On this day in history, 31st January 1510, Queen Catherine of Aragon gave birth to a still-born daughter. Although she had lost her baby, Catherine’s abdomen stayed rounded and actually began to increase in size, leading her physicians to conclude that she was still pregnant with the twin of the baby she’d lost. This was not true.
I thought it would be interesting to share the primary source account of this event here.
In today’s Claire Chats video I talk about the contrast between the letter Henry VIII wrote to Anne Boleyn in June 1528, when he’d just found out that she’d come down with sweating sickness, and his other letters to her. I show photographs of those letters so you can see the difference Sandra Vasoli talked about in her recent talk.
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One often hears of the Tudor period being ‘done to death’. Historians have always revelled, and continue to do so, in studying this exciting and glamorous period, which saw monumental religious change, political development and cultural growth, and ordinary people worldwide cannot get enough of the Tudors, whether reading about them, watching historical films or visiting Tudor palaces. However, it cannot be denied that our obsession with the Tudors is very white-centred.
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Henry VII was born at Pembroke Castle on the 28th January 1457. His parents were the thirteen year-old Lady Margaret Beaufort and her husband Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, who, unfortunately, had died of the plague three months before Henry’s birth.
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Windsor Castle dates back to the time of William the Conqueror, who started building the Castle in 1070. Work was completed in 1086 and the great castle was built as a means to defend and secure the western path towards London. The castle was built on an earth mound which supported a keep and has an Upper and Lower Ward.
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]On the 27th January 1596, Sir Francis Drake, explorer, sea captain and pirate, died of dysentery in Portobelo harbour, Panama. When he realised that death was near, he asked to be dressed in his armour. Although he requested burial on land, Drake was buried at sea in a lead coffin, along with his second cousin, Admiral Sir John Hawkins.
Here are some facts about Sir Francis Drake, the famous Elizabethan sailor and navigator…
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Thanks to a question from Tudor Society member Sharon I have been digging into what Eustace Chapuys, the imperial ambassador, said about Henry VIII’s serious jousting accident in January 1536: “[…] Thinks he might ask of fortune for what greater misfortune he is reserved, like the other tyrant who escaped from the fall of the house, in which all the rest were smothered, and soon after died.”
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The world’s first gardening manual, which once belonged to Henry VIII, is going on display at Buckingham Palace in March 2015.
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Thomas Cromwell is hot property at the moment and is just everywhere – I wonder why…
Anyway, I thought I’d draw your attention to some articles about him and also some recommended reading on him.
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A quiz about actors and actresses who have played Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn on TV and on the big screen.
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An article by Adrienne Dillard on what life was like for Marian exiles like Catherine Carey and her husband Francis Knollys who fled to the Continent.
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Information about the Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA) Conference 21-22 March 2015 and a discount code for tickets.
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On 22nd January 1554, Thomas Wyatt the Younger met with fellow conspirators at his home of Allington Castle in Kent to make final plans for their uprising against Mary I and her decision to marry Philip of Spain. This rebellion would become known as Wyatt’s Rebellion.
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On 22 January 1552, between 8 and 9am, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and former Lord Protector, was executed on Tower Hill.
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On 17th January 1569, Agnes Bowker of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, allegedly gave birth to a cat. Events like this were seen as portents and so news of them spread like wildfire through pamphlets.
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A warm welcome to Alexander Taylor and Connor Byrne who will be writing for the Tudor Society website.
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On this day in history, 16th January 1549, Edward VI’s uncle, Thomas Seymour, was alleged to have broken into the King’s apartments at Hampton Court Palace to kidnap the young King. As he entered the royal residence, it is said that he disturbed the King’s beloved spaniel who started barking at him. In panic, Seymour is said to have shot the dog, a noise which alerted one of the guards who then apprehended Seymour.
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We had a wonderful live-chat session with author Sandra Vasoli (author of “Je Anne Boleyn”) last night. The questions were coming in thick-and-fast and Sandra had some amazing additional stories to tell us about her visit to the Vatican Archives to see the love letters of Henry VIII.
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