3rd March 1515 is one of the dates given in the French contemporary sources for the secret marriage of Mary Tudor, Queen of France, and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, but did the couple really marry on this date?
In today's "on this day in Tudor history", I examine the English and French sources, such as letters and chronicles, to see which date they support for the couple's secret marriage.
Book recommendation: "Charles Brandon: Henry VIII's Closest Friend" by Steven Gunn
I went into this in more detail in my Claire Chats talk, click here.
Also on this day in history:
- 1500 - The traditional date given for birth of Cardinal Reginald Pole, Mary I's Archbishop of Canterbury, at Stourton Castle in Staffordshire. He was the third son of Sir Richard Pole and Margaret Pole (née Plantagenet), Countess of Salisbury. His mother was the daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV and Richard III.
- 1528 – Marriage of Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII and widow of James IV, and her third husband, Henry Stuart (Stewart), 1st Lord Methven. She had divorced her second husband, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, in 1527. Margaret's marriage to Methven was not happy for long, though. Margaret had managed to pick another unfaithful husband, so she fought for a divorce, as she had with her second husband, but was not supported by her son, King James V. Margaret was later able to reconcile with Methven. Click here to view Sarah-Beth Watkins' expert talk on Margaret.
- 1542 – Death of Arthur Plantagenet, Lord Lisle, courtier, soldier, diplomat, administrator and illegitimate son of Edward IV. He had been arrested in May 1540 for alleged treasonable communications with Cardinal Pole, and, according to John Foxe, suffered a heart attack on 3rd March 1542 when told the news of his release from the Tower.
- 1551 - Death of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Baron Wentworth and Lord Chamberlain in the reign of Edward VI. He was a member of the jury at the trials of Anne Boleyn and George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, as well as those of Henry Pole, Baron Montagu, and Henry Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter. He was buried in the St John the Baptist Chapel, Westminster Abbey.
- 1551 - Burial of Martin Bucer, theologian and reformer, in Great St Mary's Church, Cambridge. He died 28th February.
1582 - Birth of Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, soldier, diplomat, philosopher, poet and author of "The Life and Raigne of King Henry the Eighth". Although his career was in the Stuart period, Tudor historians make use of his work on Henry VIII.