April 21 – The death of Henry VII and accession of Henry VIII, and the Philosopher’s Stone

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"!

Here are my 60-second history videos on Henry VII and Henry VIII:

Also on this day in history, 21st April 1581, alchemist Thomas Charnock was buried at Otterhampton in Somerset.

Charnock was obsessed with alchemy and claimed to have made the philosopher's stone, which he offered to Queen Elizabeth I in exchange for financial support.

Find out more about Thomas Charnock, his work on alchemy, and the philosopher's stone...