On this day in history, actually in the Stuart period, 27th April 1609, Sir Edward Michelborne, member of Parliament, soldier and adventurer, died.

He’d survived an unsuccessful naval campaign against the Spanish, being implicated in a rebellion, and an attack by pirates, to die a natural death at his home in Hackney.

Find out more about Sir Edward Michelborne in today’s talk.

Today, 24th April, is St Mark’s Eve, the day before the Feast of St Mark the Evangelist, one of Christ’s apostles and the man who is said to have written the Gospel of Mark. In medieval and Tudor times, St Mark’s Eve was the night to divine who you were going to marry.

How did people go about divining their future partner?

Find out in today’s talk and do let me know if you try any of these divination methods!

On this day in Tudor history, 22nd April 1542, Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland, magnate and Warden of the West Marches, died.

This Knight of the Garter had a successful career, although he was imprisoned once and upset the king on at least one occasion. He was also described as a greedy landlord.

Find out more about Henry Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, in today’s talk.

On this day in Tudor history, 21st April 1581, alchemist Thomas Charnock was buried at Otterhampton in Somerset.

Charnock was obsessed with alchemy and claimed to have made the philosopher’s stone, which he offered to Queen Elizabeth I in exchange for financial support.

Find out more about Thomas Charnock, his work on alchemy, and the philosopher’s stone, in today’s talk.

On this day in Tudor history, 20th April 1578, Lady Mary Keys (née Grey), sister of Lady Jane Grey and wife of Thomas Keys, died at her home in the parish of St Botolph without Aldgate, London.

Like her sisters, Mary had a sad life. Her secret marriage led to Elizabeth I imprisoning her and her husband, and they never saw each other again.

Find out more about the tiny Mary who was described as “crook-backed”, her marriage to a man who was said to be 6’8, and what happened to Mary and Thomas, in today’s talk.

Ok, so they didn’t physically bump into each other, but on this day in Tudor history, 18th April 1536, just a month and a day before Anne Boleyn’s execution, imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys was manoeuvred unto a position where he was forced to pay reverence to Queen Anne Boleyn, the woman he referred to as “the concubine”. By paying her reverence, he was acknowledging her as queen, something that he had managed to avoid doing until now.

What happened and how did Chapuys get into this awkward position?

Find out in today’s talk.

On this day in Tudor history, 17th April 1595, or according to some sources 7th April, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Jesuit Henry Walpole was hanged, drawn and quartered in the city of York. Walpole had been accused of three counts of treason.

Walpole felt that he’d been given a sign at the execution of Edmund Campion to carry on Campion’s work, and, like Campion, his religious mission led him to his death.

Find out about the sign, what Walpole did, how he suffered awful torture, and about his sad end, in today’s talk.

On this day in Tudor history, 16th April 1550, alchemist, apothecary and physician Francis Anthony was born, probably in London. He had a rather eventful life, being imprisoned on several occasions, and he made his fortune from his invention aurum potabile, drinkable gold, which he claimed had amazing curative powers.

Find out more about Francis Anthony and why he ended up in prison in today’s talk.

On this day in Tudor history, 15th April 1545, Sir Robert Dymoke, champion at the coronations of Henry VII and Henry VIII, and a man who served in the households of Queens Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, died.

He had an interesting career and survived being suspected of involvement in the 1536 Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion.

Find out more about Sir Robert Dymoke, champion at the coronations of three kings, in today’s talk.

On this day in Tudor history, 14th April 1565, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, astrologer, astronomer, mathematician and magician, Edward Gresham, was born in Stainsford, Yorkshire.

Gresham is known for his treatise “Astrostereon” and his almanacs, but what’s really interesting is his connection to a countess’s annulment and a poisoning.

Find out more about Edward Gresham in today’s talk.

On this day in Tudor history, 13th April 1557, in the reign of Queen Mary I, John Brydges, 1st Baron Chandos of Sudeley, landowner, soldier and Lieutenant of the Tower of London, died at his home, Sudeley Castle in the Cotswolds.

He served Henry VIII, King Edward VI and Mary I loyally, and even managed to keep royal favour after being accused of being too lenient with prisoners Lady Jane Grey and Princess Elizabeth (future Elizabeth I).

Let me tell you more about Brydges and his time in charge of Lady Jane Grey and Elizabeth I.

On this day in Tudor history, 12th April 1550, in the reign of King Edward VI, courtier and poet, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was born.

In today’s talk, I introduce Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, and talk about his not-so-nice personality, the Oxfordian theory regarding the works of William Shakespeare, and the idea that Oxford was actually Elizabeth I’s son by Thomas Seymour.

On this day in Tudor history, 10th April 1585, Pope Gregory XIII died from a fever. He was succeeded by Pope Sixtus V.

Pope Gregory is known for his reform of the calendar. He introduced what is now called the Gregorian Calendar, or Western or Christian Calendar, replacing the Julian Calendar, which had been used since 45 BC.

But why was this reform needed and how was it done?

Find out more about it, and how England didn’t use it until the 18th century, in today’s talk.