The count, the king, and Gloriana

Going backward in time, September 7th was a date worth writing about—even for someone in post-cataract recovery. In 1151, Geoffrey, the Count of Anjou, better known today as the father of Henry II, died suddenly on his way home from their meeting with the French king in Paris. He was only 38 and the most likely story is that he caught a chill after swimming in a local river to cool off in the late summer heat. In 1191, Richard Lionheart got the best advance birthday present of his life when he scored a victory over Saladin in the battle of Arsuf. And in 1533, the only “Good Tudor” was born, when Anne Boleyn gave birth to a red-haired baby girl, whom Henry would name after his mother, Elizabeth of York. He is said to have adored her and I wonder if he’d have been a different man had she not died so young. When he became involved with Anne Boleyn and treated Katherine of Aragon and his daughter Mary so cruelly to break their spirits, Elizabeth of York would not have been 70 yet. Would he have heeded her had she been there to speak up for his abused wife and child? Just another of History’s unanswerable What ifs.