March 30 – Thomas Cranmer and his protestation, and A “pregnant” Mary I makes her will

On this day in Tudor history, 30th March 1533, at the Passion Sunday service, Thomas Cranmer, Archdeacon of Taunton, was consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.

His consecration was not like those of others before him, however, because as well as making the usual oath promising to be faithful to the papacy and to denounce heretics, he also made a protestation to show that his oath would not conflict with his loyalty to King Henry VIII and his commitment to reforming the church. Hmmmm.... complicated.

Find out more in this talk...

Also on this day in Tudor history, 30th March 1558, Queen Mary I wrote her will. She did it because she believed that she was just about to give birth, and, obviously, childbirth was a risky process.

Find out more about her will, and what happened with this “pregnancy”, in this video...