The Tudors Costume Designer:
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Notes taken while reading various explanations and historical records on Chas Brandon, Henry VIII’s close personal friend. Henry showered his friend with titles (Duke of Suffolk) and land grants (some taken from former monastery lands after their dissolution) These notes are not organized in any way and do not only focus on Brandon - jotted down while reading. They mostly highlight inaccuracies in the TV series. IMO, nothing crucial was altered.
[Tangent: In recent yrs, director Oliver Stone has changed major historical facts when writing/filming his movies - that type of artistic license should not be condoned. As a strident political liberal, Stone wanted to skewer the right side of US political spectrum. The arrogant director has recently kissed up to Venezuela’s dictator Hugo Chavez. He, Sean Penn and other LaLaLand types - suffering from political diahhrea of the mouth - never let an opportunity pass without taking a broadside at the political right. Their immature tactics simply highlight the emotional hysterics of Hollywood’s liberal community. In the US, it’s the average person versus entertainment and academic elitists.The latter groups are blinded by what they perceive to be their own brilliance.Both have political goals that almost never coincide with what the majority of solid, common sense American citizens support]
NOTES:
--Eliz Blount gave birth to HenryVIII’s son Henry Fitzroy when she was 17 yrs old.
--Buckingham’s(Edw Stafford) trial was in 1521 - No conclusive evidence exists that he was guilty of treason..only hearsay.
--there is no historical evidence to suggest Anne Boleyn’s father, Thomas, was part of the setup against Buckingham.
--Edw Seymour was Lord Hertford
--Brandon’s first wife was Margaret Mortimer nee Neville (annulled in 1507); second wife Anne Brown died 1511; third was Mary Tudor (Henry VIII’s sister--called Margaret in tv series) She died 1533. 4th and final wife was Catherine Willoughby (his former ward and son’s betrothed) They were married in 1533. Catherine was half Spanish - one of Katherine of Aragon’s Ladies in Waiting who arrived with her from Spain for the former’s marriage to Henry’s older brother, Arthur. In the series she’s referred to as Catherine Brooke.
--Chas oldest dau was born to him & Anne Browne outside marriage. He had instead married her very wealthy aunt--Margaret Neville Mortimer.
--The Mortimer marriage was annulled - Chas then married Anne Browne in a public ceremony.
--Several historians remarked on Henry VIII’s sister, Mary Tudor, as a great beauty with a clear complexion and long red-gold hair(a tudor trademark). Brandon became smitten..when her elderly husband Louis XII of France died they were married (1514). She was 19yrs old. They had at least 5 children - one of their daughters was mother of tragic historical figure - Lady Jane Grey.
--Mary Tudor was a personal friend of Cath Aragon’s therefore she stayed away from court when Anne Boleyn made her appearance. Her husband Chas continued to be the perfect courtier, which strained their relationship.
--Another of their daughters, Eleanor (countess of Cumberland) married Henry Clifford. She was taken prisoner by protesting rebels during The Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536. Her captors attempted to force her father-in-law, Earl of Cumberland, to relinquish Skipton Castle. [Personal note: there’s a quaint shopping village about 25mi from Philadelphia called Skipton] Eleanor was rescued.
--When HenryVIII’s sister Mary(Brandon’s wife) died, her brother ordered masses said at the couple’s residence Westhorpe Hall, Westminster Abbey and at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Two centuries later her tomb was moved to St Mary’s church, Bury St Edmunds.
--Chas Brandon attended all momentous events of 1530s. He sat at the trials of Thos More and Anne Boleyn; helped lead forces to end the Pilgrimage of Grace; as result of dissolution of monasteries by Henry, Brandon was granted more land and pensions.
--He and his last wife, Catherine Willoughby, had two sons. They entertained Henry and his new bride, Katherine Howard. Suffolk(Brandon) was one of the men who subsequently arrested & extracted a confession from Queen Katherine(Howard).
--When Henry finally had his 'legitimate' son, Prince Edw Tudor, Chas Brandon acted as godfather.
--Last yrs of Brandon’s life were happy--he and Catherine Willoughby were affectionate. He died suddenly in 1545 at the advanced age of 60.
Historical records prove that Chas Brandon was a bad boy who definitely loved women (and of course their accompanying assets of land/wealth). In the form of Henry Cavill, females strongly return that sentiment. The actor said during an interview that his character in The Tudors couldn‘t keep his *duck*(my interpretation) haha inside his pants..quickly added ‘sorry’ to the interviewer. Henry‘s charming smiles could seduce an iceberg. He and RA share a number of physical characteristics that make the difference between pleasing to the eye and gorgeous - two being their strong, masculine jawlines and huge expressive blue eyes. Double Yum!
The Tudors is an Irish/Canadian co-production filmed 80% at Ardmore Studios in Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland and 20% at various locations like Dublin City, Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Jail, Phoenix Park and Lord Meath's estate at Killruddery House.
Locations: All four seasons of "The Tudors" used Ardmore Studios, Luggala, Killruddery House and Gardens, Christchurch Cathedral in Dublin, Christ Church, Humewood Castle, Swords Castle, Drimnagh Castle and Powerscourt Estate in County Wicklow, Ireland for locations throughout the summers of 2006 through 2009. County Wicklow, dubbed the "Garden of Ireland," lies on the eastern edge of the country, bordering the Irish Sea. 
PAST POST with NEW COMMENT: Speculation in this past post about the identification of the blonde RA was photographed with at a charitable auction. I'd assumed it was an event organizer but MsG wonders if it might be the former girlfriend who moved out while RA was filming Strike Back in Africa. Inquiring minds can't help but wonder about these crucial questions. :) *afterall - we're only human* Truth is, if we do stop caring about this sort of aspect about an actor, eventually we stop caring about just about everything to do with him. As long as we want to talk about him, his life and his career - his future remains bright in the entertainment industry..
The following chair and house look as though they could easily have been around in Chas Brandon's day:)
Suspicious lyrics, but great beat!
Origins of the Tudor Dynasty:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/periods/tudors_02.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/periods/tudors_01.shtml
hmmm, interesting not only as world history, but on a personal level as well. Hubby's father's given names were George Owen. We always assumed he was of 100% Irish descent prior to the family's emigration to the US in mid C19. After learning at above links just how important the name Owen (Owain) is in Welsh history, it leads me to assume a Welshman as well started to swim in his gene pool at some point in time.
http://www.ashevillelist.com/gb/tudor-england.htm
Past Post from Oct 2010
This is totally not my type of movie but the leading man is an attention grabber :) He wears the li'l skirt so well...
3 comments:
The photo of RA sitting on the leather chair. I love all the photos in that photo shoot. The surroundings seem to fit him.
I'll need to catch up with the Tudors, I watched some when it started on BBCA during the weekends, but then stopped watching.
I added another from that collection Musa.
Believe bbcA will show ep 4 of the first series this week. We follow Chas Brandon right through from his early 20s until his death at 60yrs old. From what I've read he was probably a very self-serving man, who remained loyal to Henry til their deaths within 18mos of each other.
At one point in the series they show him somewhat as a man of conscience. After helping quell the Pilgrimage of Grace insurrection, Brandon is shown as having sleepless nights - apparently his guilty conscience could not erase the faces of those who were killed.
mmmmm Henry Cavill ...mmmmmm .... such a divine person ... kind, nice, well mannered, dear, and not a trace of arrogance which we see so much in Hollywood!
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