20 October – A countess twice over

On this day in Tudor history, 20th October 1557, or possibly 21st, courtier Mary Arundell died at Bath Place in London.

Mary is an interesting Tudor lady. Not only did she serve at least two of Henry VIII’s wives, but she was a countess twice over, having been married to both the Earls of Sussex and Arundel. She has also been confused with two other Tudor ladies, and we don't know whether the portrait you see in the thumbnail is really her.

Find out more about Mary Arundell's life, court career and those of her husbands, in today's talk.

Also on this day in Tudor history, 20th October 1536, Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy, yielded Pontefract Castle to the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace. However, all was not as it seemed, as Darcy and others on the castle were actually sympathetic to the rebel cause. Find out more about the situation at Pontefract Castle, the letters Darcy wrote to King Henry VIII, what happened on the night of 19th October and morning of 20th October, and why Darcy came to a sticky end, in last year’s video:

Also on this day in history:

• 1549 – Death of John Uvedale, administrator. Uvedale served Henry VIII as Secretary to the Duke of Richmond's Council in the North, Secretary to Queen Anne Boleyn (1533-1536), Commissioner in the Dissolution of the Monasteries and Paymaster to the forces in the East and Middle Marches. In Edward VI's reign, he was Under-Treasurer for the Scottish war.
• 1573 – Death of Thomas Smith, colonial adventurer, at Comber in the Ards, co. Down, Ireland, after being shot by one of his Irish employees. Smith had been attempting to colonise that part of Ireland and had become unpopular with the locals.
• 1581 – Death of James Blount, 6th Baron Mountjoy, at Hooke in Dorset. Blount was made a Knight of the Bath at Mary I's coronation, served as a Justice of the Peace, and experimented with alchemy.

Transcript:

On this day in Tudor history, 20th October 1557, or possibly 21st, courtier Mary Arundell died at Bath Place in London.
Mary is an interesting Tudor lady. Not only did she serve at least two of Henry VIII’s wives, but she was a countess twice over, having been married to the Earl of Sussex and the Earl of Arundel.
Let me tell you a bit more about Mary…

• Mary’s birthdate is not known, but she was the only child of Sir John Arundell of Lanherne in Cornwall, and his second wife, Katherine Grenville. Her father had been made a Knight of the Bath in Henry VII’s reign and had served the king fighting against the Cornish rebels in 1497 and then his son, King Henry VII, in France, at the siege of Therouanne in 1513.
• Mary made her debut at Henry VIII’s court in 1536 when she served the king’s new wife, Jane Seymour, as a maid of honour. She also served Anne of Cleves before moving into the service of Henry VIII’s eldest daughter, Mary.
• In January 1537, Mary married Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex, becoming a stepmother to his children from his previous two wives. With Sussex, Mary had two sons, one born in 1538, who died in infancy, and another, John, born in 1539.
• Sussex died in 1542 and in 1545 Mary went on to marry Henry Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, as his second wife. They did not have any children.
• While they were married, Mary’s husband, Arundel, went on to serve Henry VIII as Lord Chamberlain and a privy councillor, and was high constable at Edward VI’s coronation, as he was at the coronations of Mary I and Elizabeth I. He ended up being arrested after the fall of Edward Seymour, Lord Protector, but only spent a year in the Tower. In July 1553, following the accession of Lady Jane Grey, Arundel and his fellow councillor, William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, were responsible for turning the royal council against Jane and proclaiming for Mary. He was also the man sent by Mary I to arrest Jane’s father-in-law, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. He became a firm favourite of Queen Mary, but did not enjoy the same favour in Elizabeth’s reign. He did not remarry, and died in 1580.
• In the past, Mary Arundell has been confused with her stepdaughter, Arundel’s daughter, Mary, who married Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, and who is known for her classical learning and translations of works. She has also been confused with Margaret Acland, Lady Arundell. And although a drawing of “Lady Ratcliffe” by Hans Holbein the Younger is often said to be her, there were several Lady Ratcliffes so we don’t know the true identity of the sitter.
• Mary died on 20th or 21st October 1557 and was laid to rest at St Clement Danes Church. However, at some point she was moved to the Fitzalan Chapel at Arundel Castle.
• Mary was outlived by her second husband, the Earl of Arundel, and her only son, John, who had been knighted in 1547, following Edward VI’s accession, and went on to serve as a Member of Parliament in Elizabeth I’s reign. He never married and died childless in 1568.