On this day in Tudor history, 7th September 1533, at Greenwich Palace, Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, gave birth to a daughter who would grow up to be Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, Gloriana, Good Queen Bess, a queen who would rule England for over 44 years.
Happy birthday to Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603)!
Find out more about her birth, the reactions and celebrations in today’s talk.
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Today is the anniversary of the death of Catherine Parr, queen dowager, on 5th September 1548, so I thought I’d share some photos I took of her resting place in St Mary’s Church at Sudeley Castle:
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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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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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The summer months were the traditional time for the monarch and his/her consort to get out of smelly and disease-ridden London and to go on royal progress.
Now although the monarch owned many properties and estate dotted around the country, s/he would also ‘honour’ courtiers by choosing to visit them and stay with them while on progress. Can you imagine what a mixed blessing this was? How honoured you’d feel to be on the itinerary, but how worried you’d be at the cost of impressing the king or queen!
In this week’s Claire Chats video talk, I give some examples of courtiers who welcomed monarchs into their homes, just what was involved, what they did to try and impress, and what happened.
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th August 1587, the first child born to English settlers in the New World was born in the Roanoke Colony. Her name was Virginia Dare.
This colony has become known as the lost colony because all 115 colonists disappeared.
I explain what happened in today’s talk.
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This week’s Claire Chats video talk has been inspired by an “on this day in Tudor history” event from this week and some comments and questions I received about it – the proxy wedding of Princess Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII, and King Louis XII. I thought I’d explain what proxy weddings were/are, why they were needed, and share some examples of historical proxy weddings.
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th August 1560, Thomas Phaer (Fair), translator, lawyer, physician and paediatrician, made his will after suffering an accident.
Phaer has become known as the “Father of English Paediatrics” for his works, which include “The Book of Children”. In today’s talk, Claire Ridgway, author of “On This Day in Tudor History”, gives a few more details about this man and shares some of his rather interesting remedies for caring for children.
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On this day in Tudor history, 9th August 1588, Queen Elizabeth I gave her famous Tilbury Speech to the forces gathered at Tilbury Fort.
It is a speech that has been immortalised on screen by the likes of Glenda Jackson and Cate Blanchett, and is famous for the line “I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too”, but what words did Elizabeth really speak that day?
In today’s talk,I share three versions of Elizabeth I’s Tilbury Speech.
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th August 1485, Henry Tudor, the soon-to-be King Henry VII, returned from exile, landing at Mill Bay in Wales. His intention was, of course, to claim the throne of England and to depose King Richard III.
I share two accounts of his landing and explains what Henry did next.
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On this day in Tudor history, 5th August 1549, during the reign of King Edward VI, son of King Henry VIII, the Battle of Clyst St Mary took place near Exeter, in Devon. It was part of the Prayer Book Rebellion, a rebellion against the religious measures of King Edward’s government.
I explain what provoked this rebellion and what happened when the Crown’s forces got to Clyst St Mary on this day in 1549.
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Yes, you read that correctly! On this day in Tudor history, 4th August 1540, thirteen men were executed in London – 12 by being hanged, drawn and quartered, and one by being hanged. Awful!
In today’s talk, I explain who these 13 men were and why they were attainted by Parliament and executed.
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On this day in history, 1st August 1555, Sir Edward Kelley, apothecary, alchemist and medium, was born in Worcester.
Kelley was a fascinating man. He worked with Dr John Dee and the men believed that they communicated with angels. Kelley also claimed that he was an alchemist and he wrote a treatise on the Philosopher’s Stone.
Find out more about Kelley and his work in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 31st July 1544 and 1548, the future Queen Elizabeth I wrote letters to her stepmother, Catherine Parr.
The letters were written at very different times in Elizabeth’s life, the first when Catherine was queen and Elizabeth had been separated from her for a while, and the second after Catherine had actually removed Elizabeth from her and Thomas Seymour’s household.
I share Elizabeth’s letters and explain the context.
Book recommendations: “Elizabeth” by David Starkey”; “Elizabeth I: Collected Works” ed. Leah S. Marcus, Mary Beth Rose, Janel Mueller.
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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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Here’s the full 82 page August edition of Tudor life magazine, all about the Stewarts. Enjoy!
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th July 1509, just three months into the reign of King Henry VIII, one of King Henry VII’s chief advisors was accused of being a “false traitor” and convicted of treason.
The new king, the young Henry VIII, used Dudley and his colleague, Richard Empson, as scapegoats for his father’s unpopular regime.
