She was hosting an international group of history enthusiasts on a tour learning about the queens of England.

The White Ship by Charles Spencer review — the kingdom that

There was a time when the tragedy of the White Ship was so well known that historians apologised for excavating the hackneyed tale once more. It took the king’s life before he could utter a word – a fitting end, many thought, for a man famed for his assaults on the Church and its great wealth; deprived of confession by the fatal arrow, Rufus’ eternal damnation seemed guaranteed. No ship that ever sailed brought England such disaster,” the chronicler William of Malmesbury wrote of the wrecking of the White Ship, which crashed upon the Quillebeuf rock barely a mile off the Normandy coast on November 25, 1120.The timber longboat known as the White Ship sank off Normandy 900 years ago, drowning the heir to the English throne and hundreds of nobles. Last week, the IDA team travelled with Earl Spencer from Lymington Harbour, Hampshire, to the site, which had not previously been explored. Inside Parliament: Peers given lesson in land access: Maiden speech by Earl Spencer focuses on responsible approach to use of the countryside – Bill attacks 'sleazy world of Tory finances' ".

The White Ship by Charles Spencer | Waterstones The White Ship by Charles Spencer | Waterstones

But the crew and helmsman were also tipsy, and the voyage had barely begun before it ended in catastrophe. A confusing, bloody but riveting read if you can keep track of who's who in this historical Game of Thrones scenario. He guides the reader well through the dramatic twists and turns of these years, which first placed Henry on the throne, then seemed set to deny the succession of his progeny. PICKED AS A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 BY THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, THE GUARDIAN, THE DAILY MAIL AND THE DAILY EXPRESS. Or should popular historians not also seek to analyse sources and events (as academic historians do)?

In the end the white ship incident is like the climactic event that divides a play into two bits; Henry I’s rise and then the chaos that followed him. Richard FitzStephen, the skipper of a splendid vessel, the Blanche-Nef, stepped forward to greet the king. After I finished, I tried to see if we could trace their family tree back to Henry I and… yep you can! Upon fulfilling her duties as a queen in producing an heir Henry's wife retires from bedroom duty and lives separately from the king. Charles Spencer highlights this period in history and the traumatic loss of the ship and all those aboard in, “The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream”.

Spencer - The White Ship, the worst ever royal disaster Earl Spencer - The White Ship, the worst ever royal disaster

A podcast where Spencer talked about a weird situation in which courtiers knew about the white ship crash ahead of the king and we’re afraid to tell him, so they had to hide their own grief until someone mustered up the courage to tell him. Everything he had worked for was finally achieved, and he was ready to hand it on to his beloved son, William AEtheling. Everything we learn is important in one way or another, from helping us understand the general spirit reigning over England during the 11th and 12th centuries to clarifying the decisions and ambitions of various key figures. When the crew tried to push the White Ship free, they succeeded only in tearing the gash in her side wider still.The event is vividly reconstructed, detailed with a tangible compassion for the people on-board whose lives were swept away in the blink of an eye, reminding us that even if they lived almost a thousand years ago, they were people like us who loved life just as much as we do. It takes 150 pages for Spencer to bring Henry I to the forefront and begin analyzing the White Ship .

The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of H…

Succession and Ferris Bueller's Day Off star Alan Ruck crashes his TRUCK into popular Hollywood pizza. JLS fans go wild as boyband announces new tour dates for summer 2024: 'This just gave me goosebumps! To have located pieces of a ship that match the construction techniques and scale of the White Ship is incredibly exciting -- and potentially very significant.

His half brother and half sister drowned, and also many scions of Anglo-Norman aristocracy and military leaders, including 18 women. The week in audio: The Coldest Case in Laramie; Carol and Muriel; The Rabbit Hole Detectives and more". Thus began the Plantagenet Dynasty that would last until the Tudors stole the crown from Richard III. Spencer takes us through an abridged version of what became known as "The Anarchy" finishing up with the settlement of succession onto Henry Plantagenet.