was a favourite of the moon goddess- Artemis (twin of Apollo).  Her fatal flaw was that she was very fond of talking. One day she met Hera, the wife of Zeus, who was frustrated with Echo's talking and therefore cursed her to always have the last word. After that, Echo was doomed to walk the earth speaking only the last word of another being. Whilst walking, Echo saw a very handsome young shepherd called Narcissus, fell in love him and followed him around. Narcissus was very vain because he was aware about how attractive he was and how much girls loved him but he loved no one but himself. To begin with, Narcissus didn't mind that Echo was following him but soon it became annoying. One day, Narcissus looked into a stream and was enchanted with what looked back at him. A beautiful young man. Meanwhile Echo was desperate, she wanted to tell the youth that she loved him but she couldn't.  "Come to me!" begged the vain man one...

Greensleeves Alas, my love, you do me wrong, To cast me off discourteously. For I have loved you well and long, Delighting in your company. Chorus: Greensleeves was all my joy Greensleeves was my delight, Greensleeves was my heart of gold, And who but my lady greensleeves. Your vows you’ve broken, like my heart, Oh, why did you so enrapture me? Now I remain in a world apart But my heart remains in captivity. Chorus I have been ready at your hand, To grant whatever you would crave, I have both wagered life and land, Your love and good-will for to have. Chorus If you intend thus to disdain, It does the more enrapture me, And even so, I still remain A lover in captivity. Chorus My men were clothed all in green, And they did ever wait on thee; All this was gallant to be seen, And yet thou wouldst not love me. Chorus Thou couldst desire no earthly thing, but still thou hadst it readily. Thy music still to play and sing; ...

Slaves were a massive part of Ancient Greek society. It is unknown how many slaves Greek's owned, but it is predicted by historians that about 30- 40% of the population were slaves. They were very common and worked as a ship's crew, as a domestic slave, in the field and even the Ancient Greek equivalent of the police force! When a slave came into the ownership of a master or mistress, they would be given a new name. Slaves didn't have as many rights as a free citizen, and they could be put to death without a fair trail. A domestic servant was usually quite lucky because they would normally be treated as part of the family.

On 15th May 1536, Anne Boleyn was found guilty of treason and adultery. Treason was the most severe crime anyone could commit because it was a crime committed against the king or queen and in history, it has been a common belief that the ruler is appointed by God, therefore anyone who commits treason is committing a crime against God. Treason was punishable by death. Anne Boleyn was given the choice, she could either be burnt alive or beheaded. She choose beheading as it was cleaner and was quicker than burning. On 19th May 1536, Anne met her end bravely. She was beheaded by an expert swordsman, brought over especially, to avoid having a blunt axe attempt to sever her head. It is said, that the swordsman decapitated her without her knowing, thankfully it was quick and smooth. The witnesses claimed that it was so quick that her lips were still moving in prayer when her head was removed by a graceful swing of a special sword. We know Anne found guilty of adultery and treason, but the ...

The Ancient Greeks believed that the chief god- Zeus, had a sister called Demeter, who was in charge of the harvest. They believed that if she was unhappy, then the crops would fail and the people would die. This is a Greek myth that explains why there is spring, summer, autumn and winter. Demeter had a daughter, whom she loved very much. Her name was Persephone and she made her mother very happy, and when she was happy the mortals crops grew well, trees blossomed and the grass was carpeted with bright flowers. Over time, Persephone grew up into a tall, beautiful goddess. One day, the god of the Underworld- Hades was out looking at the living world in his chariot with Cerberus, the three headed dog who guarded the Underworld. Suddenly, he saw Persephone, walking gracefully through the flowers. He fell head over heels in love with her, so much that he snatched her up and took her away to his cold, dark, miserable abode under the ground. When Demeter couldn't find her beloved ...

Lizzie Borden took an axe And gave her mother forty whacks, When she saw what she had done She gave her father forty- one! This rhyme is based on a murder that occurred on August 4th 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts.  The victims were Andrew and Abby Borden. They were found in their home, very dead. Mrs. Borden was declared to have died first by nineteen (rather than the 40 in rhyme) hits of a hatchet, not an axe. Her murder was followed by the murder of Mr. Borden from 10 or 11 hits. A week later Mr. Borden's youngest daughter of his first marriage, Lizzie Andrew Borden, was arrested. According to the detectives, she had recently bought a hatchet and after the murder disposed of a dress by burning it. Lizzie, however, was released after the authorities decided there was not enough forensic evidence to take the matters any further. The murder still remains a mystery to this day.

Regardless of gender, everyone wore cosmetics in Ancient Egypt. People used oil to protect their skin against the harsh climate of Egypt and wealthy women would hand out perfumed wax cones at parties, which would be placed on the head and would melt and cool the wearer down. People generally used white makeup and black makeup, but people would also apply red ochre, which was watered down, to stain their cheeks and lips with a brush. As well as that, henna was used to stain the fingernails yellowy- brown. People applied Kohl to emphasise their eyes by drawing a line on the top and bottom lid of the eye and also they painted their eyebrows. For those who could afford it, they could employ a makeup- artist to do their daily makeup, but the majority of the population did their makeup for themselves.  Egyptians were famous for perfumes. They would be made out of natural ingredients such as henna leaves, bitter almonds, roses and irises. They would soaked in oil or maybe coo...

