In today's "on this day in Tudor history" video, I take you back to 1552 and the execution of Edward Seymour, Lord Protector. You can click here to find out more about his arrest and the charges against him.
Also on this day in Tudor history, Thomas Wyatt the Younger met with fellow conspirators at his home of Allington Castle in Kent to make final plans for their uprising against Mary I and her decision to marry Philip of Spain - click here to read more.
Hi Claire. I’m very interesting in this part of the story. It seems almost like Edward VI was, um, I don’t know, like brainwashed maybe? To be against his uncle? He was an emotional boy. He was upset over Mary’s Catholicism. He actually shed tears over her. So this reaction seems out of character. Especially towards someone who guided him. Thanks for the video!
Oh, also, didn’t Queen Victoria do something with the grave sites at the chapel? I’m thinking it was Anne Boleyn, Jane Rochford and Catherine Howard. Thank you!
Restoration work was carried out in the chapel in 1876 and 1877. The team wanted to leave the chancel alone but found that the floor was sinking. To fix it, they had to take up the floor and exhume the bodies in that area. Those bodies were examined and then put in leaden coffers before being reinterred. The earth was then filled in, concrete poured over the top and memorial tiles used to mark the resting places of prominent people, such as Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Jane Boleyn etc. I wrote an article on the Anne Boleyn Files about the exhumation of Anne’s remains and the restoration work – see https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/anne-boleyns-remains-the-exhumation-of-anne-boleyn/.
Thank you, Claire!
I must admit the actual charges he faced seem a bit vague, but of pressure being put on Edward by his rivals, one of whom was John Dudley who would persuade Edward to name his cousin, Lady Jane Dudley (Grey) his daughter by law as Queen because Edward didn’t want his sisters to succeed. I doubt, however, Edward was brainwashed. He was a cold fish and knew his own mind. His diary shows his own reformation policy and he had begun to flex his muscles, even though just into his teens.
No, I understand that and I know he was of his own mind, especially about religion. I just meant that I find it odd regarding his reaction to Hertford’s execution.
Yes, to us it seems like such a cold reaction, doesn’t it? Perhaps it was just very business-like.