May 31 – The birth of Lady Margaret Beaufort, and a special Legatine court opens in London

On this day in Tudor history, 31st May 1443, Lady Margaret Beaufort, the woman known as the matriarch of the Tudor dynasty, was born.

Find out a few facts about her in this #TudorHistoryShorts video:

Or find out more details on her life in this video commemorating the anniversary of her death:

And on this day in 1529, a special legatine court opened at Blackfriars in London. The court’s purpose was to hear the case for an annulment of Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and it was presided over by papal legate Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.

Find out about the context of this court, what happened at the court and what happened next...