Tudor Study Day: pre and post-visit activities - Old Royal Naval ...

Tudor Study Day: pre and post-visit activities
Pre and post-visit activities
Literacy and ICT
Turn Henry’s marriage into front page news! Pupils report on one of Henry’s marriages
as if it were an event appearing in a newspaper. (pages 3-4)
Choose one of the Tudor monarchs to write a short biography or fact file on. Pupils can
use the internet and books for research. (page 5)
Art and Design
Draw an individual or class family tree of the Tudor kings and queens.
Post-visit activities
Literacy and Drama
Split the class into four groups and designate each group a different scene. Pupils can
write and perform their scenes in groups before doing a class performance of the
meeting of Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves before their wedding in Greenwich. (pages 6-
10)
Literacy
Imagine that you are the French ambassador who visited Henry VIII’s court at Greenwich
in 1527. Write a letter to your French court describing what the palace was like and what
you did during your visit.
Drama
Using the list of activities at Greenwich Palace, divide the class into small groups and act
out or mime the activities for the rest of the class to guess. (page 11)
Art and Design
Take inspiration from Henry VIII’s coat of arms and design and decorate you own. You
could also design a new coat of arms for the school. (pages 12-13)
Henry VIII and Elizabeth I held many masked balls here at Greenwich. Make a mask
using white card, colour it in and decorate with feathers and sequins. You could then hold
a Tudor masked ball of your own! (pages 14)
Other
See if you can remember some of the objects you handled during the day by matching the
pictures to the descriptions. Pupils could either draw a line to match the picture to the
description or cut out and stick the description next to the correct picture. (page 15)
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Useful websites
www.oldroyalnavalcollege.org - For more information on the Old Royal Naval College
www.britannia.com/history/londonhistory/grw-pal2.html - The history of Greenwich Palace
www.hrp.org.uk – Historic Royal Palaces website. Look at teachers’ resources for
Hampton Court Palace
www.tudorhistory.org/ - Comprehensive guide to the Tudors, including chronologies and
primary sources
www.englishhistory.net/tudor.html - Helpful website with biographies and quizzes
www.nmm.ac.uk – Visit the Tudor room at the Queen’s House
http://www.tudorbritain.org/joust/index.asp - Interactive online jousting game designed by
V & A and National Archives
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/british_galleries/designa/coat_of_arms/coat_of_
arms.html - Design a coat of arms online, created for the V & A
The Old Royal naval College is not responsible for the content of these websites.
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Name of your newspaper
Date
MAIN STORY
HEADLINE
Name of writer
Picture to accompany the
main story
Write the main body of the story here
Picture caption
Continue story here
In other news …
Headline 1.…………page xx
Headline 2………….page xx
Headline 3…….……page xx
(choose headlines
appropriate to the topic)
3

Character fact file
Name
Male or Female
Job Title
Place of birth
Year of birth
Parents
Husband or Wife
Brothers or Sisters
Children
Physical appearance
Picture
5

Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne of Cleves at
Greenwich Palace
Background information
Anne is to become Henry’s fourth wife. It is a marriage of convenience, which will
strengthen England’s relationship with Protestant Germany. Henry’s minister
Cromwell arranges the marriage; his career will be ruined if the marriage is
unsuccessful. Henry marries Anne on 6 January 1540 in the Chapel Royal at
Greenwich Palace. However, he finds her very unattractive and divorces her shortly
afterwards.
Scenario
You will be acting out Anne’s arrival to Greenwich on 3 January 1540. Anne and
Henry formally meet each other on Shooters Hill near Greenwich Palace.
Each group will act out one of the following scenes:
1. The portrait painting
2. Anne gets ready to meet King Henry
3. Henry speaks to Cromwell
4. Henry and Anne meet formally
Characters
King Henry VIII
Anne of Cleves
Thomas Cromwell
Duke of Norfolk
German ambassador
Hans Holbein the Younger
Anne’s ladies-in-waiting
Ladies of Henry’s court
Court announcer
Servants attending the king
Possible props
• Swords
• Flags
• Crown for King
• Tudor headdress (hood)
• Drapery for robes
• Pearls
• Armour (helmet)
6

