The Tudor Society

YOUR SEARCH UNCOVERED 1545 RESULTS

  • 2 November – The beginning of the end for Catherine Howard

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 2nd November 1541, All Souls’ Day, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer gave King Henry VIII a letter that would spark off the beginning of the end for Queen Catherine Howard, Henry VIII’s fifth wife.

    Catherine Howard’s past, her romances with Henry Manox and Francis Dereham, were about to come back to haunt her, and her present relationship with Thomas Culpeper would soon be uncovered.

    In today’s talk, I explain exactly what was in Archbishop Cranmer’s letter and what happened next.

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  • 22 October – A Catholic baron who fled abroad

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    3 Comments

    On this day in Tudor history, 22nd October 1577, Henry Parker, 11th Baron Morley and Roman Catholic exile, died in Paris. Morley had fled abroad in 1570 after refusing to subscribe to Elizabeth I’s “Act of Uniformity” and after being implicated in the 1569 Rising of the North.

    Find out more about this Tudor man, who was the nephew of Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, and his rather interesting family, with their connections to the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots and the Gunpowder Plot, in today’s video.

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  • Reminder – October’s Live Chats

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Just in case you missed the dates on the schedule, here’s a reminder about the dates and times of this month’s live chats. They will take place on 19th and 27th October.

    October’s informal live chat, which is on the topic of the Yorkists, is taking place on Saturday 19th October.

    Here are the times for the chat in different time zones:

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  • 8 October – Lady Margaret Douglas

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 8th October 1515, Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox and niece of King Henry VIII, was born at Harbottle Castle in Northumberland.

    Margaret Douglas was the daughter of Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland, and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. She was born while her mother was travelling to Henry VIII’s court in London after feeling Scotland.

    Margaret was a fascinating lady, and in today’s talk, I share an extract from my book, giving an overview of this Tudor lady’s life.

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  • 4 October – The Pilgrimage of Grace Rebellion is underway!

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, Wednesday 4th October 1536, trouble erupted in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. This was part of what we know as the Lincolnshire Rising which, in turn, was part of the famous Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion.

    In today’s talk, I share exactly what happened in Horncastle, which included two murders, what the rebellion was all about, and how King Henry VIII responded to the rebel’s grievances. I read King Henry VIII’s own words to the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace.

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  • 1 October – Mary I’s coronation and a sumptuous feast

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, Sunday 1st October 1553, Mary I was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey by Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester.

    It was a moment of real triumph for Mary and she was England’s first official queen regnant.

    In today’s talk, I share details from primary sources about Mary’s I’s coronation ceremony, and also the sumptuous banquet afterwards, which saw the Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of Arundel on horseback in the hall, and a challenge being made. What a spectacle it must have been!

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  • 27 September – Catherine of Aragon leaves Spain

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 27th September 1501, Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, set sail for England from Laredo, Spain.

    Catherine was leaving her homeland to marry Arthur Tudor, son and heir of King Henry VII, a marriage arranged by her parents and the English king in the Treaty of Medina del Campo.

    This was Catherine’s second attempt at sailing to England, but this time she was successful.

    I explain the background to Catherine’s journey, along with what happened when she first set sail in August 1501.

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  • 25 September – A pope, death cap mushrooms and poisoned candles

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 25th September 1534, Pope Clement VII (Giulio di Giuliano de’ Medici) died in Rome. It was rumoured that he died from eating death cap mushrooms or from fumes from poisoned candles placed in his room, but it was more likely to have been from natural causes.

    In today’s video, I introduce this pope, who was the leader of the Catholic Church at rather an interesting time, and also look at the rumours surrounding his death and what eating a death cap mushroom does. Lovely stuff!

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  • September 24 – Prince Arthur’s christening

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    3 Comments

    On this day in Tudor history, 24th September 1486, Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales and son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was christened at a lavish ceremony at Winchester Cathedral.

    His mother’s confinement, his birth, his christening and early upbringing had all been carefully ‘choreographed’ by his paternal grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, and in today’s talk, Claire Ridgway, author of “On This Day in Tudor History”, shares details from Margaret Beaufort’s “Ordinances” regarding the christening of a royal prince or princess, as well as sharing specific details of Prince Arthur Tudor’s christening.

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  • 10 September – Elizabeth I’s christening

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 10 September 1533, King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn’s daughter, Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth I), was christened at the Church of Observant Friars in Greenwich.

    Elizabeth I’s christening service was a lavish ceremony presided over by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, who also stood as the little girl’s godfather.

    In today’s talk, I share a contemporary source of Elizabeth’s christening service and also of the celebrations that followed.

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  • 8 September – The mysterious death of Amy Robsart, wife of Robert Dudley

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    3 Comments

    On this day in Tudor history, 8th September 1560, the body of Amy Dudley (née Robsart), wife of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was found at the bottom of some stairs in her rented home, Cumnor Place in Oxfordshire.

