Anne of Cleves in the Movies

"If I do not please the King... will he kill me?" - Anne of Cleves in The Tudors (2009)

Elsa Lanchester was the first on-screen Anne of Cleves in the Oscar-winning The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). Shown here opposite Anne's fictitious lover, played by John Loder, Anne was shown as being clever and wily, deliberately making herself unattractive so as to extricate herself from marriage to the dangerous King Henry. In reality, Elsa Lanchester was married to Charles Laughton, who starred opposite her as Henry VIII.

In this still from the BBC series The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970), Elvi Hale is shown as Anne of Cleves, opposite Keith Michell as Henry VIII. Hale's performance and the script, written by Jean Morris, was the most historically accurate portrayals of Henry's fourth queen.

British veterans jeer a woman arrested for defiling War Memorial

 'Disgusting' is indeed the word.

Wendy Lewis, 32, was jeered by a "Guard of Dishonour" of decorated British war heroes, when she arrived at Blackpool Magistrates' Court. She was arrested following a night of drunkenness in which she urinated on the Cenotaph, (Blackpool's war memorial to those who gave their lives in the two World Wars and subsequent conflicts), before she proceeded to perform a sex act on a man nearby.

It is hard not to agree with the description of this woman as "Britain's most disgusting person."

It is good to see that the veterans made a showing at this woman's hearing to represent the memories of their fallen friends and comrades whose memory she insulted - and those of their families. It is only to be hoped that the British public treat Miss Lewis in precisely the same way. The manner in which this woman behaved is beyond the pale, insulting, disgusting and absolutely abhorrent. The fact that she showed absolutely no contrition, but instead told the soldiers to "f**k off" reveals exactly what kind of person she is - as if any further proof was needed.

The Press Association writes: -

A woman branded "Britain's most disgusting person" after urinating on a war memorial is on the run after fleeing court.

Wendy Lewis, 32, was given a "guard of dishonour" by angry war veterans - who she told to "**** off" when she appeared at Blackpool Magistrates' Court.

But she fled the building 20 minutes later and a warrant has now been issued for her arrest.

Lewis had been caught on CCTV relieving herself on the Cenotaph in the town before performing a sex act on a man in public.

She was found guilty of outraging public decency at an earlier hearing and was expected to face a community service order.

But Lewis, who arrived 40 minutes late for her 9.30am court appointment, promptly disappeared 20 minutes later before her case was called on in court.

Earlier, Lewis, of Princess Street, Blackpool, had run the gauntlet of angry old soldiers when she first arrived.

She covered her face with a hood and lashed out at photographers and TV crews as she walked to the court building.

A handful of veterans, proudly wearing berets and campaign medals on their blazers lined the court steps to form the "guard of dishonour" for Lewis. They clapped and shouted, "Disgusting!" as she entered the building.

Police officers will be on the look-out for Lewis and if she is arrested this weekend will spend it in the cells until court resumes on Monday morning.

Natalie Dormer to play another Queen of England

Two former on-screen Anne Boleyns are set to once again "compete," as they play the same Queen of England in movies to be released next year.

Helena Bonham-Carter, who played Anne Boleyn in the 2003 British television drama Henry VIII, and Natalie Dormer, who played Anne (above) across 21 episodes of the Showtime series, The Tudors, will both be playing the late Queen Mother, Elizabeth, who passed away at the age of 101 in 2002.

The Feast of the Assumption, 1524

"It would be so wonderful to see you all again for Assumptiontide, which we are marking with a supper and dance at Hever this year, as usual. I do so hope you can make it. Anne is back from London, as the Queen is on progress for the summer, and, as usual, she has been the most wonderful help to me, especially as this time of year always has such unhappy memories with the anniversary of Henry's death weighing upon my mind. Mary has come back from Leeds, where she and William have been decorating their new house together, although sadly William could not accompany her this time, as His Majesty had need of him. My husband, alas, remains in London for much the same reason and George has gone back to Oxford, to spend the holiday with some of his classmates... You asked about the Wyatts in your last letter. Well, old Sir Henry remains a martyr to the gout, as always, his eldest girl, Margaret, is at Court with Anne and she has come home at the same time and for the same reason. Her younger sister, Mary-Anne, is due to be presented as a debutante at Court, next summer, with my mother acting as her sponsor. Truth be told, I think she is rather looking forward to getting away and once it is decided whether she is to presented to the Queen or to the Duchess of Suffolk, preparations can begin in earnest. As for Tom and his wife, Bess, I am afraid I am at a loss as to what to tell you. In short, Jocasta, it can best be put this way - Tom has fallen in love with Anne who, quite sensibly, has rejected his advances, and Bess has fallen in love with anyone and everyone, except her husband. Their marriage is not just miserable but conspicuous in its misery, which  makes matters worse, as I know all too well from the behaviour of my brother in recent months. In any case, the Wyatts' marriage has caused quite the scandal, as only scandals which take place in either the London Set or in small, rural communities, can. And it is to Tom and Bess's great misfortune that they happen to be members of both.... Do write to me with all your news, With love and prayers, Elizabeth."

- A letter from Lady Elizabeth Boleyn to Lady Jocasta Howard, from The Rise and Fall of the House of Boleyn by Gareth Russell

Today marks the Feast of the Assumption in the Church Calendar and the extract below comes from an incomplete novel of mine, The Rise and Fall of the House of Boleyn.©

In this scene, some members of the Boleyn family are spending the summer of 1524 at their main residence, Hever Castle, in the southern county of Kent (above.) Kent, which is known as the "Garden of England," was much-loved by the Boleyns and despite having homes in Essex, Norfolk and London, as well as dozens of minor manors across the kingdom, Hever remained their favourite castle.

