July 24 – An Elizabethan conspirator is born, a priest is executed, and a queen abdicates

On this day in Tudor history, 24th July 1553, in the reign of Queen Mary I, merchant and conspirator Richard Hesketh was born in Lancashire.

Hesketh is known for the Hesketh Plot of 1593, when he urged Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby, to lead a rebellion to claim the throne of England.

But who was Richard Hesketh and why did he plot against Queen Elizabeth I?

What happened to him and what happened to Ferdinando Stanley?

And why did Stanley take bezoar stone and unicorn horn?

Find out all about Hesketh, his background, his plot, and the aftermath in this video...

And on this day in Tudor history, 24th July 1594, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Catholic priest John Boste was executed in Durham.

Find out more about Boste and what led to his brutal end in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts...

Also on this day in Tudor history, on 24th July 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots was forced to abdicate...