News about Henry VII

Jude Law required an 'enormous' bum double for a sex scene as Henry VII in new movie Firebrand it's been revealed.  The actor, 51, was too slim to properly portray the 28st King during his later years and marriage to sixth and final wife Katherine Parr, played by Alicia Vikander, forcing bosses to hire former IT manager Dale Farrow from Lincolnshire hired as his stand in. However Dale has now admitted he too struggled to put on enough weight for the part so the crew resorted to tricking the camera. 

There will be no peal of bells. No service of thanksgiving is planned. With one or two exceptions, it is a celebration which is about to pass Britain by - which is odd given that this is one anniversary which was made for raising a glass. Monday will mark 200 years of a social, cultural, commercial and legal institution which can truly be said to be part of our national psyche: the pint of beer. The taste, strength and colour of British ales may have changed over the years, but the basic ingredients - including the green, flaky hops crumbling in my hand in one of our oldest breweries - are much the same. And the measure has not changed one jot.

Almost a year after they were crowned at Westminster Abbey, the King and Queen have received the official recording of the proceedings, the Coronation Roll. It is the first in history to be made from paper and not parchment - which is made from calf, goat or sheepskin - due to Charles's interest in animal welfare. At Buckingham Palace on Wednesday Their Majesties were presented with the roll by Antonia Romeo, the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery.

A stunning seven-bedroom Tudor estate with links to two kings has gone on auction for £3.9 million. The Hales Hall Lane estate, which is located in Norfolk's heart, sells a main house, a cottage, and England's tallest brick built Tudor barn, the 'Great Barn,' which stands at 184 feet. On this website, there has been a house on this site for up to 1,000 years, with Sir James Hobart, the Attorney General to Henry VII, who was knighted late in life by Henry Prince of Wales and later Henry VIII. Sir James created a unique triple-moated palace, a large hall, barn, gatehouse, and cottages. The new house, which was rebuilt in 1971 and refurbished more recently by the new owners, is a surviving wing of this Tudor house. A 'queen-post' roof with timbers that date back to the 14th century and 180 loophole windows in the hall, which were originally used to protect the property.

In the nearly 700 years since Prince of Wales' name was established, there have been only ten princesses of Wales. Some people were promised to their destiny as early as two years old, and only a few people were married for love. Some people saw bloody battles and equally brutal political machinations back home, and for several, tragedy was never far away. They were certainly adornments, but they were also significant figures in their own right. Here, royal historian CHRISTOPHER WILSON assigns a score to the princesses based on their contributions to royal history.

As the home of Henry VIII's grandmother, Margaret Beaufort, it once hosted royalty. A group of amateur historians in Collyweston, Northamptonshire, has uncovered a long-lost royal Tudor palace. Margaret Tudor, Henry VIII's niece, attended the palace for a party before heading north to marry James IV of Scotland. However, the palace began to decay in the 17th century and was largely unrepreciated, losing the palace and being branded to local legend. A group of intrepid locals has stumbled upon the royal palace once more.

It has long been believed that 12-year-old King Edward VII and his nine-year-old brother (left) were murdered by their uncle Richard III (inset left) so that he might become king. However, new evidence uncovered by an amateur forensic researcher who discovered Richard's remains underneath a parking garage in Leicester in 2012 shows that both boys survived their prison time in the Tower of London. Prince Richard, Duke of York, who was nine when he disappeared with his brother in 1483, is one of four main documents set to be released in a Channel 4 documentary (top right). The 1493 manuscript reveals how Richard and his brother were separated in the Tower before two men's vows to conceal me by honor and oath until certain years have passed.' Philippa Langley - co-presents the show The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence, which airs on Saturday, talks about the 'new findings' she has made after seven years of study. Edward and Richard's findings reveal that Edward and Richard assumed the identities of Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, who are long known to have launched failed attempts to depose Henry VII in the late 15th century.

Millions of people now think of her as plain Kate. However, if her husband, Prince of Wales, takes the throne in due course, we will have a sixth Queen Catherine. She is already playing the part, balancing her royal duties with a healthy dose of humor - and a lot has been reported about her discipline in the face of an overwhelming public interest. However, as the author of a new book, The Catherine Code, points out, today's young royals' challenges are nothing to the snake pits occupied by their historic predecessors. They were playing a royal game in which one wrong move could have resulted in death. One Catherine was killed and a third was arrested - incorrectly - of poisoning the king. According to author Bob Casey, five royal namesakes were sick and often mistreated by their husbands, and most often mistreated by their husbands.' Watch out Kate!

