Unknown man Windsor Castle, Royal Collection

The sitter could have been a number of Lady Ratcliffes. Sir Robert Ratcliffe, Ist Earl of Sussex (1483–1542), had three wives, of which the third, Mary, is most possible. Art historian K. T. Parker tentatively favoured his son Henry's wife Lady Elizabeth Howard (d. c. 1536), daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and his second wife, Elizabeth Tilney, as the most plausible sitter, since Holbein drew other members of the Howard family. That would make this woman Anne Boleyn's Aunt…

why I freaking love her: 1. she was a refreshingly hands-on mother to her daughter Elizabeth 2. she was witty and a guy's girl 3. she had the self-respect to refuse the king's advances when she was propositioned until he offered to make her his wife. 4. she made Cardinal Wolsey pay dearly for thwarting her first true love (he made her guy marry someone else) - now that's bitchiness put to good use! 5. she was witty, extremely bright, and inspired some beautiful poems by Thomas Wyatt 6. she…

Portrait of Dorothea Meyer, née Kannengiesser, 1525–26, by Hans Holbein the Younger (1498–1543)

A composite image of Queen Elizabeth I and her mother, Anne Boleyn. Picture acquired through Flickr, created and shared for public use by Inor19/Kiki. Image public domain ~This article is dedicated to my dear friend Mia, who has been researching Queen Elizabeth I and already knows so much! Mia is now working on a program where she portrays the young Elizabeth Tudor in the first person for her local library; I look forward to supporting this bright young star at her first performance. Mia is…

A portrait drawing of Anne Cresacre (c.1511-1577), wife of John More the Younger. A half-length portrait facing three-quarters to the right. She wears a double band headdress, a dress with a square décolletage, and is seated on a roughly sketched chair. This drawing is a preparatory study for the More family group (now destroyed).

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Posts about kampfrau written by Cathrin

Frances (née de Vere), Countess of Surrey (c. 1516 – 30 June 1577) was the daughter of John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford and Elizabeth Trussell, Countess of Oxford. Frances married twice, first to Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, son of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and Lady Elizabeth Stafford, by whom she had five children. Secondly she married Thomas Staynings, and by him had one child.

The Duchess of Suffolk by Hans Holbein (1498-1543)

A portrait drawing of Sir William Sharington (c.1495-1553). A bust length portrait facing three-quarters to the left. Inscribed in an eighteenth-century hand at bottom centre: William Sharinton. The drawing is rubbed.

A portrait drawing of John Colet (1467-1519), Dean of St Pauls Cathedral. A bust length portrait facing three-quarters to the left. He wears an ecclesiastic cap and cape. The drawing is not made directly from the life but after a bust of Colet attributed to the Italian sculptor Pietro Torrigiano. Inscribed in an eighteenth-century hand at upper centre: Iohn Colet Dean of St Pauls.

by Laurence Shafe

A portrait drawing of Elizabeth, Lady Vaux (1509-1556), wife of Thomas, 2nd Baron Vaux, and daughter of Sir Thomas Cheney. A bust length portrait facing three-quarters to the left. She wears a yellow and black striped headdress and a necklace. Inscribed in an eighteenth-century hand at upper left: The Lady Vaux.Elizabeth Vaux was born in 1509, the daughter of Sir Thomas Cheney, an Esquire of the Body to Henry VIII. She became a ward of the 1st Baron Vaux in 1516 and was married to his son…

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