Anne's Blog

The gatehouse of Brancepeth Castle, Co. Durham Most of my on-the-ground research has been in England and Belgium, and I pride myself that I have pretty much explored everywhere my characters would have walked, although not all the venues look the same as they did in the 15th century. Two incidents—one serendipitous and one funny—come to mind when I look back on nearly 20 years of traveling for research. In Mechelen, Belgium (Malines, Burgundy in Margaret of York’s time), my travel companion Maryann and I were traipsing around the town, she taking photos and I scribbling descriptions, making our way to one of Margaret’s principal residences. I knew it was now used as a theater but I really wanted to go inside and see if I felt any Margaret vibes. It was shut up tight, and I groaned. Undaunted, I circled the building and saw a modern, glassed-in staircase tacked on the back. Before Maryann could stop me, I tried the door, found it open and marched up the stairs, no knowing where

I have been to the Bosworth Battlefield Center three times, and each time I am impressed by the changes that have been made. When I was there in 2017 on my pilgrimage to my homeland to see Richard's grave and new tomb in Leicester, I was welcomed by the staff at Bosworth as a member of the Richard III Society and given the royal treatment. There is much to see and experience (photos below), and I will never forget being able to use an electric wheelchair (due to an ankle injury) and turn up the speed going down the same hill they think Richard charged down! My poor husband must have felt as helpless as Richard's closest friends did as they watched him suddenly take off down the hill to engage directly at Henry of Richmond. Scott was able to head me off before I turned the cart over, however, and crisis was averted. Not so for Richard, who, as we know, lost first his horse and then his life on Bosworth field on August 22nd, 1485. He was the last English king to die in battle.