    What had happened to Amy? Was her death a result of “misfortune”, as decided by the coroner, or was it suicide or murder? Did Robert Dudley kill his wife? Did William Cecil kill Amy?

    In today’s talk, Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society, examines what happened that day and the theories regarding Amy Robsart’s mysterious death, an event that definitely put an end to the idea that Elizabeth I could ever marry Robert Dudley.

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  • 3 September – Robert Greene and the Upstart Crow, William Shakespeare

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 3rd September 1592, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Elizabethan writer and playwright Robert Greene died in London.

    Greene was a prolific writer, but he is best known for a pamphlet “Greene’s Groats-worth of Wit bought with a Million of Repentance” which it was claimed he wrote on his deathbed. It is an important work because it is the first known contemporary reference to William Shakespeare as a playwright, although the reference to Shakespeare is actually an attack on the actor/playwright, who Greene saw as an “upstart crow”.

    Find out more about the pamphlet and why Greene, or whoever wrote it, launched an attack of the Bard, in today’s talk.

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  • 1 September – Anne Boleyn becomes Marquess of Pembroke

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 1st September 1532, in a special ceremony at Windsor Castle, King Henry VIII elevated his sweetheart Anne Boleyn to the peerage by making her Marquess of Pembroke.

    This was a hugely significant act because Henry VIII made Anne a marquess in her own right, granted the title to her and her heirs male (legitimate or not) and gave her a title associated with his father, Henry VII, and uncle, Jasper Tudor. It also made her a rather wealthy woman, and a fitting consort for their trip to Calais to meet with King Francis I of France.

    Find out more about what happened on this day in 1532, who was there, and just what Anne Boleyn was given by King Henry VIII, in today’s talk.

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  • 29 August – The sad story of Geoffrey Pole

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    5 Comments

    On this day in Tudor history, 29th August 1538, Geoffrey Pole, son of Sir Richard Pole and Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, was arrested. He was already on thin ice, having been a staunch supporter of Queen Catherine of Aragon and Princess Mary, but he now was suspected, like other members of his family, of being in communication with his brother, Cardinal Reginald Pole, a man who had upset King Henry VIII by writing a treatise against him and his policies.

    Unlike other members of his family, including Margaret Pole, Geoffrey managed to survive this trouble – how? Why? What happened?

    I explain all in today’s talk.

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  • 24 August – The St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 24th August 1572, on the Feast of St Bartholomew, an awful massacre too place in Paris, and it was followed by further atrocities in other towns and cities.

    Those who suffered were Huguenot men, women and children, French Protestants. But what happened and why?

    I explain all in today’s video…

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  • 20 August – Elizabeth I gives thanks for the Protestant Wind!

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    4 Comments

    On this day in Tudor history, 20th August 1588, there was a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s to thank God for his divine intervention when England defeated the Spanish Armada. It was thought that God had sent his Protestant Wind to save England from Catholic Spain.

    Find out more about this in today’s talk.

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  • 14 August – Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    2 Comments

    On this day in Tudor history, 14th August 1473, Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, was born.

    Margaret Pole is an interesting lady – the niece of Edward IV, Countess of Salisbury in her own right, governess to Mary I… and she came to a rather awful and sticky end.

    Let me tell you a bit more about this fascinating Tudor lady and what happened to her.

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  • 2 August – A Protestant burned in Rome

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    2 Comments

    On this day in Tudor history, 2nd August 1581, an English Protestant named Richard Atkins was burned for heresy in Rome.

    What had led this Englishman to his end in Rome? What had he done? And why was he tortured on his way to his execution?

    I explain all in today’s talk, sharing an account of his actions and his courageous end.

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  • 30 July – Reformers and Catholics executed on the same day!

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    3 Comments

    What a confusing day it must have been for the citizens of London on 30th July 1540! For it was on this day in history, in the reign of King Henry VIII, that both Catholics and men of the reformed faith were executed in London. Crazy times indeed!

    Find out more about why Thomas Abell, Edward Powell and Richard Fetherston, and Robert Barnes, William Jerome and Thomas Garrard, were executed in today’s talk.

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  • 13 July – The overshadowed Robert Sidney

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 13th July 1626, Tudor poet and courtier, Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, brother of Sir Philip Sidney, died at Penshurst Place, the family seat in Kent.

    Sir Philip Sidney is known as one of the great poet and scholars of the Tudor age, but his brother, Robert, was also a talented poet.

    In today’s talk, I talk about how historians discovered Robert’s work, as well as sharing one of his sonnets.

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  • 3 July – Catherine of Aragon, you’re not queen!

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Oh dear! Catherine of Aragon, first wife of King Henry VIII, had a bit of a bad day on this day in Tudor history, 3rd July 1533. Not only had she trodden on a pin and was suffering with a bad cough, but she was also told that she had to stop calling herself queen – not likely!

