The Tudor Society

YOUR SEARCH UNCOVERED 175 RESULTS

  • This week in history 4 – 10 September

    On this day in history…

    4th September:

    1504 – Birth of Antoine de Noailles, soldier and French diplomat at the English court in Mary I’s reign, at Château de la Fage.
    1539 – William, Duke of Cleves, signed the marriage treaty promising his sister, Anne of Cleves, in marriage to King Henry VIII. The Duke then sent the treaty to England, where it was ratified and concluded by early October.
    1550 – Death of Sir Thomas Paston, Gentleman of the Privy Chamber in the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI.
    1588 – Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester died at his lodge at Cornbury, near Woodstock in Oxfordshire.
    He had been ill for some time with a recurring stomach ailment, and so had decided to travel to Buxton to take the waters, but he died on the way.
    1590 – Death of Sir James Croft, Lord Deputy of Ireland, member of Parliament and conspirator. Croft was one of the leaders of Wyatt’s Rebellion in 1554, but although he was sentenced to death for treason, he was eventually released and pardoned. He served Elizabeth I as Comptroller of the Household, but was imprisoned briefly in her reign for negotiating with the Duke of Parma without permission. Croft was buried at Westminster Abbey, in the Chapel of St John the Evangelist.

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  • This week in history 17 – 23 April

    17th April:

    1534 – Sir Thomas More, Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor, was sent to the Tower of London after refusing to swear the “Oath of Succession”.
    1554 – Sir Nicholas Throckmorton was acquitted of treason for being involved in Wyatt’s Rebellion. The jurors were arrested straight after the trial and Throckmorton remained in prison until January 1555.
    1554 – Thomas Wyatt the Younger’s head was stolen in the rejoicing after Throckmorton’s acquittal.

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  • 11 April 1554 – Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger is executed

    On this day in history, 11th April 1554, Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger was beheaded and then his body quartered for treason, for leading Wyatt’s Rebellion against Queen Mary I.

    Wyatt had already shown his opposition to Mary when he supported Lady Jane Grey’s claim to the throne after the death of Edward VI – he escaped punishment that time – but he felt compelled to act when he found out about Mary I’s plans to marry King Philip II of Spain.

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  • 18 March 1554 – Elizabeth is taken to the Tower

    On this day in history, 18th March 1554, Palm Sunday, the twenty-year-old Lady Elizabeth (future Elizabeth I) was taken to the Tower of London, the place where her mother had been imprisoned and where her mother and one of her stepmothers had been executed.

    We can only imagine the sheer terror she felt when Mary I’s council turned up at her doorstep on the 16th March 1554 to formally charge her with being involved in Wyatt’s Rebellion, the revolt which had taken place in January and February 1554 and which had been led by Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger. Elizabeth was told that Mary wanted her sister taken to the Tower for questioning and that she would be escorted there the next day.

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  • Elizabeth I’s Tide Letter

    The Tide Letter was written by Lady Elizabeth (the future Elizabeth I) to Mary I when she was arrested after Wyatt’s Rebellion on 17th March 1554. Elizabeth wrote it when she was just about to be taken to the Tower of London for incarceration and it is called the Tide Letter because as Elizabeth wrote the letter the tide of the Tames turned and she could no longer be taken to the Tower by boat that day. She was taken to the Tower on 18th March, Palm Sunday.

    The letter was written in haste but Elizabeth still managed to write an eloquent and well-argued letter, which unfortunately went ignored by Mary. It did, however, delay her imprisonment by one day.

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  • 23 February 1554 – The Execution of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk

    On this day in history, 23rd February 1554, at nine o’clock in the morning, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was led out onto the scaffold on Tower Hill and beheaded. His daughter, Lady Jane Grey, or Queen Jane as I like to call her, had been executed eleven days earlier, along with her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley.

    Suffolk’s execution was down to his involvement in Wyatt’s Rebellion, a rebellion which sought to depose Mary I and replace her with her half-sister Elizabeth. The rebellion failed and Suffolk was arrested as he attempted to flee the country in disguise. He was tried for high treason on 17th February at Westminster Hall, having been charged with inciting war in the county of Leicester, posting proclamations against the Spanish marriage, and plotting the death of the queen. He was condemned to death.

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  • 11 April 1554 – The Execution of Thomas Wyatt the Younger

    On the 11th April 1554, Sir Thomas Wyatt the younger was beheaded and then his body quartered for treason, for leading Wyatt’s Rebellion against Queen Mary I.