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In Greek Mythology, Apollo is the god of the sun. He was believed to be the one who pulled the sun up each day with his chariot drawn by four horses. Apollo was also the Ancient Greek god of music, poems, art, medicine, plague, archery and knowledge.  In this myth, he falls in love with a wood nymph called Daphne. It goes like this: Apollo the sun god had been mocking Cupid (aka Eros) the god of love, after Cupid had had enough of the taunting he decided to have revenge. He fired two arrows. The first gold arrow struck Apollo, which made him fall in love with Daphne, a Naiad nymph, daughter of the River. The second was made of lead. It struck Daphne and made her despise Apollo. Under the spell of Cupid's arrow, Apollo chased a distressed nymph along the river bank declaring that he would always love her. Daphne, harassed at being chased by Apollo, turned to her father the River and begged him to help her get away from the sun god. Hearing his daughters desperate pleas, the R...

This is a true story that happened in a small Suffolk village in 1828. It is rather grim and makes me feel sick at the same time as sending shivers down my spine. It has been turned into melodrama plays, songs and stories. There are many different versions of this tale and this is just two of them. Also Mariah is sometimes known as Maria. Beth William Corder was a famous womaniser, from a wealthy Suffolk family. Mariah Marten was the village beauty, daughter of the local mole catcher. Apparently, Corder wished to meet Mariah in the Red Barn. But he told her to come dressed in men's clothing. That in itself seems rather suspicious. Mariah went off and arrived at the barn. Whilst she was waiting, Corder entered carrying a pistol and shot her. He then buried her in the barn. Then Corder left for London and wrote to Mariah's father telling him that they were happy and married on the Isle of Wight. A year later, a gruesome discovery was made. Mariah's body... The ...

During the reign of Queen Victoria (1837- 1901), the fashion trends were changing rapidly. And for those who could afford new outfits regularly, this was a way to show off their wealth. 1830s The ideal body for a lady in the 1830s was a long, slender torso, accompanied by wide hips. The slimness of the torso was achieved by wearing tightly laced corsets made out of whale bone or iron. Some women laced themselves so tightly that many fainted and some women even broke a few of their ribs. Over the corset, they would wear a tight fitting bodice with a low waist. Women would have a long flowing skirt to emphasise their hips, worn over a horsehair petticoats to create the fullness of the skirts.  1840s Low necklines, V shaped bodices and fuller skirts was popular along with dropped sleeves. The bodice stopped at the waist line ending in a V. The sleeves wear tied tightly at the top but they then expanded at the wrist and/ or elbow. Because this restricted movement, the mid- ...

Makeup was a sign of status for wealthy women during the Tudor period. It was also used to cover up scars from diseases such as small pox.  The ideal Elizabethan look was pale creamy skin, bright eyes, red lips and rosy cheeks. The Tudor queens- Mary I and Elizabeth I made ginger hair popular and women would go as far as dying their hair with urine to make it blonde! Rich people hated the idea of being tanned because that inferred that you had to work in fields, therefore they avoided contact with the sun.  During her later life, Queen Elizabeth I wore heavy white makeup to cover up her greying and wrinkling skin. This makeup was wildly used by many rich ladies. It was made up of vinegar and toxic lead... Another way was to 'bleed' the woman. This could be done by applying leeches to the arm or by slicing the wrists to drain the blood; neither of which are very healthy . Women would also add an expensive red rouge/ blusher to their cheeks and stain the lips with coc...

Josef Jakobs was the final person to be executed in the Tower of London. He was a German spy found guilty of spying on the British in 1941 and was shot by a firing squad in August of that same year. Jakobs was a German citizen born in Luxembourg on 30th June 1898 to Kasper Jakobs and Emma Lück. He had two sisters called Maria and Therese. In 1905 the Jakobs moved to Berlin. When the First World War began, Jakobs enlisted but, due to health issues, was discharged. However he rejoined in 1916 and was wounded in France in 1918. After the war he studied dentistry in Berlin. In 1924 he opened a practise. Josef Jakobs married a fellow dentist- Margarete Knöffler-  in May, 1924. They had four children; the first was sadly a stillborn, the second was a son called Norbert who passed away in 1963, they had a daughter named Regine who died in 1946 aged just 15 years old and finally a son called Raymond who is currently still alive. Margarete died in 1971. Jakobs and his wife were forced to...

Throughout history, an execution has been seen as an excellent day out for all the family! Now the death penalty has been abolished but if it hadn't and you took your family to see a murderer being hung or beheaded then society would be slightly concerned... This post will tell you exactly what happened at executions and how you could be executed if you committed a serious crime. Please remember that these are mainly the common and most well known methods. Beheading When people think of the Tudors, they usually think of beheadings. Beheading was considered the best way to be executed because it was the quickest way to die if you had a decent executioner. This way of execution meant that you were decapitated. It was usually reserved for the upper classes who have been found guilty usually of treason. and several queens have been executed this way- Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Lady Jane Grey and Mary Queen of Scots.   Hanging Hanging was the common way to die. A rope...

