Charlie Fenton > Recent Status Updates

‘Katherine held something magical in her presence; the daughter of two anointed sovereigns, born to be a queen, perfect in every sense. Even with Katherine’s stubbornness, her pride getting in the way of an annulment, and even with her fervent Catholic faith, Cromwell had nothing but affection for the Queen.’

‘Cromwell had stood in the Tower, in this innocent man’s cell, and hounded him until he accepted his fate. Nothing would work; the King needed Roose dead so people would stop saying that the Boleyn family tried to kill Fisher. No one knew it was Nicóla; not even Cromwell.’

Audiobook version (can’t find on here)

“I want to destroy the Catholic Church,” Cromwell muttered and stood up at last. “Never again will I seek guidance from men in clerical uniform, for they give no forgiveness, no solace. Only God can provide that. The Church needs to be reformed. Damn Rome and all they have done to you! Damn them for causing Wolsey’s fall. They use the Lord to create their own wealth and comfort.”

‘The King is lost and Sir Thomas More is a man fixed in his love for the Catholic faith. An extreme view will be a man’s downfall at such a time. The faster changes are made, the faster changes fall apart.
The moderate man shall inherit the kingdom.
That man needs to be the Queenmaker.’

‘The very foundations of Katherine’s life were being undermined. Her husband wanted nothing to do with her; despite his promises and encouragement, Charles seemed to be achieving little for her; and her case dragged on endlessly in Rome. Everyday matters were becoming increasingly troublesome, subject to petty restrictions.’

‘Now beyond the age of childbirth, she had to accept that she would never give Henry a son; Fitzroy was Duke of Richmond; Henry’s infidelity with Mary Carey was an open secret. Worst of all, Charles had jilted Princess Mary and was strolling through the shaded gardens of the Alhambra with his new bride, Katherine’s niece Isabella. Never had Katherine’s influence over Henry... been so slight.’

‘Anne seemed comfortable in the company of all the men of Henry’s privy chamber, surrounded by people who supported her. And yet, she still sat in the chapel, in the middle of the night, in tears, fighting to be recognised as more than the King’s latest whore.‘

‘The King raged and could not bring in a cardinal covered in blood, but instead, a helpless advisor could bear witness to Henry’s rage. The golden days of Henry the Eighth seemed long over. No longer the tallest, wisest, most handsome King in Christendom, now an ageing man with a desire for young girls, the only detail unchanged in his personality.’

‘Juana, friendless and helpless, deliberately left ignorant of Ferdinand’s death in case it made her more truculent, was to find that losing her father merely meant that her son would take over the role of gaoler that he had vacated. The truly irony is that in the man who could imprison his own mother, Katherine would one day gain the most supportive and powerful of protectors.’

‘Even more distressing for her was that she had to choose between her father and her husband. While her Spanish heritage was in her blood, what mattered to her, as it always would, was to maintain her marriage, the marriage she had fought tooth and nail to achieve, and which she was convinced was not just good for her, but good for Spain and good for God too.’

“The Pope will not grant an annulment, Master Cromwella. Never. Jesus could return to Earth before Pope Clement changes his mind on an annulment. He needs the backing of Spain and the Emperor. Queen Katherine will never be unseated in England. Campeggio has no intention of granting an annulment. I am here to make sure Wolsey stays true to his Catholic faith.“

‘“Mr. Frescobaldi, I play unfairly in an unfair world. Your father taught me how to survive. If you have worked for your father, and the Medici family, then you understand.”
Corruption. Bribery. Lies. Nicóla understood perfectly. Falling into Cromwell’s favour proved so easy. “Let us be friends, Master Cromwella.”’

‘For Katherine, as for Henry, the birth of a child was paramount. With six healthy children living, including her two sons, the heir and the spare, Juana had fulfilled her duty to perfection; so, as her ever-filling nursery proved, had Katherine’s sister, Maria. There seemed to be no reason why Katherine, blessed with a young, devoted and energetic spouse, would not emulate her siblings.’

‘To those with an open mind, Juana’s actions speak for themselves, indicating sanity not madness. To bury Philip in her mother’s chosen city was shrewd politicking, to act against his avaricious advisers shows decisive statesmanship, to try to glean support wherever she could reveals the sort of common sense that Isabella herself possessed.’

‘Ferdinand certainly appreciated the impact that Isabella’s death would have upon him. After a marriage of thirty-five years, and despite his numerous infidelities and illegitimate children, Ferdinand had been genuinely fond of his wife. Theirs had been an enviable partnership personally as well as politically.’

“Stairs can be dangerous - wicked things - always said so. To be used at one’s peril. That is why I sleep downstairs.”

Always felt the same xD never liked stairs

‘Since the week they moved in here, Jane had, as her sister had hoped, returned to her manuscripts. First, she revised Elinor and Marianne, which became Sense and Sensibility and - oh joy! - found a publisher and had sold really quite well. At the urging of the household, First Impressions was next to receive her attentions. With its new title of Pride and Prejudice, that was doing even better.’

‘When her carefully calculated displays of tears and temper failed to move him [Philip], Juana resorted to a more drastic approach: she physically attacked the woman she believed was her rival. The result was, understandably, a growing reputation for instability. Unwittingly, Juana was providing ammunition that her enemies could use against her in the future if the stakes were high enough.’

It might be partly due to the excellent narration but I really do love Laurie, he is hilarious

“Indeed, no one can find any sort of fault with your Mr Hobday. It seems he is the very model of masculine perfection. The universe has met and agreed upon it. It is all most infuriating.” Jane sighed. “You know that, as a woman of many faults, I abhor faultlessness in others. What is there to be done with them if they cannot change or improve?”

‘It’s true that many of those visiting the palaces often choose to visit as part of a tourist itinerary rather than as an art history fest, but once inside visitors are often struck by the excellent quality of the paintings, and how exciting it can be to see an image you are familiar with – maybe from a book illustration or the media – “in the flesh”.’

“Your grandmother likes to take to her bed whenever we arrive somewhere new. It is her way of feeling at home. She can then test the mattress, meet the best doctors, sample the wares of the local apothecary and know just what to expect should real illness afflict her. Which it never does, incidentally. But perhaps that is her wisdom: prevention by good preparation.”

“When your Aunt Jane was still with us and enjoying her little burst of success, there came a few vultures who liked to feed on any scraps of her life. The stories were not enough for them. They wanted the facts about her, and she was not minded to share them. As her novels live on - and I hope and believe they will do - there may well be more in the future. We must be very mindful of what we leave out for them“

‘The wedding was due to take place in the large gothic cathedral of St Gummaruskerk on 20 October 1496 but when Philip turned up at the convent a week before that and took one look at his beautiful bride, he wanted the union celebrated, and therefore consummated, earlier. The physical attraction between Juana and Philip was immediate and electric’

‘The arts is a non-statutory service – local government doesn’t have to fund or support the arts or employ arts officers and, when times are tough, politicians look closely at non-statutory services, so it’s important to build a high profile, maintain that profile and always be ready to argue the case for the arts.‘

Sad but true.

Casually reading this book. I didn’t get the job at Hampton Court Palace, but was proud to just get an interview, as not everyone gets to that stage as it is very popular. So decided to read up more on the sector and chose this one as it has been recommended in a past article by Lucy Worsley.

This has a bit of a Jane Eyre and Rebecca feel to it, but even more sinister.

‘Nicholas Ridley, the chain-smoking Secretary of State for the Environment, had been trapped in the life when visiting Hampton Court; when he was released he found that no single body could be found to be responsible for the palace. Following that incident, in 1989 the palace and the other ‘unoccupied’ royal palaces... came together under one body.’