    Wyatt had already shown his opposition to Mary when he supported Lady Jane Grey’s claim to the throne after the death of Edward VI – he escaped punishment that time – but he felt compelled to act when he found out about Mary I’s plans to marry King Philip II of Spain.
    The plan was to have a series of uprisings in the South, Southwest, Welsh Marches and Midlands, and then a march on London to overthrow the government, block the Spanish marriage, dethrone Mary and replace her with her Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth, who would marry Edward Courtenay. Unfortunately for Wyatt, other rebel leaders like the Duke of Suffolk (Lady Jane Grey’s father) and the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey (who had nothing to do with the revolt), the plan failed.

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  • Palm Sunday 1554 – A bad day for the Lady Elizabeth

    On Palm Sunday 1554 (which was 18 March that year), the twenty year old Elizabeth was taken to the Tower of London, the place where her mother had been imprisoned and where her mother and one of her stepmothers had been executed.

    We can only imagine the sheer terror she felt when Mary I’s council turned up at her doorstep on the 16th March to formally charge her with being involved in Wyatt’s Rebellion, the revolt which had taken place in January and February 1554. Elizabeth was told that Mary wanted her sister taken to the Tower for questioning and that she would be escorted there the next day.

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  • Elizabeth I’s Tide Letter

    On 17th March 1554, two of Mary I’s councillors, Winchester and Sussex, were sent to escort Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, to her prison at the Tower of London by water for her alleged involvement in Wyatt’s Rebellion. This was when Elizabeth wrote what David Starkey calls “the letter of her life”, the famous Tide Letter, so-called because as Elizabeth wrote this letter to her sister the tide turned, making it impossible to take Elizabeth to the Tower that day.

    The letter was written in haste but Elizabeth still managed to write an eloquent and well-argued letter, which unfortunately went ignored by Mary. It did, however, delay her imprisonment by one day.

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 19 November

    Grey family arms

    On this day in Tudor history, 19th November, Lord John Grey, youngest son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, died naturally even though he’d once been condemned to death (1564); and poet, Catholic recusant and priest harbourer Henry Vaux died of consumption (1587)…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 16 November

    Elizabeth I

    On this day in history, 16th November, Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland, a man who’d been involved in the Rising of the North against Elizabeth I, died in exile (1601); and William Stafford, who’d allegedly plotted the Stafford Plot against Elizabeth I, died (1612)…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 26 October

    Sir Thomas More by Holbein

    On this day in Tudor history, 26th October, Sir Thomas More was sworn in as Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor, replacing the fallen Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1529); and the Pilgrimage of Grace rebels, who outnumbered the Crown’s forces, chose to negotiate rather than fight (1536)…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 29 September

    Portraits of Robert Dudley, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I

    On this day in Tudor history, 29th September, Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio, papal legate, arrived in England ready to hear the case for Henry VIII’s annulment; and Elizabeth I made her favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester so that he could marry Mary, Queen of Scots…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 25 September

    Portrait of Pope Clement VII and a photo of a deathcap mushroom

    On this day in Tudor history, 25th September, explorer, navigator and naval administrator Stephen Borough was born; and Pope Clement VII died in Rome. It was rumoured that he died from eating death cap mushrooms or from fumes from poisoned candles…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 18 September

    Portraits of Edward Courtenay, Mary I and Elizabeth I

    On this day in Tudor history, Henry VIII rode triumphantly through the streets of Boulogne after the French surrendered it to him; and Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, a prospective bridegroom for both of Henry VIII’s daughters, died…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 4 September

    Portraits of Anne of Cleves, William Duke of Cleves and Henry VIII

    On this day in Tudor history, 4th September, William, Duke of Cleves, signed a treaty promising his sister, Anne, in marriage to Henry VIII; and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester died…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 23 May

    Portraits of a young Elizabeth I, Henry VIII and Archbishop Cranmer

    On this day in Tudor history, 23rd May, Henry Grey was finally installed as a Knight of the Garter; Elizabeth (future Elizabeth I) arrived as Woodstock, where she was to be kept under house arrest; and Henry VIII’s first marriage was finally annulled…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 3 May

    An illumination of Cecilly Neville, and portraits of Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cranmer

