Chat with History

Hey guys!! How has your week been? Mine has been good I have been off this week and have had lots of time to get stuff done. Today's post is going to be about Who I would Love to be able to have a meal/chat with. So let's begin!

So I have a Top 3 for people that I would love to have a meal/chat with, 1 being any of my great grandparents, 2 being Mary Boleyn and 3 being Elizabeth I.

1. Any of my Great Grandparents

So I think that this category is pretty much self explanatory but to put it simply I want to talk to any of my great grandparents because I only knew one of them and I never got to find out everything about them, at least things that I would have liked to know. My family has only been able to tell me so much so if I was able to talk to them even just once I would love it.

2. Mary Boleyn

Being the history buff that I am I would love to talk to Mary Boleyn. I was first introduced to her from reading Philippa Gregory's book The Other Boleyn Girl (which I highly recommend). I loved this story and spent time learning all that I could about Mary Boleyn.

Mary Boleyn, also known as Lady Mary (c. 1499/1500 – 19 July 1543), was the sister of English queen Anne Boleyn, whose family enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII.

Mary was one of the mistresses of Henry VIII for an unknown period of time. It has been rumored that she bore two of the king's children, though Henry did not acknowledge either of them as he had acknowledged Henry FitzRoy, his son by another mistress, Elizabeth Blount. Mary was also rumored to have been a mistress of Henry VIII's rival, King Francis I of France, for some period between 1515 and 1519.

Mary Boleyn was married twice: in 1520 to William Carey who died from sweating sickness in 1528, and again, secretly, in 1534, to William Stafford, a soldier from a good family but with few prospects. This secret marriage to a man considered beneath her station angered both King Henry VIII and her sister, Queen Anne, and resulted in Mary's banishment from the royal court. She died seven years later, having spent the remainder of her life in obscurity.

I find Mary's story so fascinating and being able to have a conversation with her would be truly rewarding.

3. Elizabeth I

Again being a history buff I would love to speak with Elizabeth I. It was also Philippa Gregory books that got me hooked on the whole Tudor era and since then I have done my own extensive research.

Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death on 24 March 1603. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor.

Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife, who was executed two-and-a-half years after Elizabeth's birth. Anne's marriage to Henry VIII was annulled, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate. Her father died January 28, 1547. Her half-brother, Edward VI, ruled until his death in 1553, bequeathing the crown to Lady Jane Grey and ignoring the claims of his two half-sisters, Elizabeth and the Roman Catholic Mary, in spite of statute law to the contrary. Edward's will was set aside and Mary became queen, deposing Lady Jane Grey. During Mary's reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels.

In 1558 upon Mary's death, Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister to the throne and set out to rule by good counsel. She depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers, led by William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley. One of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement was to evolve into the Church of England. It was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir; she never did, despite numerous courtships. She was eventually succeeded by her first cousin twice removed, James VI of Scotland. She had earlier been responsible for the imprisonment and execution of James's mother, Mary, Queen of Scots.

In government, Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and half-siblings had been. One of her mottoes was "video et taceo" ("I see but say nothing"). In religion, she was relatively tolerant and avoided systematic persecution. After the pope declared her illegitimate in 1570 and released her subjects from obedience to her, several conspiracies threatened her life, all of which were defeated with the help of her ministers' secret service. Elizabeth was cautious in foreign affairs, maneuvering between the major powers of France and Spain. She only halfheartedly supported a number of ineffective, poorly resourced military campaigns in the Netherlands, France, and Ireland.

By the mid-1580s, England could no longer avoid war with Spain. England's defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 associated Elizabeth with one of the greatest military victories in English history.

As she grew older, Elizabeth became celebrated for her virginity. A cult grew around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, and literature of the day. Elizabeth's reign became known as the Elizabethan era. The period is famous for the flourishing of English drama, led by playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, and for the seafaring prowess of English adventurers such as Francis Drake. Some historians depict Elizabeth as a short-tempered, sometimes indecisive ruler, who enjoyed more than her share of luck. Towards the end of her reign, a series of economic and military problems weakened her popularity. Elizabeth is acknowledged as a charismatic performer and a dogged survivor in an era when government was ramshackle and limited, and when monarchs in neighboring countries faced internal problems that jeopardized their thrones. After the short reigns of her half-siblings, her 44 years on the throne provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity.

So there you have those are my Top 3. What are yours? Have you ever thought about it?

See you next time :)