The Tudor Society

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  • Battle of Bosworth Quiz

    Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth. The battle took place on 22nd August 1485 and was between the forces of King Richard III and Henry Tudor. Henry’s forces defeated those of Richard, and Henry became King Henry VII.

    Test your knowledge of the battle with this fun quiz and scroll down for more resources on the battle.

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  • Bloody Mary: Live!

    This play looks like it's going to be a fun one! Bloody Mary: LIVE! will play from August 24-September 5, 2021 in performance and bar space The Treehouse as part of Assembly Festival Garden for the Coventry City of Culture 2021 (UK).

    © Ashley Garrett Photography

    The show features Mary Tudor, as a teenager, performing a stand-up set to explain why she burned all those people at the stake. In her set, she confesses what it was like to be the daughter of Henry VIII, to watch her parents go through the worst divorce and to grow up a little bit jealous of her younger sister Elizabeth I. This biting new play is written and performed by Olivia Miller and was shortlisted for the 2020 Les Enfants Terribles Award.

    Performance Details

    Location: The Treehouse, Assembly Festival Garden, Coventry
    Tickets: https://bit.ly/BloodyMaryCoventry
    Prices: Concessions - £7, Early Bird - £9, Standard - £10
    Dates & Times: August 24-September 5, 20:30 daily
    Running time: 1 hour
    COVID safety: Open air bar

  • 16 August – A family’s sacrifice and the Battle of Spurs

    On this day in Tudor history, 16th August 1599, soldier and Lord President of Munster in Ireland, Sir Thomas Norris, died at his home, Mallow Castle, in Cork, as a result of an injury he’d sustained in a skirmish with Irish troops on 30th May 1599. His brother, Henry, died just five days later. Thomas’s brothers, John, William and Maximilian, who were also soldiers, died in 1597, 1579 and 1593 respectively.

    Queen Elizabeth I recognised the sacrifice of this family and wrote a letter of condolence to her friends, Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norris, and his wife, Margery Williams. Find out what she wrote to the grieving couple…

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  • 13 August – Irish friars come to a sad end and a proxy wedding for Mary Tudor

    Mary Tudor, Queen of France, detail from a portrait of her and her second husband, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.

    On this day in Tudor history, 13th August 1579, Roman Catholics Friar Conn, or Connatius, O’Rourke and Patrick O’Healy, Bishop of Mayo, were hanged just outside Kilmallock, co. Limerick.

    So desperate was Sir William Drury, Lord President of Munster, to get rid of these two Catholics, that he used martial law to find them guilty of treason, rather than giving them a trial.

    Find out why, what Drury did to poor Bishop O’Healey, and what happened to their remains afterwards, in this video…

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  • 6 August – Anne Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare

    On this day in history, 6th August 1623, Anne Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare, the famous playwright, died.

    Find out a bit more about Anne Hathaway, and hear the tomb inscription written about her by her son in law, in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

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  • 5 August – Sir Reginald Bray

    On this day in Tudor history, 5th August 1503, in the reign of King Henry VII, administrator Sir Reynold or Reginald Bray died.

    Who was Bray? What offices had he held? And what are his links to Westminster Abbey and St George's Chapel?

    Find out more in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts...

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  • 30 July – Writer Robert Parry

    On this day in Tudor history, 30th July 1563, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, writer and diarist Robert Parry was born.

    Find out a bit more about Parry in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

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  • 25 July – A kidnapped child actor

    On this day in history, 25th July 1602, in the reign of King James I, thirteen-year-old Elizabethan actor Salomon Pavy was buried at the Church of St Mary Somerset, near Blackfriars Theatre.

    Find out more about Salomon Pavy and how he came to be an actor in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

    [Read More...]
  • Mary Rose’s 1545 – When Their World Ended

    The Mary Rose museum is introducing a new immersive visitor experience, opening to visitors on Monday, 26th July.

    Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench is helping visitors to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard step back in time to relive the sinking of the Mary Rose in its stunning new experience. 1545 will allow visitors to be fully immersed in the Battle of the Solent and re-live the final breath-taking moments onboard King Henry VIII’s favourite ship. Dame Judi is introducing the experience, which is home to the Mary Rose and the world’s biggest collection of Tudor artefacts. [Read More...]

  • 22 July – Baron Scrope, a royal councillor

    On this day in history, 22nd July 1437 or 38, soldier and royal councillor John Scrope, 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton, was born.

    Find out more about Scrope and his service to the Yorkists, and later imprisonment, in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

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  • 21 July – Explorer Thomas Cavendish

    On this day in Tudor history, 21st July 1586, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, explorer Thomas Cavendish set sail from Plymouth. Where was he going and why? And how would he break Sir Francis Drake's record?

    Find out more in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts... [Read More...]

  • 18 July – Kat Ashley, Elizabeth I’s lady

    On this day in Tudor history, 18th July 1565, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the queen’s close friend and loyal servant, Kat Ashley, died.

    Find out more about Kat (also known as Katherine Ashley, Katherine Astley and Katherine Champernowne) in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

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  • 16 July – Frances Brandon

    On this day in Tudor history, 16th July 1517, the feast of St Francis, Frances Brandon was born. She was King Henry VIII's niece.

