This post is my contribution to the Nautical Blog Hop, organised by Helen Hollick. Please do not miss out on all the other posts on this blog hop – right at the bottom of this post you will find a list of all participants. Further to this, why not participate in my little give-away –
I love them fried, I love them boiled, I love them very much when they are mashed. I like them new when they’re the size of quail eggs, I love them just as much when they’re covered with thick peel and are the size of a large fist. I like them red and yellow, blue
“If I had two heads, I would gladly give him one,” Christina of Denmark is supposed to have quipped, when Henry VIII was proposed as a future bridegroom. This particular young woman had no desire to end up as one of the English king’s discarded wives – especially not as so many of them ended
Christina of Denmark – an exiled princess who never came home Read More »
When Francisco Pizarro set foot in Perú for the first time in 1527, he’d already heard of the gold, as had his companions. “Biru”, people called this faraway kingdom where gold was as common as the cork oaks in Pizarro’s native Extremadura, and over time “Biru” became “Perú”. That first visit was more of a
When greed meets gold – of Pizarro and Atahualpa Read More »
Vanity is not one of the seven deadly sins. Fortunately, one might add, as this is a sin most of us are guilty of – on a rather regular basis. No? This doesn’t apply to you? Ha! Double ha! As to vanity not being a deadly sin, it does at times hover uncomfortably close to
In 1496, Princess Juana of Castilla, daughter of their most Catholic majesties Fernando and Isabel, married Philip the Beautiful, son of Maximilan I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, scion of the Hapsburg dynasty. At the time of her marriage, Juana was not expected to inherit the combined kingdoms of Aragón and Castilla. She had
Of inbreeding, royal marriages and their ultimate consequence Read More »
In November 1520, Lady Kristina Gyllenstierna was dragged before the victorious Danish king and given the choice of dying by burning at the stake or by being buried alive. Needless to say, this 25-year-old woman wasn’t too keen on either of the options. Besides, why should she be condemned to die, when all she had
A year ago, I had published zero books. Today, I have published 3. Gulp, gulp, gulp. By now I should be relaxed about all this, but instead I go around in a somewhat feverish state, peek at amazon to ensure my book is there (it is), stroke the cover a couple of times and soothe
On December 18, 1626, the people of Stockholm were treated to a full royal salute. What with the auspicious stars, the populace was expecting a prince. a male heir to their glorious warrior king, Gustavus Adolphus. The child was received with joy; sturdy and lusty, hirsute and strong, it bawled loudly upon being expelled from
I was very young and impressionable when I met my husband. To me, he was the equivalent of finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (boy, I can see him squirm should he read this) and it helped that we both shared a childish sense of fun, with me hollering “Heathcliff”
When I dream, I dream of him – presenting my seventeenth century hero Read More »