    On this day in history, 3rd May, Cecily Neville, Duchess of York and mother of Edward IV and Richard III, was born; Archbishop Cranmer wrote of his shock about the investigation into Anne Boleyn; Sir Edward Rogers, a man who served three Tudor monarchs, died; and poet and farmer Thomas Tusser died…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 17 April

    Portraits of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and Sir Thomas More

    On this day in Tudor history, 17th April, Sir Thomas more was sent to the Tower of London; a jury was arrested after acquitting Sir Nicholas Throckmorton of treason; and Jesuit martyr Henry Walpole was hanged, drawn and quartered…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 11 April

    Portraits of Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger

    On this day in Tudor history, 11th April, Henry VIII ordered his council to recognise Anne Boleyn as queen; Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger was executed by beheading after his failed rebellion against Mary I; and conspirator, patron and collector John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, died…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 18 March

    Portraits of Mary Tudor and a young Elizabeth I, and a photo of the Tower of London

    On this day in Tudor history, 18th March, Mary Tudor, Queen of France, was born; Lady Elizabeth (Elizabeth I) was arrested and taken to the Tower of London; and Sir Christopher Blount was executed for his part in the rebellion of his son-in-law, the Earl of Essex…

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  • #OTD in Tudor History – 26 January

    Portraits of Mary I and a young Elizabeth I

    On this day in Tudor history, 26th January, a courtier and diplomat died of the plague, a judge who is known for his reports on cases like that of Anne Boleyn died, and Mary I summoned her half-sister Elizabeth to court, although Elizabeth declined, pleading illness…

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  • #OTD in Tudor History – 17 January

    A portrait of Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder by Holbein, and a sketch of Agnes Bowker's cat

    On this day in Tudor history, 17th January, poet Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder was thrown into the Tower of London, a Leicestershire woman was alleged to have given birth to a cat, and a famous clockmaker and sundial maker died…

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  • #OTD in Tudor history – 4 January

    A sketch of Roger Ascham

    What happened on this day in Tudor history?

    Let me share with you some events from 4th January during the reigns of the Tudor kings and queens…

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  • #OTD in Tudor History – 2 January

    Miniature of an older Catherine of Aragon

    On this day in Tudor history, 2nd January…

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  • October 4 – Sir John Cheke recants

    Engraving of Sir John Cheke by Joseph Nutting from the Life of Sir John Cheke by John Strype.

    On this day in Tudor history, 4th October 1556, following five months of imprisonment, humanist, former royal tutor and former secretary of state Sir John Cheke made a public recantation of his Protestant faith in front of Queen Mary I and the royal court.

    Cheke, who had tutored King Edward VI and served Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey) as secretary of state, had been imprisoned in late July 1553 following Mary I’s accession for his part in putting Lady Jane Grey on the throne, but released in spring 1554. Mary I granted him a licence to go into exile abroad, which he did, travelling to Strasbourg, Basel, Padua and then back to Strasbourg.

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  • September 6 – Sir Henry Jerningham

    Portraits of Henry VIII, Mary I and a younger Mary I

    On this day in Tudor history, 6th September 1572, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Henry Jerningham (Jernegan) died at his manor of Costessey in Norfolk. He was buried in the parish church there.

    Jerningham served Henry VIII and Mary I, and his offices in Mary’s reign included privy councillor, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, and Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard. He was instrumental in helping Mary in the succession crisis of 1553.

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  • August 13 – Sir Humphrey Radcliffe

    On this day in Tudor history, 13th August 1566, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Humphrey Radcliffe died at his manor of Elstow. He was buried at Elstow Abbey.

    Radcliffe served as a Member of Parliament during the reigns of Mary I and Elizabeth I, and then as a Justice of the Peace and Sheriff in Elizabeth I’s reign.

    Here are some more facts about Sir Humphrey Radcliffe…

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  • March 17 – William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, Black Will Herbert

    On this day in Tudor history, 17th March 1570, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, soldier, courtier and landowner, died at Hampton Court, aged sixty-three.

    Here are some facts about this Tudor earl, who was known as Black Will Herbert and had a queen as a sister-in-law…

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  • July 6 – The death of Edward VI and the accession of Queen Jane, Lady Jane Grey

    On this day in Tudor history, 6th July 1553, fifteen-year-old King Edward VI died at Greenwich Palace.

    His “devise for the succession” named his heir as Lady Jane Grey, the daughter of Edward’s cousin, Frances Grey (née Brandon), Duchess of Suffolk.

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