On this day in Tudor history, 30th April 1532, in the reign of King Henry VIII, lawyer James Bainham was burned at the stake at Smithfield for his reformed faith.
Find out more about what led Bainham to the stake, and hear an account of his end…
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On this day in history, 29th April 1617, Sir Dru Drury died at the age of around 85 at his home, Riddlesworth Hall in Norfolk.
Drury may have died in the Stuart period, but he was a prominent Elizabethan. And he’s a man that went from being a prisoner to being Lieutenant of the Tower of London! Find out more about him…
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As yesterday was the anniversary of the burial of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, I thought I’d share these two talks on Tudor burial from the Tudor Society archives.
In this two-part series on burial in Tudor times, I discussed how the remains of a commoner were prepared for burial, then those of the wealthier classes, with real examples from the records, and I also discussed the subjects of embalming, and heart and entrails burial.
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On this day in Tudor history, 28th April 1603, Queen Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch, was laid to rest at Westminster Abbey in a lavish funeral.
Find out more about her funeral…
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We’ve turned the corner and the warmer weather is now coming in! What did the Tudors do in the summer months, and where did they go? Enjoy this bumper magazine edition.
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On this day in Tudor history, 26th April 1540, Catherine Carey, daughter of Mary Boleyn and a maid of honour to Queen Anne of Cleves, married Francis Knollys.
The marriage was happy and successful, and resulted in at least 14 children…
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On this day in Tudor history, 25 April 1557, Tudor troublemaker Thomas Stafford, grandson of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, proclaimed himself “Protector of the Realm”. It didn’t go down well!
Find out why he did this, what happened and how it wasn’t his first brush with trouble…
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How much do you know about Henry VIII’s family members?
Test yourself with this fun word search puzzle, and remember, the words can go in any direction!
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th April 1558, fifteen-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, got married for the first time. The groom was fourteen-year-old Francis, the Dauphin of France.
Find out more about the bride and groom, their wedding and what happened to them…
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Not only is today the anniversary of the traditional birthdate of William Shakespeare in 1564, but it is also the anniversary of his death in 1616!
In this video, I share some facts about the Bard, along with a few phrases from his works that have become part of common parlance.
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On this day in Tudor history, 22 April 1598, Justice Francis Beaumont died after contracting gaol fever at the Black Assizes of the Northern Circuit.
But what exactly was gaol fever?
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The king is dead! Long live the king!
On this day in Tudor history, 21st April 1509, the founder of the Tudor dynasty, King Henry VII, died at Richmond Palace. He had ruled since 1485, when his forces defeated those of King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth.
Henry VII was succeeded by his seventeen-year-old son, Henry, who, it was said, did “not desire gold or gems or precious metals, but virtue, glory, immortality”!
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th April 1578, Lady Mary Keys (née Grey), sister of Lady Jane Grey and wife of Thomas Keys, died at her home in the parish of St Botolph without Aldgate, London.
Like her sisters, Mary had a sad life. Her secret marriage led to Elizabeth I imprisoning her and her husband, and they never saw each other again.
Find out more about the tiny Mary who was described as “crook-backed”, her marriage to a man who was said to be 6’8, and what happened to Mary and Thomas, in this video…
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th April 1601, in Elizabeth I’s reign, bookseller James Duckett was hanged at Tyburn. Being a bookseller in Tudor times could be a risky business, particularly if you had the wrong kind of books on your premises!
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th April 1540, just three months before his execution, Thomas Cromwell was given two rewards by King Henry VIII.
Find out more about these rewards…
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What happens when a jury doesn’t find an alleged traitor guilty and, instead, acquits him? Well, the jurors get arrested and thrown into prison, of course!
I explain exactly what happened on this day in Tudor history, 17th April 1554, in the case of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton. I also give details on how the jurors finally got released and what happened to Throckmorton.
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The Tudor monarchs were multifaced people and their reigns were very mixed too.
How much do you know about the achievements of the Tudor kings and queens, and the downsides of their reigns?
Test yourself with this fun crossword puzzle.
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th April 1570, Gunpowder Plot conspirator Guy Fawkes was baptised in York.
In this video, I talk about how the Gunpowder Plot has its origins in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and why these men were driven to try and blow up Westminster…
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On this day in 1545, Sir Robert Dymoke, champion at the coronations of Henry VII and Henry VIII, and a man who served in the households of Queens Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, died.
He had an interesting career and survived being suspected of involvement in the 1536 Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion.
Find out more about Sir Robert Dymoke…
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This week we have an exclusive look around the beautiful replica Tudor knot garden that Brigitte Webster has created at her Tudor property.
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Today, at St George’s Chapel, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be distributing Maundy money, on behalf of the Queen, in a special service at St George’s Chapel.
The giving of Maundy money by the monarch is a centuries-old tradition…
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It’s a busy date in Tudor history today!
On this day in Tudor history, 14th April 1578, Mary, Queen of Scots’ third husband, James Hepburn, Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell, died at Dragsholm Castle in Denmark. He’d been held at the castle in appalling conditions and it was said that he’d gone insane.
Find out more about the life of this earl who’d risen to be the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, but who’d died in prison, far away from home…
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th April 1550, in King Edward VI’s reign, courtier and poet, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was born.
In this video, I talk about Oxford, his not-so-nice personality, the idea that he was Elizabeth I’s son by Thomas Seymour. and the Oxfordian theory regarding the works of William Shakespeare…
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On this day in Tudor history, 11th April 1554, in the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary I, Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger, son of poet and diplomat Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, was beheaded on Tower Hill after being found guilty of high treason.
Wyatt had led a rebellion which sought to depose the queen and to replace her with her half-sister Elizabeth, but he refused to implicate Elizabeth in the plot. He went to his death asserting her innocence.
Find out more about what happened and hear his final speech…
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