    Find out a bit more about Frances Brandon in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts... [Read More...]

  • 12 July – True soldiers of Jesus Christ get burnt

    On this day in Tudor history, 12th July 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, men who were described as "true soldiers of Jesus Christ", were burnt at the stake at Canterbury.

    Find out about John Bland, John Frankesh, Nicholas Sheterden and Humphrey Middleton, and their fates, in this edition of TudorHistoryShorts... [Read More...]

  • 11 July – Here begins the plague…

    On this day in Tudor history, 11th July 1564, the plague hit the Warwickshire town of Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare.

    Find tout more in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts... [Read More...]

  • 9 July – Elizabeth I visits Robert Dudley’s castle

    On this day in Tudor history, 9th July 1575, Queen Elizabeth I visited Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire, home of her favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Her stay would be a long one, 19 days!

    Find out a bit more about her stay at Kenilworth Castle in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

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  • 8 July – Kett’s Rebellion begins

    On this day in Tudor history, 8th July 1549, in the reign of King Edward VI, a rebellion began in East Anglia. It was Kett’s Rebellion.

    Find out more about Kett’s Rebellion, why it began, what happened next and what happened to the rebels leaders, in this latest edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

    [Read More...]
  • 6 July – Margaret Clement, Sir Thomas More’s adopted daughter

    On this day in Tudor history, 6th July 1570, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Margaret Clement (née Giggs), adopted daughter of Sir Thomas More, died in Mechelen.

    Find out more about Margaret Clement, what Sir Thomas More had bequeathed her, and how she had helped some imprisoned priests, in this latest edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

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  • 5 July – A radical shoemaker

    On this day in Tudor history, 5th July 1583, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, shoemaker John Copping was executed.

    He’d been in trouble before due to his radical views, but what had he done this time?

    Find out more about John Copping in this latest edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

    [Read More...]
  • 3 July – Mary I bids farewell to Philip for the final time

    On 3rd July 1557, Queen Mary I said goodbye to her husband, King Philip II of Spain, for the final time, although she didn’t know it at the time.

    Find out more about why he had returned in the first place and what happened next in this latest edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

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  • 29 June – The Globe burns down!

    On 29th June 1613, the Globe Theatre, which had been built by William Shakespeare’s company of players, burnt to the ground.

    Find out more about what happened in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

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  • 28 June – A rebellious baron is executed

    On this day in Tudor history, 28th June 1497, in the reign of King Henry VII, Sir James Tuchet, 7th Baron Audley,was executed after rebelling against his kind.

    Find out how this baron got involved in a rebellion in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

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  • 27 June – A farming bishop who was sadly betrayed

    On this day in Tudor history, 27th June 1578, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Bishop of Exeter, William Bradbridge, died at the age of seventy-one.

    The poor man died in poverty due to the actions of one of his staff. Very sad.

    Find out more in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

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  • July 2021 – Tudor Life – The Habsburgs and the Tudors

    There’s no question of how important the “House of Austria” was in the history of world politics and this dynastic colossus really burst into English diplomacy in the Tudor era. Henry VIII’s first queen, Katherine of Aragon, was the Habsburg Emperor’s aunt; Mary I married a Habsburg king, while Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots both considered marrying Habsburg princes.

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  • The Boleyns of Hever Castle book is available for pre-order!

    Well, I promised you all that I’d let you know as soon as The Boleyns of Hever Castle was available to pre-order, and it is!

    You can pre-order the paperback or kindle e-book version on your country’s Amazon store – hurrah!

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  • 24 June – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford

    On 24th June 1604, in the reign of King James I, Elizabethan courtier and poet, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, died.

    Find out about this rather colourful Tudor character in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

    [Read More...]
  • 23 June – A doctor and mathematician

    23rd June is the anniversary of the baptism of Thomas Hood, a Tudor doctor and mathematician, on 23rd June 1556, in the reign of Mary I.

    Find out about this talented Tudor man in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts...

    [Read More...]

  • 22 June – The Execution of Bishop Fisher

    On 22nd June 1535, in the reign of King Henry VIII, John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, was executed.

    Why was Fisher executed and how did the pope try to save him?

    Find out in this #TudorHistoryShorts video...

    [Read More...]

  • 20 June – Murder or Suicide?

    On this day in Tudor history, the night of 20th/21st June 1585, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland, died at the Tower of London.

    Was his death murder or suicide? And if it was murder, why?

    Find out more…

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  • Teasel’s Tudor Trivia – Books on the Tudor Kings and Queens

    In this latest edition of Teasel’s Tudor Trivia, Tudor experts, historian Claire Ridgway and her researcher, Teasel the rescue dog, introduce their top picks for non-fiction books on the Tudor kings and queens.

    The books featured are all excellent reads and are well-referenced – perfect for those just wanting to know more about the monarch or those who are using them for research.

    Please do share in the comments if you have a favourite book on the Tudor monarchs.

    [Read More...]