In the summer of 1524, Henry VIII had not yet declared his interest in the youngest of the Boleyn children, Anne, and her elder brother, George, had recently been betrothed to the society heiress, Jane Parker. The eldest Boleyn, Mary, had been married for four years to the courtier and art collector, Sir William Carey. Also in residence at Hever are the girls' mother, Lady Elizabeth, and their Anglo-Irish grandmother, Lady Margaret, daughter and co-heiress of the Earl of Ormonde, who, today, would be described as "Ascendancy" class.

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As events transpired, Tom Wyatt was not to lay eyes on Anne again until a full six weeks after her seventeenth birthday, when the impending Feast of the Assumption made it impossible for him to avoid her any longer. It was traditional that, on some of the great Holy Days - mainly the Epiphany, Easter Sunday, the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, the Assumption and All Saints' Day - the most prominent families of the Weald would congregate in one of the families' parish chapels to attend Mass together. Tom had been in London for Saint Peter and Saint Paul's Day, meaning that he had mercifully avoided the Boleyns' company, but with the arrival of the Assumption and his return to the family home at Allington, he could not put off a reunion any longer. Moreover, when Tom had discovered that, this year, the Assumption was to be marked by a Mass at St. Peter's Church, "the Boleyns' chapel," and had subsequently tried to wriggle out of attending, his ailing father had insisted he attend, in order to pay his respects to the new Earl of Kent, who would almost certainly be there, now that the mourning for his late father had ended.

Riding past Hever on the way to the church, on that predictably sweltering Assumptiontide, Tom could see lanterns, tables and decorations being set out around the gardens of the castle by a busy army of servants, all at Anne and Elizabeth's instructions, he presumed. A small statue of the Virgin had already been installed near the bridge, with poesies of flowers clustering around her feet. From somewhere in the grounds, he could hear the voice of three maids cheerfully singing Star of the Sea in honour of the Holy Mother. Later, there would be music and dancing far into the balmy evening in honour of the Assumption and the overwhelming aroma of the flowers the Boleyn women had clustered around their garden as decoration for the night-time ball wafted softly through the heavy summer morning air. Hever always reminded him of Anne and seeing the castle and its gardens abuzz with preparations that bore all the hallmarks of her sensibilities, Tom felt a new sense of foreboding at seeing her after their last, disastrous meeting.

The Princess Royal at 60

Lord Belmont in Northern Ireland carries news on the official birthday portrait of Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal (above), who turned 60 today.

The Daily Mail gives an account of Princess Anne's dress.

I very briefly had the opportunity to be presented to Her Royal Highness at the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland's Garden Party at Hillsborough Castle in 2009 and I have to say from that very, very brief meeting she seemed down-to-earth and charming, with a very wry sense of humour.

"Northern Ireland's Union with the United Kingdom threatens Protestantism"

"[Irish]Republicans often ask how can they persuade Unionists to think more positively towards their 32 County Nirvana. With British Unionists, they’re genuinely wasting their time- our long term aim is not to ensure the survival of a religious faith but to help the Northern Irish enjoy the same kind of social and cultural freedom enjoyed by our fellow citizens in the rest of the UK."

The above quote is taken from a brilliant on-line article from the blog A Pint of Unionist Lite, which reflects upon the recent pronouncement by Rev. Foster, a former political ally and then an opponent of Rev. Ian Paisley, once he felt Dr. Paisley had become too liberal. Yes, you heard me.

The comments were made in the Newsletter's Unionism 2021 series, reflecting what a broad church Unionism has become now that the centenary of the Partition of Ireland, which was so frequently described as a short-term aberration in Ireland's history, is a mere eleven years away.

Basically, Rev. Foster declared that the United Kingdom is an unholy place and has thus sacrificed the loyalty that the people of Ulster placed in it 100 years ago. The good Reverend writes: "Now its secularism, its multi-faithism, its hatred of all things scriptural, its abandoning of the moral standards considered sacrosanct but a generation ago, and its embracing of the aspirations of those regarded deviants until recently, make it as uninviting as was Sodom to Abraham."

Ah... what would Unionism be without the token pint of crazy?

Thankfully, the writer of A Pint of Unionist Lite captures exactly what I think of this kind of statement and it's refreshing to read someone whose Unionism correlates so closely with my own.

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Daughter of the Church: The Life of Matilda of Scotland, Queen of England

"From the time England first became subject to kings, out of all the queens none was found to be comparable to her, and none will be found in time to come, whose memory will be praised and name will be blessed throughout the ages."
- The Hyde Chronicle

For seventeen years after the death of Matilda of Flanders, England had no queen. William the Conqueror followed his wife to the grave four years later, to be succeeded in England by his son, William II, who for his own reasons decided not to marry. When William died and was succeeded by his brother, Henry I, in 1100, the new King married for reasons very similar to his father’s – his chosen queen was a princess of unassailable royal ancestry and famed for her piety. The two queens even shared the same Christian name and, in fact, the new Queen Matilda had been the god-daughter of the old. Unlike her predecessor however, the new Queen was not beautiful. One of her champions rather kindly said that the Queen’s appearance was ‘not entirely to be despised.’

Beauty or no beauty, Matilda of Scotland, Queen of England, had an august lineage and, as the career of her predecessor showed, such things mattered at that time. Matilda could claim in her family one parent who was to become a character in a Shakespearean play and another who was to become a Catholic saint. Her father, Malcolm III, King of Scots, was the hero whose victory heralds the end of Macbeth, whilst Matilda’s mother, Queen Margaret, was an English princess so famed for her religious zeal that she was to be canonised in the 13th century by Pope Innocent IV. Four of Matilda’s brothers and one of her half-brothers – Duncan II, Edmund, Edgar, Alexander I and David I – were to wear the Crown of Scotland and her sister, Mary, was to become the mother of the Queen of England in the next generation.