What Got You Interested in the Tudors?

I got interested through reading about Princess Diana's wedding, some old book, where it mentioned Henry VIII'S wives, and I was amazed he had so many! I was nine and it was December, 1995. I coudn't find any books in the kids section of the library about Henry and his wives, so I started reading about his daughter, Elizabeth I, and I became fascinated with her, and thus with the Tudors. That was the first interest in History that I had too.

My first interest in Tudors became when I was nine or ten years old since I watched on TV the BBC serial with Keith Mitchel. Then I read "Murder most royal" by Jean Plaidy.
I was fascinated by the period, the queens, the XVI century fashion, the music and later I began to research seriously on that era.
Of course I love all royalties.

I read "Elizabeth Tudor, Sovereign Lady" and its companion book on Jane Grey when (goodness), I must have been 10 years old--so of course, I don't remember the author!!  Wonderful illustrations, that I do remember.  Then I read Margeret Irwin's "Young Bess".  I wasn't too much older when I saved my allowance to buy Elizabeth Jenkins' "Elizabeth the Great"---my first serious historical biography!!
Costain followed. . . .

Hmm...my first memory of the Tudors is the Royal Diary of Elizabeth I...awful I know...

I've been hooked on the Tudors since the BBC series with Keith Mitchell as Henry VIII.  I'm not sure how old I was when it was first broadcast in the US ... 10 or so, maybe?  Anyway, after that I gobbled up anything to do with Henry and his wives, especially Anne Boleyn.  I loved Elizabeth too.  The series with Glenda Jackson aired maybe a year or so after "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" and it was wonderful.  Also, it helped that I was an adolescent girl.  Reading about Elizabeth's far more difficult adolescence made my own seem less painful!  When I wasn't watching the Tudors on public TV I was reading about them at the town library, which for better or worse was well stocked with Jean Plaidy novels.  

The Tudors will always be my favorites, but I'm partial to more than a few Plantagenets as well.  I wrote a couple of papers about Richard III when I was in school, and I would dearly love for SOMEONE to solve the mystery of who killed the Princes in the Tower once and for all.    

The Tudors will always be my favorites, but I'm partial to more than a few Plantagenets as well.  I wrote a couple of papers about Richard III when I was in school, and I would dearly love for SOMEONE to solve the mystery of who killed the Princes in the Tower once and for all.    

feel free to check the threads on that... don't think they're on the first page anymore, but they are all very interesting debates on both sides...

edited to add the links:

http://hydrogen.pallasweb.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=tudor;action=display;num=1122035200
http://hydrogen.pallasweb.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Windsor;action=display;num=1120880736;start=0
http://hydrogen.pallasweb.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Windsor;action=display;num=1110367698

Yeah, it would be interesting if they would solve that, but I guess somethings aren't meant to be solved.

Thanks for the links, ilyala!  

I know very little on the Tudors, am still fascinated by the Romanovs and Windsors...no doubt when I do move on to the Tudors I will find them equally as fascinating!!!

Eddieboy, my darling. Wait till you get a hang on the Plantagenets....they will put a fire in your belly

i find the middle eve royalty much more fascinating than the 19th century one for various reasons:

1. at that time a royal was pretty much absolute, and had a lot more influence. little things that come from our personality in those times would have had a stronger effect if you were fortunate enough to be born royal.

2. not as much is known about them and i am one who always likes speculating. it's not as fun talking about someone that has pretty much all their life on paper, just waiting to find. much more fun when there are more versions, because no-one ever bothered to write everything. and then you can interpret them yourself and spend hours and days wondering how it really was...

the closer they get to nowadays the more boring they get...

I agree ilyala. Except for the Romanovs and a select few other 19th century royals, I don't like more modern royalty. It just gets dull because there's nothing to wonder about after a while.

My great grandmother was a Wyatt, a descendant of Thomas Wyatt, so I guess that got me started on the Tudors.  I've always been fasinated with Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I.

Any royals fascinate me, both those of the past and present, but I agree with the person who posted that royals of earlier centuries  are more fascinating than modern royalty.

Eddieboy, my darling. Wait till you get a hang on the Plantagenets....they will put a fire in your belly

I can't wait Kimberly!!!