On this day in Tudor history, 9th or 10th June 1563, William Paget, 1st Baron Paget, diplomat and administrator, died, probably at his estate of West Drayton in Middlesex.
By his death, he’d served four Tudor monarchs and even though he’d fallen from favour and been imprisoned, he kept his head and climbed back in favour.
But who was Baron Paget? Well, let me give you a few facts about this Tudor man.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 8th June 1492, in the reign of King Henry VII, Elizabeth Woodville, died at Bermondsey Abbey.
Elizabeth Woodville was the wife of King Edward IV and mother of Elizabeth of York and the Princes in the Tower, King Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, but there’s far more to her than that.
Enjoy this overview of Elizabeth Woodville’s life.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 7th June 1536, there were celebrations for England’s new queen, Jane Seymour, third wife of King Henry VIII.
The celebrations consisted of a river pageant on the River Thames in London, from Greenwich Palace to Whitehall (York Place).
Find out all about this river pageant in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
The multitude of Thomases in the Tudor period keep us on our toes, don’t they? There are just so many of them. How much do you know about prominent Tudor Thomases? Get those little grey cells working with today’s quiz.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 6th June 1549, an army of rebels assembled at Bodmin in Cornwall, and there was a town meeting in which the rebels’ demands were put forward.
What were these rebels rebelling against?
The recent religious changes, particularly the new law concerning the Book of Common Prayer.
Trouble ensued and their grievances became a full-blown rebellion, the Prayer Book Rebellion. You can find out what happened next and how the rebellion ended in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 5th June 1516, Spaniard Maria de Salinas married William, 10th Lord Willoughby of Eresby.
Maria and William were the parents of Catherine Willoughby, who went on to marry Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. Maria was also a good friend of Catherine of Aragon and managed to be with the queen in her final hours, even though she wasn’t supposed to be there.
Find out more about Maria de Salinas in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
This week’s Claire chats has been inspired by my two great loves, history and Harry Potter, and I consider the real Nicholas Flamel and the legends surrounding him, and also George Ripley and the Ripley Scroll.
[Read More...]
On the afternoon of this day in Tudor history, Wednesday 4th June 1561, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, London was hit by a tremendous thunderstorm. Fires caused by lightning strikes destroyed one church and damaged St Paul’s Cathedral.
Find out more about the storm, how St Paul’s was damaged, the reactions to the lightning strike, what Queen Elizabeth I did, and what happened next, in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
Thank you to Wendy for submitting this question. Wendy wrote:
“Hi I am researching a novel set in 1495. In it my main character and his son are Grooms and Ushers to the King which would be Henry VII. It’s a fictional story and the characters are fictional, but I have some questions:
How much freedom would they have? For instance is it likely that the King would dismiss them from court to go home at regular intervals? Would they be able to go home if they requested to because they needed to, or would they have certain times they are allowed home? They live in Somerset so I am estimating it will take them a few days to get home and a few more to get back.”
Historian and historical novelist Toni Mount gave this answer:
[Read More...]
Edward Courtenay was the second and only surviving son of Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exeter, and his second wife, Gertrude Courtenay.
Little is known about his early life, but we know that he spent some of his early childhood in the household of Mary Tudor. Dowager Queen of France. After she died in 1533, however, he returned to his family and received tuition from Robert Taylor. When his father fell afoul of King Henry VIII for his support of Katherine of Aragon and his correspondence with the Poles, Edward, aged twelve, was sent alongside his parents to the Tower of London and imprisoned. Edward’s father was executed on 9th December 1538, and his mother was released after eighteen months of imprisonment.
[Read More...]
Thank you to Tudor Society members who also subscribe to the Anne Boleyn and Tudor Society YouTube Channel – we’ve just hit 45,000 subscribers!
To celebrate, I jumped at the opportunity to humiliate Tim with another Tudor History Challenge. This time, it’s on the six wives of Henry VIII.
Why don’t you play along and see if you can do better than Tim?
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 3rd June 1535, Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII’s vicar-general, issued orders regarding the royal supremacy to the bishops of the kingdom.
But what was the royal supremacy and what were the clergy expected to do?
Find out all about the royal supremacy, the orders sent and how bishops reacted, in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 2nd June 1536, Jane Seymour made her first public appearance at Greenwich Palace.
She’d married King Henry VIII on 30th May 1536, and this public appearance was just two weeks after Anne Boleyn’s execution, so it must have caused quite a stir.
Find out more about this public appearance, and also about Jane Seymour herself, in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
Our expert speaker this month is Sarah-Beth Watkins, and in this talk she discusses Sir Francis Bryan, Henry VIII’s most notorious ambassador, taking us right through his life from birth to death… simply amazing!
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 1st June 1593, the inquest into the death of playwright, poet and translator Christopher Marlowe took place.
Twenty-nine-year-old Marlowe, writer of such famous works as “Tamburlaine”, “Dr Faustus” and “The Jew of Malta”, had been fatally stabbed at a house in Deptford Strand, London, by a man named Ingram Frizer on 30th May 1593, but what happened?
In today’s “on this day” talk, I share William Danby’s coroner’s report on what happened that fateful day.
[Read More...]