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 15th December 1817 [her father] Cipriano de Palafox 8th Count of Montijo [aged 33] and [her mother] María Manuela-Kirkpatrick y de Grevignée [aged 23] were married.
On 5th May 1826 Empress Eugénie of France was born to [her father] Cipriano de Palafox 8th Count of Montijo [aged 41] and [her mother] María Manuela-Kirkpatrick y de Grevignée [aged 32].
On 14th February 1838 [her brother-in-law] Jacopo Fitz James Stuart 15th Duke Alba 13th Duke Veragua 8th Duke Berwick [aged 16] and [her sister] María Francisca "Paca" Palafox Duchess of Veragua, Berwick and Alba [aged 13] were married at Madrid [Map]. She by marriage Duchess Veragua, Duchess of Liria, Duchess of Jérica, Duchess Berwick, Duchess Alba. He the son of Carlos Miguel Fitz James Stuart 12th Duke Veragua 7th Duke Berwick 14th Duke Alba and Rosalía Ventimiglia Duchess Veragua Duchess Berwick Duchess Alba [aged 40].
On 15th March 1839 [her father] Cipriano de Palafox 8th Count of Montijo [aged 54] died.
In 1853. Franz Xaver Winterhalter [aged 47]. Portrait of Empress Eugénie of France [aged 26].
On 22nd January 1853 Emperor Napoléon III [aged 44] and Empress Eugénie of France [aged 26] were married at the Tuileries Palace. A much grander ceremony was held a few days later at Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral [Map].
Around 1854. Franz Xaver Winterhalter [aged 48]. Portrait of Empress Eugénie of France [aged 27].
1854. Édouard Dubufe [aged 34]. Portrait of Eugénie de Montijo [aged 27], Empress of the French.
Around 1855. Franz Xaver Winterhalter [aged 49]. The Empress Eugénie of France [aged 28] surrounded by her Ladies in Waiting.
On 16th March 1856 [her son] Prince Imperial Louis-Napoléon was born to [her husband] Emperor Napoléon III [aged 47] and Empress Eugénie of France [aged 29].
On 9th January 1873 [her husband] Emperor Napoléon III [aged 64] died.
Adeline Horsey Recollections. The beautiful and unfortunate Empress Elizabeth of Austria [aged 39] rented Cottesbroke from my cousins the Langhams, and her exploits in the hunting-field are well known. Bay Middleton was always staying at Cottesbroke, and used generally to give the Empress a "lead".
The Empress found Sunday rather a dull day at Cottesbroke, so she had jumps made all round the park, and at 6 o'clock every Sunday morning she and Bay Middleton used to ride together, and taking the jumps became her unvarying Sunday amusement.
Her biographers have not flattered her when they describe her as being singularly handsome, for she was indeed a queenly figure, and I think her only personal defects were her hands and feet, which were large and ungainly. It is said that when Elizabeth first met the Empress Eugenie [aged 50] she was very jealous of her tiny extremities, for Eugenie's hands and feet were exceptionally small.
Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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On 1st June 1879 [her son] Prince Imperial Louis-Napoléon [aged 23] was killed in action. At noon, the prince halted an eight man patrol at a temporarily deserted kraal. The prince and Lieutenant Carey [aged 31] made some sketches of the terrain and used part of the thatch to make a fire. No lookout was posted. As they were preparing to leave, about 40 Zulus fired upon them and rushed towards them. A Zulu named Langalibalele, threw his spear at the prince, but missed. Another spear, thrown by a Zulu named Zabanga, struck the prince's left shoulder. Then the prince suffered a final blow from Klabawathunga who stabbed the prince in the right eye, killing him. When the prince's corpse was recovered the next day, it was found naked and an examination by surgeon-major F. B. Scott counted 18 wounds, all of which were stab wounds.
On 22nd November 1879 [her mother] María Manuela-Kirkpatrick y de Grevignée [aged 85] died.
On 11th July 1920 Empress Eugénie of France [aged 94] died.
Adeline Horsey Recollections. Paris was then a city of delight, revelling in the palmy days of the Second Empire, and I greatly enjoyed my visit there. One night I went to the Opera with Cardigan and we saw Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Trelawney in a box. Mrs. Trelawney was the famous Miss Howard, once the English mistress of Louis Napoleon, who paid her £250,000 when he renounced her to marry Eugenie de Montijo. Mrs. Trelawney annoyed the Emperor and Empress as much as she dared by sitting opposite the Royal box at the Opera, and driving almost immediately behind the Empress's carriage in the Bois de Boulogne. She was a very fat woman, and her embonpoint increased to such an extent that the doors of her carriage had to be enlarged to allow her to get in and out with comfort.