On this day in Tudor history, 17th October 1592, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Frances Brooke, Lady Cobham, wife of William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham, died. She was buried at Cobham.

Lady Cobham is known for being featured in the famous Elizabethan family portrait, The Cobham Family (1567), which depicts Frances, her husband, their six children, and her sister. She served Elizabeth I as Mistress of the Robes and Lady of the Bedchamber.

On this day in Tudor history, 16th October 1594, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Cardinal William Allen died at his home in the via Monserrato, Rome, while in exile. He was buried in Rome, in the English College’s Church.

Allen founded the English Colleges at Douai and Reims and helped found the one at Rome, and supported a Spanish invasion of England.

On this day in Tudor history, 15th October 1542, in the reign of King Henry VIII, courtier, diplomat and naval commander William Fitzwilliam, Earl of Southampton, died in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It is thought that he was buried in Newcastle.

Fitzwilliam’s offices included Vice Admiral, Treasurer of the Household and Lord Privy Seal. He died while leading troops to Scotland under the command of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk.

On this day in Tudor history, 14th October 1593, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, soldier and Lord Deputy of Ireland, Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey of Wilton, died at his home of Whaddon in Buckinghamshire. He was buried there.

Grey had a reputation for radical Protestantism.

On this day in Tudor history, 13th October 1499, Queen Claude of France, wife of King Francis I of France and mother of King Henry II of France, was born in Romorantin-Lanthenay, in the Loire Valley in France.

Claude was the eldest daughter of King Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany, but salic law prevented her from acceding to the throne of France on the death of her father in January 1515. Her husband and cousin, Francis, Duke of Angoulême, inherited the throne and so Claude became queen consort instead.

On this day in Tudor history, 12th October 1555, Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby of Willoughby, Beck, and Eresby, was born at Wesel in Cleves.

Bertie was the son of Richard Bertie and his wife, Katherine (née Willoughby), Duchess of Suffolk and widow of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. Bertie was born while his Protestant parents were in exile during Mary I’s reign.

On this day in Tudor history, 10th October 1530, Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, magnate, soldier and courtier, died. He was buried at Astley Collegiate Church in Warwickshire.

Grey’s offices included Constable of Warwick Castle and of Kenilworth Castle, and, as a skilled jouster, he also acted as Chief Answerer at the marriage of Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon. Grey was also the grandfather of Lady Jane Grey.

On this day in Tudor history, 6th October 1557, John Capon (also known as John Salcot), former Benedictine monk and Bishop of Salisbury, died, probably from influenza. He was buried in the choir at Salisbury Cathedral.

Capon appeared to have reformist leanings in the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, but became a conservative Catholic again in Mary I’s reign, and was involved in the examination of those deemed to be heretics.

On this day in Tudor history, 4th October 1556, following five months of imprisonment, humanist, former royal tutor and former secretary of state Sir John Cheke made a public recantation of his Protestant faith in front of Queen Mary I and the royal court.

Cheke, who had tutored King Edward VI and served Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey) as secretary of state, had been imprisoned in late July 1553 following Mary I’s accession for his part in putting Lady Jane Grey on the throne, but released in spring 1554. Mary I granted him a licence to go into exile abroad, which he did, travelling to Strasbourg, Basel, Padua and then back to Strasbourg.

On this day in Tudor history, 3rd October 1559, Sir William Fitzwilliam, gentleman of King Edward VI’s privy chamber, died.

Fitzwilliam was a member of Parliament, a favourite of both the Duke of Somerset and Duke of Northumberland, and served Mary I as deputy chancellor in Ireland.

Here are a few facts about Sir William Fitzwilliam…

On this day in Tudor history, 1st October 1526, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Dorothy Stafford, Lady Stafford, was born.

Dorothy was the daughter of Henry Stafford, 10th Baron Stafford, and his wife, Ursula (née Pole, and she was married to Sir William Stafford, widower of Mary Boleyn. Dorothy served Queen Elizabeth I as a gentlewoman of the privy chamber and was one of her favourite sleeping companions.