The obvious geographical distance between Richmond, North Yorkshire (top inset), and its namesake in south-west London (bottom inset), is apparently lost on bakery chain Greggs' bosses. Instead, when they ordered a new renovation of their Yorkshire branch, moody black and white photos of Richmond upon Thames were used on the walls. The framed photos featured a signpost to London landmarks, including Tower Bridge and Kew Gardens, as well as photos of Richmond Bridge and boats on the River Thames. They have since been decommissioned. Locals applauded the blunder, which was spotted this week after a recent refit of the takeaway.

A Henry VII fine gold Sovereign of 20 shillings was among the historic works on display. The monarch is depicted on one side of a throne on one side of the 1492 coin. On the reverse, a large royal shield is mounted atop a Tudor rose atop a floral treasure. At Heritage Auctions, of Dallas, Texas, United States, the undisclosed bidder paid £623,000 ($795,000) for it, much more than the £390,000 estimate. A ferocious competition for a gold 'Victoria Una' and the Lion's five pounds coin emerged in 1839. It depicts the 20-year-old monarch, who ascended to the throne two years ago, portrayed the British Empire in the form of a lion. The coin's reverse, of which only 400 were struck, features a portrait of Victoria's head. It was designed by coin maker William Wyon, who served as the Royal Mint's chief engraver from 1828 to his death in 1851.

A new documentary on Amazon Prime has been released, delving into the past of major cat sightings in the United Kingdom, including the famous Beast of Exmoor. Panthera Britannia: This film by Dragonfly Films captures the public's persistent apprehension over the prospect of large cats prowling Britain's woodland. Several encounters have been reported, including a snapshot of a large muscular black cat in long grass in Smallthorne, Staffordshire, and the 'wildcat of Woodchester' near Stroud, Gloucestershire, in 2009. However, the Beast of Exmoor, England's most popular 'big cat,' is perhaps the most well-known 'big cat' of all.

Heritage Auctions has assembled three very rare items from the 15th, 17th, and 19th centuries for a bidding event later this month. The three works depict king Henry VII (top), a young Queen Victoria (right), and Charles I (left). The three auctioneers have referred to them as a'veritable holy grail' for collectors.

Prince George's logical choice for Eton College was always to be Eton College. Despite the fact that nothing has been reported, the nine-year-old was spotted recently visiting the ancient academy. Not only did his father and uncle, Princes William and George, study there, but George's Spencer relatives, including uncle Charles, the ninth Earl, were among the subjects studied. Kate Middeton, George's mother, lives in Windsor Castle shadow, and two of the college's most prominent buildings bear the name of her ancestors.

Today she is a member of the Royal Family, a girl from the Home Counties who won Prince William's heart and the country's warm love. Catherine Middleton, to some, is now representative of the British monarchy's own future. The Princess of Wales has spent more than half of her life in the public eye, so perhaps it's no surprise that she appears so relaxed either greeting foreign dignitaries or alongside young children eager to see a real princess. However, Kate had the right mentor: the late Queen Elizabeth, who had slumberingly guided her for so many years. The two women became even closer when William, then known as the Cambridges, based themselves at Kensington Palace, which is within walking distance of Buckingham Palace. They would often be caught up over afternoon tea. William and Kate were probably directly based on the Queen and the late Duke of Edinburgh, who were married for 73 years, according to some. It was the Queen's modest gestures that seemed to have moved Kate the most. 'You would expect a lot of pomp and a lot of fuss, but what really resonates with me is her love for the simple things,' she has said, 'and I think that's a special quality to have.'

This nine-bedroom house is now on auction complete with an 18-meter wide and 2.4 meter-deep moat. If you have ever had aspired to live in a castle. Bletsoe Castle in Bedfordshire, which dates back to Tudor times, has been lovingly restored and now boasts a tennis court, stables, and more than 24 acres of gardens and paddocks. Bletsoe Castle was first built by John de Patishull in 1327 and then in 1421 the house was descended to Margaret Beauchamp, who married the 1st Duke of Somerset, John Beaufort. Margaret Beaufort, the mother of the first Tudor King Henry VII, was born in the house in 1443. The stunning property, which is about six miles from Bedford, later passed away in the St John of Bletsoe family's heirs, and in the late 16th or early 17th century, a new one was erected around the castle.

