18 October – Freedom for Elizabeth and the death of Margaret Tudor

On this day in Tudor history, 18th October 1555, Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, finally received permission from her half-sister, Queen Mary I, to leave court and travel to her own estate at Hatfield, rather than return to house arrest in Woodstock.

Poor Elizabeth had spent the last 18 months being watched or imprisoned, so this must have been a huge relief.

But why had Elizabeth been watched and confined? What had she gone through and why?

Find out more about this awful part of Elizabeth I's life...

Also on this day in Tudor history, 18th October 1541, Margaret Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII and eldest daughter of King Henry VII, died of a stroke.

Margaret Tudor is a fascinating Tudor lady. She was sent to Scotland at 13 to marry King James IV, she was widowed, divorced and unhappily married, she fled to England at one point, and she was the mother of Lady Margaret Douglas, and grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots AND Lord Darnley, and great-grandmother of King James VI of Scotland (King James I of England).

What a life she had!

Find out more about her...