The Tudors and The Restoration Research

 26th September 2020

The Tudors and The Restoration:

Henry VIII was the king of England from 1509 until he died in 1547 and he during his reign he had 6 wives. The first was Catherine of Aragon, they were married in 1509 and they had a daughter in 1516, who was Mary I. Henry and Catherine were married for 23 years until Henry divorced her as she didn’t provide him with a male heir. The Roman Catholic Church refused to approve the divorce, so Henry created the Church of England (History, 2020). This also caused lots of riots all over the country.

 

Catherine of Aragon, Imagno/Getty Images

Henry’s second wife was Anne Boleyn, they were married in 1533 and Anne gave birth to their first child, who was Elizabeth I, in September that same year. After a number of stillborn births, Henry lost interest in his wife as she wasn’t going to provide him with a male heir, he desperately wanted to end the relationship, so he accused her of adultery and treason, he then divorced her and she was beheaded on 19^th May 1536 (History, 2020).

 Anne Boleyn, Robert Alexander/Getty Images

His 3^rd wife was Jane Seymour, they were married just days after Anne’s execution, in 1537 Jane gave birth to Edward VI, however she died weeks later due to complications of the birth (History, 2020).

 Jane Seymour, Imagno/Getty Images

His 4^th wife was Anne of Cleves, he thought her portrait was the most flattering, however, she looked nothing like the painting. They were married in 1540 and she was called the “ugly-wife,” she then accepted a divorce 6 months later (History, 2020).

 Anne of Cleves, DeAgostini/Getty Images

Henry’s 5^th wife was Catherine Howard, they were married in July 1540, Henry showered with gifts and called her “a rose without a thorn.” However, less than a year into their marriage there was rumours of infidelity and she was executed for adultery and treason in 1542 (History, 2020).

 Catherine Howard, Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images

Henry’s final wife was Catherine Parr, they were married in 1543 and when she showed an interest in Protestantism, he had her arrested. However, she avoided the consequences of this, and she persuaded Henry to add his daughters to the order of succession. Henry then died in 1547 and Catherine died in 1548.

 Catherine Parr, DeAgostini/Getty Images

From these portraits we can determine that pale skin was desired, along with the high forehead and the red cheeks and lips. There were also poems written which described how women should look, these poems included things such as “face should be fair.”

There have been many different interpretations of this and one of the most popular depictions is Anne Boleyn in Wolf Hall.

 Wolf Hall, 2015

After reigning for only 6 years, Edward VI died at aged 15, his sister Mary became queen, she tried to restore the country’s religion back to Roman Catholic and she was given the nickname “Bloody Mary” after hundreds of Protestants were executed. In 1554 she married Prince Phillip of Spain, however, he found her unattractive and during their marriage he spent most of his time in Europe. She announced she was pregnant twice, but no child was born which meant that she had no heir (History, 2009).

One of the most famous Mary Queen of Scots makeups is the Jenny Shircore makeup.

Makeup Artist Magazine, 2019

As we can see from this makeup, she was very pale with red cheeks and red lips. She also has a high forehead and wigs made of wool were used.

After her 6 year reign, Elizabeth I became queen, she had a long reign and was known as the “Virgin Queen” as she was never married and didn’t have an heir, she was a Protestant and she died in 1603 as one of England’s greatest monarch’s. She had no heir, and this was the end of the Tudor reign (History, 2009). As Elizabeth got older, she did not look in the mirror and she applied makeup more heavily. Her skin was covered with pockmarks and due to the lead poisoning caused by her cosmetics she had hair loss and tooth decay which meant that she wore wigs and had pencil thin eyebrows, this became desirable. The ancient palette was also still being used. There are hundreds of depictions of the “Old Elizabeth.”

 Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images

During the Tudor reign, hundreds of people were executed, and beheadings were the preferred method for this. Horrible Histories depicted this time extremely well and they included people that had been beheaded.

 Horrible Histories, 2009

After Elizabeth’s death, Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans banned makeup and they would patrol the streets and scrub makeup off women’s faces. Then the Restoration began in 1660 when Charles II was restored to the throne. Makeup became acceptable again and we from portraits of women such as Madame de Pompadour and Marie Antoinette, who was executed in 1793, we can determine that the cheeks were very red, the lips were red and the skin was very pale, they also had well groomed eyebrows.

Madame de Pompadour, 1750, Francois Boucher, Collection Harvard Art Museums

Marie Antoinette

The hair also got higher and more dramatic throughout time; wigs were used to achieve this.

There is lots of different depictions of this time with the live action ‘Beauty and the Beast’ being one of the most recent from 2017. 

 

Beauty and the Beast, 2017

People also had pockmarked skin which meant that the middle and upper classes would cover them using silk, velvet, and satin patches in the shape of hearts, moons, stars, birds, and flowers.

The position of the patches also meant different things: the corner of the eye meant that you were a mistress, the right cheek meant that you were married, the left cheek meant that you were engaged and around the mouth meant that you were single.

Bibliography:

History (2020) Who Were the Six Wives of Henry VIII? Available at: https://www.history.com/news/henry-viii-wives (Accessed: 26 September 2020)

Wolf Hall (2015) Claire Foy – Anne Boleyn’s Speech and Execution Wolf Hall Available at: https://youtu.be/f350ufWtFX4 (Accessed: 26 September 2020)

History (2009) Mary I Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/mary-i (Accessed: 26 September 2020)

Makeup Artist Magazine (2019) An Evening with Jenny Shircore and ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ Available at: https://makeupmag.com/an-evening-with-jenny-shircore-and-mary-queen-of-scots/ (Accessed: 26 September 2020)

History (2009) Elizabeth I Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/elizabeth-i (Accessed: 26 September 2020)

Movies & T.V Series (2018) Beauty and the Beast Ending Scene 2017 Available at: https://youtu.be/o2-W2qCOEKY (Accessed: 26 September 2020)

BritishSketchShowFan (2013) Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors: This is Your Reign: King Henry VIII Available at: https://youtu.be/PS0u2qUl6p8 (Accessed: 26 September 2020)