Scene 1: The portrait painting
Characters:
King Henry VIII
Hans Holbein the Younger
Anne of Cleves
Anne’s ladies-in-waiting
Story outline
• King Henry VIII asks Hans Holbein the Younger to go to Germany and paint a
portrait of Anne of Cleves.
• The King wants the portrait to be as accurate as possible so he can see what
Anne really looks like.
• Hans Holbein the Younger goes to Cleves to paint a portrait of Anne for the king.
• Holbein paints Anne and returns to England to show the portrait to King Henry
VIII.
• Henry agrees to marry Anne after seeing the portrait and hearing good things
about her from the other people close to him at court.
Things you need to think about….
• What might Anne be wearing to have her portrait done
• How might Anne be feeling Nervous Excited Bored from sitting still for a long
time to be painted
• Would Anne ask any questions about the king and what he looked like
• Did Hans Holbein paint Anne exactly as he saw her or did he try to make her look
more beautiful Why might this be
7

Scene 2: Anne gets ready to meet King Henry
Characters:
Anne of Cleves
Anne’s ladies-in-waiting
German ambassador
Story outline
• Anne arrives at Greenwich on 3 January 1540.
• Anne goes into the Royal Pavilion to change her clothes and prepare herself for
meeting Henry.
• Anne’s ladies-in-waiting comfort her and help her get ready to meet the king.
• The German ambassador tells the Queen when it is time to come out to meet
Henry.
Things you need to think about….
• Anne has had a long, difficult journey from Germany. How would you be
feeling Tired Nervous Excited Scared
• Anne saw Henry briefly at Rochester before arriving at Greenwich. What
might she have thought of him (Remember by this time he was quite fat and
old!)
• Anne speaks no English, only German. How would you feel if you were to be
Queen in a country that didn’t speak your language
• What would she be wearing to meet Henry
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Scene 3: Henry speaks to Cromwell
Characters:
Henry VIII
Thomas Cromwell
Duke of Norfolk
Servants attending the king
Story outline
• Henry is very angry that Cromwell has arranged for him to marry Anne of Cleves.
• Henry Tells Lord Cromwell that a few days ago he secretly rode to Rochester to
see his new bride and is angry because he saw Anne she didn’t look like the
portrait.
• Henry thinks he was tricked into marrying Anne because she isn’t as pretty as he
thought she was. Henry says that he thinks Anne is ugly like a horse!
• Lord Cromwell tries to convince Henry to Marry Anne.
• The Duke of Norfolk tells Henry that it is time to get on his horse and go and meet
Anne.
Things you need to think about….
• Henry had not met Anne when he agreed to marry her. He had only seen
portraits of her.
• Are Lord Cromwell and the Duke of Norfolk scared of the King when he is
angry
• Henry might still be trying to think of ways to get out of the marriage.
• What will Cromwell and the Duke of Norfolk be telling Henry
(It’s too late to back out now; she’s not so ugly; she is from a good
Protestant family)
9

Scene 4: Henry and Anne meet formally
Characters:
King Henry VIII
Anne of Cleves
Thomas Cromwell
Duke of Norfolk
German ambassador
Court announcer
Ladies of Henry’s court
Story outline
• The ladies of Henry’s court are talking about the new queen.
• A trumpet sounds and the King arrives on horseback behind Cromwell and the
Duke of Norfolk.
• The court announcer presents the Anne of Cleves to His Majesty the King of
England.
• Cliff-hanger: End the scene at the moment that Henry meets Anne. How does
Henry greet Anne What do they say to each other
Things you need to think about…
• What would the ladies of the court think of the new Queen (Whispering,
disapproving looks, laughing even)
• How would Henry make his entrance
• What expression would Henry and Anne have on their faces when they were face
to face (Happiness, disgust, worry)
• How are you going to end the scene Is Henry going to be nice to Anne
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Activities at Greenwich Palace
1. Horse riding in Greenwich Park
2. Cooking in the kitchens
3. Jousting in the tiltyard
4. Practising archery
5. Signing important papers
6. Cleaning the toilets (gong-scourer)
7. Serving the court their food
8. Dancing at a masked ball
9. Making a suit of armour
10. Playing tennis
11. Cleaning the stables
12. Playing a lute
13. Planting vegetables in the gardens
14. Painting a portrait
15. Playing bowls and skittles
11

Henry VIII’s coat of arms
Image © Alfred Fisher
12

Design your own coat of arms
13

Design your own mask
14

Match the objects
Draw a line between the picture of the object and the matching description.
A floor tile from the
Tudor palace
A poor person’s plate
Horses head armour
A pipkin (cooking pot)
A poor boy’s hat
A rich person’s plate
A roof tile from the
Tudor palace
A Tudor rose decoration
A rich boy’s outfit
A poor boy’s outfit
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