    In today’s “on this day” video,I share Thomas Cromwell’s letter to Catherine’s chamberlain on this matter, and also give Catherine’s reaction to it. She was a spirited and strong lady!

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  • 29 June – Lady Margaret Beaufort

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    2 Comments
    A portrait of Lady Margaret Beaufort

    Today is the anniversary of the death of sixty-six-year-old Lady Margaret Beaufort on 29th June 1509, just four days after she enjoyed the coronation celebrations of her grandson King Henry VIII and his queen consort. Catherine of Aragon.

    Margaret Beaufort was the matriarch of the Tudor dynasty and was an amazing woman, in many ways, yet she is surrounded by myth and it seems fashionable to see her as a religious zealot. But who was this influential Tudor lady? What did she do?

    In today’s video, I flesh out Margaret Beaufort with a few facts about her and her life.

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  • 26 June – St Thomas More the traitor

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 26th June 1535, in the reign of King Henry VIII, a new commission of oyer and terminer was appointed in the case against Sir Thomas More, Henry VIII’s former Lord Chancellor and good friend. More was being indicted for high treason, and, of course, would eventually be executed.

    How had this Tudor statesman come to this?

    In today’s video, I explain why More was accused of high treason.

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  • Who was Catherine Cromwell?

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    5 Comments

    Thank you to Lynne for asking about Catherine Cromwell. Lynne’s full question is “I was watching the actor Danny Dyer trace his family history on T.V. Apparently his family tree was traced to William the Conqueror and stopped at the Tudors which Catherine Cromwell was mentioned. She
    seemed a powerful woman but I’ve never really heard of her. So my long-winded question is who was this Lady and how powerful was she in the
    Tudor times?”

    Now, there are several Catherine (or Katherine) Cromwells, one being the sister of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex and Henry VIII’s right-hand man, who married Morgan Williams and who is an ancestor of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector, but the Catherine that was mentioned in the TV programme on Danny Dyer’s ancestry was actually the great-granddaughter of Thomas Cromwell. Let me show you how she is linked to the Thomas Cromwell we all know and love (or hate!).

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  • 13 June – Actor William Knell gets into a fight

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 13th June 1587, William Knell, an actor in “The Queen’s Men” company of players, got into a fight with a fellow actor in Thame, Oxfordshire.

    In today’s video, I flesh out this Tudor man a bit more and tell of his sad and rather violent end. I also about a story concerning this man and the famous Elizabethan actor and playwright, William Shakespeare.

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  • 9 June – The Book of Common Prayer

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    This day in Tudor history, 9th June 1549, was a big day for the English Reformation. It was on this day, at Whitsun services all around England, that Archbishop Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer was used for the very first time. A service in English!

    In today's video, I explain a bit more about this book and why this day was so important.

    Recommended reading: http://getbook.at/cranmer

    Also on this day in history:

    • 1511 – Death of William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, at Greenwich. He died of pleurisy and was buried at Blackfriars, London, with the honours due an earl, even though he hadn't been officially invested yet. Courtenay was Henry VIII's uncle, having married Katherine, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.
    • 1563 – (or 10th June) Death of William Paget, 1st Baron Paget, diplomat and administrator, probably at his estate of West Drayton in Middlesex. Paget's career included serving as an ambassador to the French court, being a member of Henry VIII's Privy Council, sitting on the commission which tried the Earl of Surrey and serving on Mary I's Privy Council.
    • 1573 – Death of William Maitland of Lethington, Scottish courtier, politician, reformer and diplomat. He died in prison in Leith, in suspicious circumstances, though it was said to be suicide. Maitland supported the restoration of Mary, Queen of Scots, and was imprisoned as a result.
    • 1583 – Death of Thomas Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and President of the Council of the North, at Bermondsey. His body was buried at Boreham in Essex, but his innards were buried at the church in Bermondsey.

  • 5 June – Thomas Moffet, silkworms and Little Miss Muffet

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 5th June 1604, Tudor physician and naturalist Thomas Moffet, or Muffet, physician and naturalist, died at Wilton in Wiltshire.

    The fact that he is known for a poem on silkworms and his daughter is linked to the famous nursery rhyme piqued my interest and I talk more about him and his poem in today’s video.

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  • 1 June – Queen Anne Boleyn’s coronation

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 1st June 1533, Whitsunday, Queen Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife, was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony performed by her good friend, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury.

    It was a long day for the pregnant queen, starting with a procession from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey, then there was the actual coronation, where Anne was crowned with St Edward’s crown, and finally the huge coronation banquet.

    Find out exactly what Anne Boleyn did on that day in 1533 in today’s video.

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  • 28 May – The Rome and Reims Plot and the end of 3 priests

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    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 men had been condemned for their alleged implication in the Rome and Reims Plot of 1580, but many believe that this plot wasn’t actually real.

    In today’s video, I 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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  • 25 May – A triple Tudor wedding

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    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.

    In today’s video, I give more details and consider who was behind this triple Tudor wedding.

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