Find out more about the charges against Edmund Dudley in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th July 1546, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Protestant martyrs Anne Askew, John Lascelles, John Adams and Nicholas Belenian were burned at the stake at Smithfield in London for heresy.
Poor Anne had been illegally racked, so special provision had to be made for her execution.
In today’s talk, I share an account of the ends of these courageous people, along with some trivia about one of them.
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th July 1543, Henry VIII got married for the sixth and final time.
The fifty-two-year-old king married thirty-one-year-old Catherine Parr, Lady Latimer, in the Queen’s Closet of the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace.
In today’s talk, I share a contemporary account of the wedding service, as well as telling you about who attended the ceremony.
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Today started off well, with yet another scrumptious breakfast at Brockencote Hall, and then it was time to set off to see Tutbury Castle.
One of our tour members admitted later that she hadn’t been looking forward to this visit as she knew that the castle was in ruins and there wouldn’t be much to see of the castle that Mary, Queen of Scots, knew during her four periods of imprisonment there, but this tour member ending up having a wonderful time. Let me tell you more.
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th July 1553, Lady Jane Grey was officially proclaimed “Queen Jane” at the Tower of London, in Cheapside and Fleet Street. However, one young man could not keep quiet about his views regarding Mary being the rightful queen and he suffered a nasty punishment as a result.
In today’s talk, I share a contemporary account of what happened on that day in London
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After a filling breakfast (Full English for me!), our lovely coach driver, Alan, took us to Sudeley Castle, in Winchcombe, in the Cotswolds.
As well as being the home and place of death of Catherine Parr, sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII, Sudeley also served as home to Lady Jane Grey, one of our executed queens, in 1548. Jane was the ward of Catherine’s fourth husband, Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, who owned the castle, and so joined Catherine there when she retired to Sudeley as she prepared for the birth of her first and only child. Jane was at Sudeley when Catherine died in September 1548 and acted as chief mourner at Catherine’s funeral at the church within the grounds.
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th July 1553, fifteen-year-old King Edward VI died at Greenwich Palace leaving the throne to his cousin’s eldest daughter, Lady Jane Grey.
I share details of Edward’s final illness and last days, his “Devise for the Succession”, and Lady Jane Grey’s reaction at being told that she was Edward’s successor.
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Thanks to all who came to the live chat on Saturday night. We had a fast-paced discussion about queenship and in particular the six wives of Henry VIII.
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On this day in Tudor history, 1st July 1543, in the reign of King Henry VIII, the Treaties of Greenwich were signed.
These treaties were between the kingdoms of Scotland and England, and, amongst other terms, was the agreement of a marriage between Prince Edward, the future King Edward VI, and Mary, Queen of Scots.
Scotland’s subsequent rejection of the treaties led to a war known as the Rough Wooing – a great name!
In today’s video, I explain what these treaties were all about and what happened in the war known as the Rough Wooing, and why it was called that.
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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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Yes, on this day in Tudor history, 28th June 1491, King Henry VIII, second monarch of the Tudor dynasty, was born at Greenwich Palace.
This second son, the spare, of King Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth of York ended up becoming King Henry VIII in April 1509 and although in many ways he could be seen as a monstrous tyrant, he did achieve much during his reign.
In today’s video, I give an overview of this man, his life and his reign.
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On this day in Tudor history, 21st June 1529, Queen Catherine of Aragon, first wife of King Henry VIII, stole the show with an incredible speech at the Legatine Court at Blackfriars, a court that was hearing the case for the annulment of her marriage to the king.
The speech was given while she knelt at her husband’s feet and she appealed directly to him. It’s an incredible speech and I share it with you in today’s video.
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th June 1535, Sebastian Newdigate, William Exmew and Humphrey Middlemore, monks of the Carthusian Order of London Charterhouse, were hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn.
Their crime: refusing to accept King Henry VIII as supreme head of the Church in England.
But did you know that Sebastian Newdigate was actually a close friend of Henry VIII? Well, friendship and loyal service didn’t seem to matter if you were viewed as being at all defiant or disobedient.
In today’s video, I give you a few more details about Sebastian Newdigate and how he came to be executed in 1535.
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th June 1546, twenty-five-year-old Anne Askew was found guilty of heresy at London’s Guildhall along with Nicholas Shaxton (former Bishop of Salisbury), Nicholas White and John Hadlam.
Anne Askew has gone down in history as a Protestant martyr, after having been burned at the stake in July 1546, but also as a woman who was illegally put to the rack at the Tower of London by two of Henry VIII’s trusted men.
In today’s video, I use contemporary sources and Anne Askew’s own accounts, to piece together what happened that June and July, and what led to Anne Askew’s execution.
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