This morning, my dear friend-around-the-corner, Rita, and I ventured to the monthly meeting at The American Women's Club. (www.awc.org/london). Full of delightful and interesting American women from all over our country who are also residing here as English ex-pats like us, this organization gives you the inside scoop to everything London--and England--has to offer. I've loved... loooved it. You can enjoy everything from day trips to cooking classes and tours around the UK.
Back to the royal family and their precarious lives, hence the title of this post.
Today at the meeting, we had the privilege of listening to one of Britain's most famous authors, Alison Weir, who writes both historical fiction and historical biographies on some of the country's most famous royals. I picked up her book, " The Lady Elizabeth," on the young Queen Elizabeth I the other day on the high street, because I knew she was coming to speak. Weir was a wealth of knowledge and spoke on her newest book about Queen Anne Boleyn (one of the two wives (he had six!) of Henry VIII that was beheaded at the Tower of London before thousands of people) entitled, "The Lady in the Tower," in which she hints of her suspicions of the second Tudor Queen's innocence.
Regan and I learned all about the life--and six wives--of Henry VIII this summer during our visit to Hampton Court Palace, as well as all about the frightening executions (look up "hung, drawn, and quartered"... wow, that'll make your skin shiver) that took place at the Tower of London. I mean, the last piece of mail you wanted to receive during the Tudor reign was a letter from Henry asking for your hand in marriage. I know I'm an unashamed lover of all things history and literature (and those of you who know my father know that I come by this honestly) but the meeting was fun and enlightening to learn some of the dramatic history of the "greatest Britains" found everywhere in this wonderful city.
(Bonus: I got my book signed by the author.)
Check out Weir's books if you're on the hunt for a good, fascinating read!
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