On this day in Tudor history, Saturday 31st May 1533, the eve of her coronation, a pregnant Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, processed from the Tower of London to Westminster Hall.
This coronation procession is one of those events that Claire would love to travel back in time for as it was a huge procession through the streets of London and there was lots of entertainment, including lavish, pageants, orations, music, and wine flowing in the conduits and in fountains. To be a citizen of London on that day! Wow!
Hear all about the pageantry in today's video.
Also on this day in history:
- 1443 - Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, and matriarch of the Tudor dynasty, was born at Bletsoe Castle in Bedfordshire.
- 1516 – Birth of John Harpsfield, religious writer and Catholic priest. He was born in the parish of St Mary Magdalen, Old Fish Street, London. His brother was Nicholas Harpsfield, later Archdeacon of Canterbury. Nine of his sermons were published in Bonner's 1555 "Homilies", and he was a well known spokesman for Catholicism, even preaching before Philip of Spain.
- 1529 – Opening of the Legatine Court at Blackfriars, presided over by Cardina Campeggio. This court's purpose was to hear the evidence with regards to Henry VIII's demand for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
- 1545 – Burial of Agnes Howard (née Tilney), dowager Duchess of Norfolk, at Thetford Abbey. She was the widow of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk.
- 1578 – Sir Martin Frobisher set sail with his fleet from Harwich, England to Frobisher Bay, Canada. By 31st August, he and his men had mined 1370 tons of ore, which was loaded onto the ships to take back to England. Unfortunately, no gold or other precious metal was found in the ore.
- 1589 – Death of Sir Walter Mildmay, administrator and founder of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, at his home in Smithfield.