Ethelbert

Today is an important day in the history of Canterbury. We are celebrating 1493 years of the death of one of the greatest - if not the greatest - kings that ever lived in this land.
Son of King Eormenric, he married Bertha the daughter of one of the King of Franks.
He was also responsible for bringing St Augustine to England therefore responsible for the introduction of Christianity in Kent.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of him and have it ready for today to show you so I am off to Canterbury to see if I can find something that will do justice to his greatness.

13:43 Done!

Jane's Son, Edward

Once upon a time, many years ago, a lady called Jane married one of the richest men in the land and, certainly, the most powerful one: the King.

Her aristocratic parents didn't expect her to marry that well, after all she was in her late 20's and although she could read and write her own name - an achievement in those days - she was not highly educated unlike the previous Queens.

She dressed very plainly and if it wasn't for the amount of pearls she demanded her maids of honour to wear, people would think she wasn't the Queen. She didn't have many friends and the only two people who she confided were her sister-in-law and her sister. Her pale skin, blonde hair and delicate features complemented her shyness.

The King , who was obsessed with having a son, was incredibly pleased when Jane got pregnant. He took her to a beautiful palace to wait for the arrival of the baby. He was so determined that the Queen should have the best that when she craved for quails, he ordered the best, all the way from France.

On the 12th day of October 1537, Jane gave birth to a boy and the King was estatic. He finally had his heir, a male heir, to the throne. The King and the Queen named the baby Edward.

The christening was a big occasion as there had not been a christening of a male heir for over a quarter of a century. Dukes, Earls and all the nobility were invited. After a very long day - the baptism lasted for over 4 hours - Jane Seymour fell ill and twelve days later, on the 24th of October 1537, she died.

Her husband, King Henry VIII griefed for her but soon after he started looking for a new wife. Edward, her son, died before his 18th birthday.

Not a very happy story is it?