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All About History Books
Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
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Kensington Palace is in Kensington.
John Evelyn's Diary. 25th February 1690. I went to Kensington, which King William (age 39) had bought of Lord Nottingham (age 42), and altered, but was yet a patched building, but with the garden, however, it is a very sweet villa, having to it the park and a straight new way through this park.
John Evelyn's Diary. 8th November 1691 to 30th November 1691. An extraordinary dry and warm season, without frost, and like a new spring; such as had not been known for many years. Part of the King's house at Kensington was burned.
On 28th December 1694 Mary Stewart II Queen England Scotland and Ireland (age 32) died of smallpox shortly after midnight at Kensington Palace. Her body lay in state at the Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace [Map].
On 5th March 1695 she was buried in Westminster Abbey [Map]. Archbishop Thomas Tenison (age 58) preached the sermon.
She had reigned for five years. Her husband King William III of England, Scotland and Ireland (age 44) continued to reign for a further eight years.
John Evelyn's Diary. 23rd April 1696. I went to Eton [Map], and dined with Dr. Godolphin, the provost. The schoolmaster assured me there had not been for twenty years a more pregnant youth in that place than my grandson (age 14). I went to see the King's House at Kensington. It is very noble, though not great. The gallery furnished with the best pictures [from] all the houses, of Titian, Raphael, Correggio, Holbein, Julio Romano, Bassan, Vandyke, Tintoretto, and others; a great collection of porcelain; and a pretty private library. The gardens about it very delicious.
On 1st August 1714 Queen Anne of England Scotland and Ireland (age 49) died at Kensington Palace. Her second cousin George (age 54) succeeded I King Great Britain and Ireland.
In 1759 Matthew Blakiston 1st Baronet (age 57) was knighted at Kensington Palace.
On 25th October 1760 King George II of Great Britain and Ireland (age 76) died at Kensington Palace. His grandson George (age 22) succeeded III King Great Britain and Ireland. Duke Cambridge merged with the Crown.
On 9th January 1769 William Robert Spencer was born to Charles Spencer (age 28) and Mary Beauclerk (age 25) at Kensington Palace. He a great x 2 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. He married 1791 Susan Jenison and had issue.
On 18th February 1828 Ernst Christian Carl Hohenlohe Langenburg I Prince (age 33) and Anna Feodora Auguste Charlotte Wilhelmine Leiningen Princess were married at Kensington Palace. She by marriage Princess of Hohenlohe Langenburg.
On 20th June 1837 King William IV of the United Kingdom (age 71) died at Windsor Castle [Map]. His niece Victoria (age 18) succeeded I Queen Great Britain and Ireland. His brother Ernest (age 66) succeeded King Hanover. Frederica Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort Hanover (age 59) by marriage Queen Consort Hanover.
At 5am Francis Nathaniel Conyngham 2nd Marquess Conyngham (age 40) and Archbishop William Howley (age 71) went to Kensington Palace to inform the Princess she was now Queen. Francis Nathaniel Conyngham 2nd Marquess Conyngham was the first to address her as 'Your Majesty'.
All About History Books
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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On 21st April 1843 Prince Augustus Frederick Hanover 1st Duke Sussex (age 70) died at Kensington Palace. He was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery [Map]. Duke Sussex extinct.
On 13th August 1868 Adolphus Cambridge Duke Teck was born to Francis Teck (age 30) and Princess Mary Adelaide Hanover (age 34) at Kensington Palace. He a great grandson of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland. He married 1894 Margaret Evelyn Grosvenor Duchess Teck, daughter of Hugh Lupus Grosvenor 1st Duke Westminster and Constance Leveson-Gower Duchess Westminster, and had issue.
In 1874 Alexander Teck 1st Earl Athlone was born to Francis Teck (age 36) and Princess Mary Adelaide Hanover (age 40) at Kensington Palace. He a great grandson of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland. He married 10th February 1904 his second cousin once removed Princess Alice Countess Athlone, daughter of Leopold Saxe Coburg Gotha 1st Duke Albany and Helena Waldeck Duchess Albany, and had issue.
In 1957 Alexander Teck 1st Earl Athlone (age 83) died at Kensington Palace.
On 27th August 1968 Princess Marina Glücksburg Duchess Kent (age 61) died at Kensington Palace.
On 24th June 1819 Victoria, the future Queen, was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton (age 64) in the Cupola Room, Kensington Palace.