Ingredients: 150g of peas (fresh or frozen) 500g boned ham joint 1/2 tbsp of horse radish sauce (optional) 1 dessert spoon of linseeds (optional) a knob of butter Equipment: scales 2 clean cloths  large pan dish string fork sharp knife spoon WASH YOUR HANDS FOR HYGIENE PURPOSES!!! Method: Boil a large pan of water. If needed shell the peas. Put the peas in a dish with the butter, linseeds and horse radish sauce. Carefully tip the peas into a cloth and making sure that their are no gaps tie the top up with some string. Put the ham in the second cloth and tie up the top. Boil the peas and ham in the cloths in the pan for about one and half hours.  Using tongs, remove the cloth and drain all the water out. Lift the ham out and slice it. Arrange the ham into the centre of a dish and pour the peas around the ham. Serve hot. 

In the Stone- age, people couldn't just pop to the supermarket to buy their food; they had to either hunt it or gather it, hence the name- 'hunter- gatherers'. The Stone age people's diet was made up of meat and berries and nuts they found. Farming was invented during the prehistoric era but not until later. People had to eat anything they caught or found otherwise they would starve. During the Ice-age, there were animals like reminders, mammoths and even wooly- rhinos! When the warmer periods, Britain was as hot as Africa and there would be creatures such as hyenas, elephants and hippos migrating to Europe but when Britain cooled down, there was the species that we are familiar with today such as birds, fish and shell fish. They would eat nuts such as hazelnuts and fruit such as bilberries (like large blueberries) and also roots that they found underground. The Hunter- gatherers used simple hand- crafted tools like hammers made from antler of bone, blades made fro...

In 2016 ITV released 'Victoria'. 'Victoria' is an eight part series of a historical drama about Queen Victoria when she first became queen in 1838. It is not all historically correct but it does give you a good idea about the queen's struggles through the early years of her reign. Victoria, herself, is played by Jenna Coleman and it also has Tom Hughes as Prince Albert and Rufus Sewell as Lord Melbourne. This TV series is now available to buy and there is a second series being released this year, 2017.  I really enjoyed this and I recommend it to any history fans.  Link to Amazon

Marriage of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn The common belief about marriage in Tudor England is that people married at extremely young ages and had no choice. Surprisingly, this was not typically the case. Studies show that in Elizabethan times, the average age for women to marry was 26 years old and for men- between the ages of 27 and 29 years old. This was because the average family had to save up money for the newly wedded couple to rent a house and for basic necessities. However 1 in 6 people were not married in their forties and it is likely that they never married after that. Wealthy families married their children into other wealthy families; it was a need for them to have good connections. The parents had more control over there lives and if a girl was to marry, she just had to have a dowry. A dowry is a sum of money that is paid by the bride and her family to the groom and his family. Rich children could expect to have their spouse chosen for them by their parents. Unfor...

Having been requested to do this post by Lizzie Hitlinton I researched Disgusting habits of royalty. Here are my findings...    Beth Tsar Peter of Russia was an educated and cultured Tsar of Russia, widely known around Europe. Unfortunately, he had the habit to urinate on the beautifully decorated Russian palace walls... William IV of Britain was in the navy before becoming king. In his time as a sailor, William developed the habit of randomly spitting. This habit he never lost. Henry IV of England  disliked bathing and he also had a desire to regularly consume large amounts of raw garlic!   James IV of Scotland, I of England, refused to bath, believing it could damage your health. Furthermore, he made it worse by wearing the same clothes for months on end and would wear the same hat for 24 hours without removing it. Charles VI of France was mentally ill and he would wear the same clothes for five months at a time! Louis XVI of France used his throne as...

WARNING: Contains nuts and dairy This recipe is from the Neolithic age. It is a very simple recipe which is suitable for breakfast or pudding. Ingredients: fresh raspberries fresh blueberries a few hazelnuts a little bit of cream Equipment: bowl chopping board  sharp knife  spoon WASH YOUR HANDS FOR HYGIENE PURPOSES!!! Method: Add the fruit to a bowl Drizzle the cream over Using the board, chop or crush the hazelnuts Eat fresh

The most famous abbey in Britain, probably the world, is Westminster Abbey in London which is a gothic architecture piece. Westminster Abbey was originally a small monastery situated in the dark ages London, founded by the Benedictine monks but adapted to be a church by Edward the Confessor. It was completed in 1065. From 1066, when William the Conquerer decided to have his coronation in the church, every English monarch has been crowned king or queen there. It is also the burial place for many monarchs such as Henry VII, James II and Elizabeth I, as well as the burial place for some famous and iconic people throughout history including: Margaret Douglas (daughter of Henry VII's daughter Margaret), Neville Chamberlain and Charles Dickens. It has also been host to several royal weddings such as: our reigning Queen Elizabeth II to Prince Philip, Henry I to Matilda (aka: Maud or Edith Swan- neck) and Richard II to Anne of Bohemia. http://westminster-abbey.org/home