I thought we’d celebrate Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon’s wedding anniversary, which was yesterday, by testing your knowledge of them and their marriage.
Get those little grey cells working with this fun quiz and do feel free to share your score.
Good luck!
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Today, 11th June, is the Feast of St Barnabas, a feast day that was celebrated by the Tudors by decorating churches with garlands of flowers.
Find out more about St Barnabas and how he was commemorated in medieval and Tudor times…
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th June 1584, Francis, Duke of Anjou and Alençon, died in Paris, probably of of malaria.
Anjou was, for a time, one of Elizabeth I’s suitors, and Elizabeth appears to have had true affection for him. She nicknamed him her “frog” and considered marrying him.
Find out more about what happened between Elizabeth and her dear “frog”
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As today is the anniversary of the deaths of two Carthusian monks on 10th June 1537, who were starved to death. I thought I’d share this talk I did after my visit to the home of their order, London Charterhouse, which has a wonderfully rich history.
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On this day in Tudor history, 9th June 1511, in the reign of King Henry VIII, William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, died.
Who was Courtenay and how did he go from being in favour to being a traitor and then back to being in favour?
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th June 1492, in the reign of King Henry VII, the king’s mother-in-law, Elizabeth Woodville, died at Bermondsey Abbey.
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th June 1594, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the queen’s physician, Roderigo Lopez, was hanged, drawn and quartered after being accused of plotting to poison the queen.
Find out more about Lopez and what happened…
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th June 1549, in the reign of King Edward VI, an army of rebels assembled at Bodmin in Cornwall. A town meeting was held, in which the rebels’ demands were put forward.
These men were rebelling against the recent religious changes, particularly the new law concerning the Book of Common Prayer.
Trouble ensued and their grievances became a full-blown rebellion, the Prayer Book Rebellion. You can find out what happened next and how the rebellion ended in this video:
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On this day in Tudor history, 5th June 1600, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, was in a spot of bother. Even though he was usually one of Elizabeth I’s favourite, Devereux was charged with insubordination. Oh dear.
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This Sunday’s Tudor fun is a quiz that tests your general Tudor knowledge.
Just how much do you know about the Tudor kings and queens and their reigns?
Find out!
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On this day in Tudor history, 4th June 1550, sweethearts Robert Dudley and Amy Robsart tied the knot at the royal palace of Sheen at Richmond in a service attended by King Edward VI.
This marriage was a love-match, but it lasted just ten years, ending with Amy’s death in 1560, a death which is surrounded by controversy.
Find out more…
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As today is the anniversary of the death of Bishop John Aylmer, who is said to have had one of his teeth extracted in order to prove to Queen Elizabeth I that the pain wasn’t as bad as she thought, I thought I’d share this talk from our archives. It’s on tooth extractions, dentistry and how people cared for their teeth in Tudor times.
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On this day in Tudor history, 3rd June 1594, John Aylmer, Bishop of London, died.
Hear a story about how he suffered pain to help a poorly Queen Elizabeth I…
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There’s a new film about Richard III coming!
The Lost King will be showing in UK cinemas from 7th October 2022.
Thank you to Jo Taylor-Hitchinson for sharing this information:
“The film tells the remarkable true story of how one ‘ordinary’ woman overcame every obstacle to track down the final resting place of Richard III.
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On this day in Tudor history, 2nd June 1572, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, thirty-four-year-old Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, was beheaded on Tower Hill for high treason.
Norfolk was a Knight of the Garter, he’d served as Earl Marshal and Lord High Steward, he’d presided over Queen Elizabeth I’s coronation, so what had led him to this sticky end and how was he involved with Mary, Queen of Scots?
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On this day in Tudor history, 1st June 1593, the inquest into the death of playwright, poet and translator Christopher Marlowe took place.
Twenty-nine-year-old Marlowe, writer of such famous works as “Tamburlaine”, “Dr Faustus” and “The Jew of Malta”, had been fatally stabbed at a house in Deptford Strand, London, by a man named Ingram Frizer on 30th May 1593, but what happened?
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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:
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On this day in Tudor history, 30th May 1593, Christopher Marlowe, the famous Elizabethan playwright, was stabbed to death.
Find out what happened in this #TudorHistoryshorts video…
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On this day in Tudor history, 29th May 1593, Welsh religious controversialist, and a man regarded by Welsh historians as the pioneer of Welsh nonconformity, John Penry was hanged at St Thomas-a-Watering in Surrey.
John Penry was linked to the Martin Marprelate tracts and the resulting Marprelate Controversy, not for writing them, but for helping to run the secret press that printed them.
Find out more about Penry, his life and his work, and his involvement with these tracts, and how appealing to William Cecil didn’t save him from the hangman’s noose…
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This week’s puzzle tests your knowledge of places associated with Anne of Cleves, fourth wife of King Henry VIII.
Note: the words can go in any direction!
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On this day in Tudor history, 28th May 1582, Roman Catholic priests Thomas Forde, John Shert and Robert Johnson suffered full traitors’ deaths at Tyburn.
The three priests had been condemned for their alleged involvement in the Rome and Reims Plot of 1580, but many believe that this plot wasn’t actually real.
Let me explain exactly what led to these men’s executions in 1582, why Roman Catholic priests were persecuted in this manner, and what the plot was all about…
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On 27th May 1536, Cardinal Reginald Pole, who was in Venice, wrote to King Henry VIII. It was a very polite letter but what he sent with it brought Pole and his family trouble. He made the mistake of making an enemy of King Henry VIII.
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Linda Porter is one of my favourite Tudor historians so for our Friday video this week I thought I’d share this talk she did for us back in 2014.
In “Three Tudor Queens”, Linda explores the lives of Katherine Parr, Mary I and Mary, Queen of Scots.
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On this day in Tudor history, 26th May 1520, in the lead-up to King Henry VIII’s meeting with Francis I of France at the Field of Cloth of Gold, the English king met with his nephew Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, at Dover Castle on the south coast of England.
Find out more about this meeting and the rather lavish outfits worn by Henry VIII and his queen consort, Catherine of Aragon…
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On this day in Tudor history, 25th May 1553, Lady Jane Grey got married to Lord Guildford Dudley, son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland.
They weren’t the only couple to get married in the ceremony at Durham House, Jane’s sister, Katherine, and Guildford’s sister, Catherine, also got married.
Find out more…
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th May 1546, letters were sent from the Privy Council to the future Protestant martyr Anne Askew and her estranged husband Thomas Kyme.
The couple were ordered to appear in front of the council within fourteen days.
But why? What was going on? And what happened next?
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On this day in Tudor history, 23rd May 1554, Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, arrived at the Palace of Woodstock in Oxfordshire, where she was placed under house arrest.
Elizabeth remained under house arrest there for just under a year, and she didn’t make it easy for her gaoler, Sir Henry Bedingfield, and neither did her servants.
Find out why Elizabeth was under house arrest and what happened…
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd May 1538, Franciscan friar John Forest met his end at Smithfield in London for his allegiance to the Church of Rome.
His death, along with the burning of a religious statue from Wales, was said to be the fulfilment of a prophecy made about the statue.
Find out more about Blessed John Forest and the prophecy…
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This past week has been the anniversary of the execution of Queen Anne Boleyn on 19th May 1536, so I thought we’d pay tribute to Anne by testing your knowledge of Henry VIII’s second wife.
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