May 18 – Catherine Woodville, and a rebel comes to a sticky end

On this day in Tudor history, 18th May 1497, Catherine Woodville, Duchess of Buckingham and Bedford, died.

Who was Catherine Woodville and how was she linked to the famous Woodvilles who rose in the reign of King Edward IV?

And on this day in 1554, in the reign of Queen Mary I, scholar and administrator, William Thomas, was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn for his alleged involvement in Wyatt's Rebellion. It was said that he even wanted the queen assassinated.

But William Thomas was far more than a rebel, he was also the author of the first he first Italian dictionary and book of grammar to be published in English.

Find out more about him and his rather bad end...