The 268-acre Abbots Sharpham in Somerset is just a few miles from Glastonbury, the site of the annual blockbuster music festival. The estate, along with the 15th-century Grade II listed manor, features an indoor swimming pool (top left), two cottages, a tennis court, a working flour mill, and a deer park. Mr Saul (pictured inset with his wife Monty), 72, founded Mulberry in 1971 and turned it into a multinational powerhouse before being banned from the company's board in 2003. In 1977, he purchased half of the main manor on his estate, when the other half was occupied by dairy farmers.

In Salisbury, a 'historically significant' group of ancient spoons dating back to the 15th century will be auctioned. The collection includes 18 spoons chronicling Henry IV's reign and every Tudor monarch after. A pair of rare 7ins long Henry IV silver apostle spoons dating back to 1490, some of the oldest known, are valued at £40,000. A Henry VIII silver apostle spoon is expected to sell for £7,000. Pictured: The spoons and inset Henry VIII

PETER HITCHENS: You can make people believe things that are not true if you have enough resources. And your lies can last centuries, or even ever. And, if not so, it does not have to be so. One cold winter's afternoon, long before the days of steam trains and suet puddings, one of my prep-school teachers (I suspect it must have been the feared Mr Witherington, who was both fearless and name) thrusted a tiny green book that would turn my entire world upside down. 'Read this,' he said. 'It will teach you to think about history as it really is.'

Like a growing number of investors, I'm considering gold, but it takes me all around town – from a coin shop to London's historic jewellery district Hatton Garden. The increasing demand for gold has pushed the price of the precious metal to new heights. In the midst of the new financial crisis, its popularity has increased. In the midst of financial turmoil, it has been traditionally seen as a safe haven because it can't be meddling central banks or governments. Buying gold, on the other hand, isn't straightforward, as I quickly discover.

The dispatches of Mary, Queen of Scots, were thought to have been lost for centuries. In France's national library, a group of codebreakers discovered the 50 scripts, made up of graphic symbols. Now, after two months of blogging and initially having no idea who had written the letters - or to whom - they had cracked the code, they've updated the information. And their conclusion, which Mary wrote them while in captivity, is considered to be the most significant discovery about her in over 100 years.

Two of his six wives were reportedly executed, and the feared king was known for his athletic physique as a youth. Henry was disabled in a recent video put together by the National Trust in collaboration with the University of Leicester. The clip highlights the serious injuries that the King suffered in an jousting crash in 1536, which included an armoured horse land on him and smashed his legs. The 1540 portrait of Henry (left); a 1520 portrait of Henry on horseback; Hans Holbein's 1540 portrait of him (right).

According to academics, a "long-lost" chapel at Westminster Abbey that was demolished in 1503 was used by the 'White Queen' (left) and other royal family members to vene a martyred saint. Elizabeth Woodville, Queen Edward IV's widow, Queen consort and grandmother of Henry VIII, was the White Queen. Evidence from an expert's new study has helped to create a realistic 15th century reconstruction of the east end of the cathedral and its contents (top right). The chapel no longer exists, but visitors to Westminster Abbey can still find a piece of stone, made of mineral alabaster (bottom right).

In an effort to shield six of the country's most endangered castles and forts that are vulnerable to coastal erosion, English Heritage has launched a multimillion pound fundraising appeal. Land loss over the past few years has been 'alarming,' according to the charity, with sea levels now rising at its fastest rate in nearly three millennia. Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, where legend claims King Arthur was born, and Hurst Castle, which became a rendezvous point for smugglers in the 17th and 18th centuries, are two of the most vulnerable locations.

Despite being not as old as the monarchy itself, the Yeomen of the Guard (left), Royal Company of Archers (inset in black), and Gentlemen at Arms (right) all have illustrious histories dating back centuries. The Yeomen of the Guard, who were established 537 years ago by King Henry VII (inset top) after his victory over Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. They are always present when a king is in state. Since being created by Henry VIII in 1509, the Gentlemen at Arms, who are normally armoured with a spear and lance, have acted as an escort for the monarch. They are present at a variety of important events, including the state opening of Parliament, the arrivals of visiting heads of state, and monarch garden parties. When King George VI was in state in Westminster Hall 70 years before his daughter's 1952 arrival, they guarded him. The Royal Company of Archers, who were established in 1676, serve as the Sovereign's Body Guard in Scotland and are on duty at any state or ceremonial function north of the border. They were present at the Queen Mother's lying-in-state in 2002.