This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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On 7th March 1930 Antony Armstrong-Jones 1st Earl of Snowdon was born.
Before 25th April 1939 Thomas William Anson [aged 26] and Anne Ferelith Bowes-Lyon [aged 21] were married at St Margaret's Church, Westminster [Map]. The wedding was attended by the King [aged 43] and [his future mother-in-law] Queen [aged 38], Princesses [his future sister-in-law] Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom [aged 13] and [his future wife] Princess Margaret [aged 8] - see Pathe. He the son of Thomas Edward Anson 4th Earl Lichfield [aged 55] and Evelyn Maud Keppel Countess Lichfield [aged 52].
On 21st October 1947 David Allan Bethell 5th Baron Westbury [aged 25] and Ursula James [aged 23] were married at St Martin in the Fields Church [Map]. Princesses [his future sister-in-law] Elizabeth [aged 21] and [his future wife] Margaret [aged 17] attended the wedding, as did the Duke [aged 47] and Duchess [aged 45] of Gloucester.
On 21st April 1956 Colin Tennant 3rd Baron Glenconner [aged 29] and Anne Veronica Coke Baroness Glenconner [aged 23] were married at St Withburga's Church, Holkham [Map]. Bishop Percy Herbert [aged 70] presided. The guests included [his future mother-in-law] Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Queen Consort England [aged 55] and [his future wife] Princess Margaret [aged 25]. Princess Margaret's future husband Antony Armstrong-Jones 1st Earl of Snowdon [aged 26] took the photographs. She the daughter of Major Thomas William Edward Coke 5th Earl of Leicester [aged 47] and Elizabeth Mary Yorke Countess of Leicester [aged 44].
On 6th May 1960 Antony Armstrong-Jones 1st Earl of Snowdon [aged 30] and Princess Margaret [aged 29] were married at Westminster Abbey [Map]. The ceremony was the first royal wedding to be broadcast on television. She the daughter of King George VI of the United Kingdom and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Queen Consort England [aged 59].
Colin Tennant 3rd Baron Glenconner [aged 33] and Anne Veronica Coke Baroness Glenconner [aged 27], whose wedding the couple had attended four years before, offered them a piece of land on their privately owned island, Mustique, and agreed to build a house for the couple on the land. It was designed in 1971 by uncle to Lord Snowdon, Oliver Messel, and named "Les Jolies Eaux" aka "The Pretty Waters"
On 3rd October 1961 [his son] David Armstrong-Jones 2nd Earl of Snowdon was born to Antony Armstrong-Jones 1st Earl of Snowdon [aged 31] and [his wife] Princess Margaret [aged 31] at Clarence House. He a grandson of King George VI of the United Kingdom. He married 8th October 1993 Serena Alleyne Stanhope Countess of Snowdon, daughter of Charles Stanhope 12th Earl of Harrington.
On 6th October 1961 Antony Armstrong-Jones 1st Earl of Snowdon [aged 31] was created 1st Earl Snowdon, 1st Viscount Linley.
7th April 1982. Lord Snowdon [aged 52]. Photograph of Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell 6th Baronet [aged 84].
On 8th October 1993 David Armstrong-Jones 2nd Earl of Snowdon [aged 32] and Serena Stanhope [aged 23] were married. She the daughter of Charles Stanhope 12th Earl of Harrington [aged 48]. He the son of Antony Armstrong-Jones 1st Earl of Snowdon [aged 63] and Princess Margaret [aged 63].
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 9th February 2002 [his wife] Princess Margaret [aged 71] died at King Edward VII's Hospital. She was buried at King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle [Map].
On 13th January 2017 Antony Armstrong-Jones 1st Earl of Snowdon [aged 86] died. His son David [aged 55] succeeded 2nd Earl Snowdon, 2nd Viscount Linley. Serena Stanhope [aged 46] by marriage Countess Snowdon.