On this day in Tudor history, 17th August 1510, King Henry VII's former chief administrators, Sir Edmund Dudley and Sir Richard Empson, were beheaded on Tower Hill as traitors even though they had served the former king loyally.
What happened? Why were these two advisors executed by their former master's son?
I explain what led to Empson and Dudley's executions.
Also on this day in history:
- 1498 – Death of John Scrope, 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton. It is likely that the Yorkist Scrope fought on Richard III's side at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, but escaped punishment by the victor, Henry VII. He was imprisoned in 1487 after supporting the pretender Lambert Simnel, but was released, and by 1492 was loyal to Henry VII.
- 1517 – Death of Andreas Ammonius (also known as Andrea Ammonio and Andrea della Rena), the Italian humanist scholar, cleric and poet, from sweating sickness during the night of the 17th/18th. He died in London and was buried at St Stephen's, Westminster. He served Henry VIII as Latin Secretary and received various church offices, including the Canonry and Prebendary of St Stephen's, Westminster. Ammonius also served the papacy as sub-collector of taxes in England.
- 1545 – Death of Thomas Poynings, 1st Baron Poynings, of dysentery while serving Henry VIII as Lieutenant of Boulogne.