On this day in Tudor history, 31st May, the matriarch of the Tudor dynasty, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was born; the Legatine Court, whose purpose was to hear Henry VIII's case for an annulment of his first marriage, opened at Blackfriars; and Queen Anne Boleyn's coronation procession took place...
- 1443 - Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, and matriarch of the Tudor dynasty, was born at Bletsoe Castle in Bedfordshire. See video below or click here to read about her life.
- 1516 – Birth of John Harpsfield, religious writer and Catholic priest. He was born in the parish of St Mary Magdalen, Old Fish Street, London. His brother was Nicholas Harpsfield, later Archdeacon of Canterbury. Nine of his sermons were published in Bonner's 1555 "Homilies", and he was a well-known spokesman for Catholicism, even preaching before Philip of Spain.
- 1529 – Opening of the Legatine Court at Blackfriars, presided over by Cardinal Campeggio. This court's purpose was to hear the evidence with regards to Henry VIII's demand for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. See video below.
- 1533 – Anne Boleyn's coronation procession through the streets of London, from the Tower of London to Westminster Abbey. See video below.
- 1545 – Burial of Agnes Howard (née Tilney), Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, at Thetford Abbey. She was the widow of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk.
- 1578 – Sir Martin Frobisher set sail with his fleet from Harwich, England to Frobisher Bay, Canada. By 31st August, he and his men had mined 1370 tons of ore, which was loaded onto the ships to take back to England. Unfortunately, no gold or other precious metal was found in the ore.
- 1589 – Death of Sir Walter Mildmay, administrator and founder of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, at his home in Smithfield.
