On this day in Tudor history, 5th October 1553, the first Parliament of Mary I’s reign met.
This Parliament repealed the “treason act” of Mary’s half brother Edward VI’s reign, passed an act declaring Mary’s legitimacy, repealed the religious legislation of Edward’s reign, and reinstated the Mass in Latin, celibacy of the clergy and ritual worship. It was as if the reformation of Edward VI’s reign had never happened.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 29th September 1553, Michaelmas, the new queen, Mary I, created fifteen Knights of the Bath as part of her coronation celebrations.
Traditionally, knights were dubbed while naked in their baths, so Henry Fitzalan, 19th Earl of Arundel, represented Mary I at the ceremony.
You can find out who these fifteen men were, and more about the ceremony itself in an article
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 3rd July 1557, Mary I bid farewell to her husband, Philip of Spain, at Dover as he set off for war with France.
Philip had only returned to England in March 1557 after an absence of over 18 months and he had only returned then, as historian Anna Whitelock points out, because he needed money and for England to declare war on France, which they did on 7th June 1557.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 20th January 1558, in the final year of Queen Mary I’s reign, there was the state opening of Mary’s fifth Parliament.
As Cedric Ward points out in his article “The House of Commons and the Marian Reaction”, by this time, due to Mary’s marriage to Philip of Spain, England was allied with Spain in its war against France so Parliamentary business focused on financial and military items.
[Read More...]
On this day in history, 24th December 1604, in the reign of King James I, Sir Thomas Cornwallis died at about the age of eighty-six.
Cornwallis had been active putting down rebellion in 1549 and during the succession crisis of July 1553 swapped sides at just the right time, recanting his proclamation for Jane as queen and proclaiming for Mary instead. Mary rewarded him by making him her Comptroller of the household of Mary I. He also served as a member of Parliament.
In Elizabeth I’s reign, his friendship with a man close to the queen may have helped him escape trouble.
Find out more about Sir Thomas Cornwallis…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 14th December 1558, in the reign of her half-sister, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Mary I was buried at Westminster Abbey.
Mary had died just under a month earlier, on 17th November 1558. She’d left instructions for her burial, requesting that Catherine of Aragon’s remains be exhumed and brought from Peterborough to London so that mother and daughter could rest in peace together.
Did this happen?
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 17th November 1558, Queen Mary I died at St James’s Palace in London.
The forty-two-year-old daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon passed the throne on to her twenty-five-year-old half-sister, Elizabeth, who became Queen Elizabeth I.
Let me tell you about the accession of Queen Elizabeth I and the traditional story of Elizabeth finding out that she was queen at Hatfield…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 13th October 1553, Queen Mary I wrote an interesting letter to Simon Renard, imperial ambassador.
In the letter, the queen asked Renard to meet with her secretly. She’d asked him to do this before, and to come in disguise.
But why? Why would Mary I want to meet with an imperial ambassador in secret? And why would she be putting more trust in the emperor and his ambassadors than her own council?
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 27th August 1557, in the reign of Queen Mary I, St Quentin was stormed by English and Imperial forces.
Admiral de Coligny and his French troops, numbering only a thousand, were overcome by around 60,000 soldiers, and St Quentin fell.
Sadly, Henry Dudley, the youngest son of the late John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was killed by a cannonball during the storming.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 26th August 1555, Mary I and her husband, Philip of Spain, departed from Whitehall to prepare for Philip’s departure. He was returning to the Low Countries.
Mary had just come out of confinement after months of believing she was pregnant, and now her husband was leaving her, so it must have been difficult for her. Philip would be gone for over 18 months.
Find out more about Mary’s state of health and mind, the arrangements for Philip’s departure, and Mary’s reaction…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 25 July 1554, on the Feast of St James, Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII by Catherine of Aragon, got married at Winchester Cathedral in a ceremony officiated by Lord Chancellor Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester.
The thirty-eight-year-old Mary married twenty-seven-year-old Philip of Spain, son of her cousin, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
Let me share a contemporary account of Mary and Philip’s wedding ceremony…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 20th July 1554, Philip of Spain, son of Mary I’s cousin, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, arrived in England.
He had come to prepare for his forthcoming marriage to Mary I.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 19th July 1545, in the reign of King Henry VIII, the king’s flagship, the Mary Rose, sank right in front of his eyes.
She sank in the Battle of the Solent between the English and French fleets.
But why did the Mary Rose sink?
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 9th July 1553, Mary (the future Mary I), daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, wrote to her late half-brother’s privy council regarding “some evil” that she had heard.
This was three days after Edward VI’s death and the day after Mary had proclaimed herself queen at at Kenninghall.
But what was going on? What had Mary heard and was she going to do about it?
Find out more about the situation and Mary’s letter…
[Read More...]
Our Friday treat from the archives is an expert talk from Johanna Strong on Queen Mary I, who, I believe, is really stealing the show at the moment in the Starz series “Becoming Elizabeth”.
[Read More...]
Linda Porter is one of my favourite Tudor historians so for our Friday video this week I thought I’d share this talk she did for us back in 2014.
In “Three Tudor Queens”, Linda explores the lives of Katherine Parr, Mary I and Mary, Queen of Scots.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 30th March 1533, at the Passion Sunday service, Thomas Cranmer, Archdeacon of Taunton, was consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.
His consecration was not like those of others before him, however, because as well as making the usual oath promising to be faithful to the papacy and to denounce heretics, he also made a protestation to show that his oath would not conflict with his loyalty to King Henry VIII and his commitment to reforming the church. Hmmmm…. complicated.
Find out more in this talk…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 6th March 1536, King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries began when the “Act for the Suppression (or Dissolution) of the Lesser Monasteries” was introduced into the Reformation Parliament.
The Dissolution of the Monasteries had a major impact on England and her people, but was of great benefit to the king, his nobles and the gentry.
Find out what happened, why and its impact in this talk…
[Read More...]
On this day in history, 18th February 1612, Italian banker Roberto di Ridolfi died in Florence, Italy, aged 80.
Amazingly, he died a natural death even though he’d been the brains behind the Ridolfi Plot, a plot to depose Queen Elizabeth I and to replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots, thereby restoring Catholicism in England.
Find out more about Ridolfi and his famous plot in this talk…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 1st February 1587, Queen Elizabeth I called her secretary, William Davison, to her and asked him to bring her the death warrant of Mary, Queen of Scots. She then signed it. However, she didn’t want it to be sent to Fotheringhay, where Mary was held, until she said so. But it was sent.
Elizabeth wanted someone else to take responsibility for Mary’s death, she even wanted her gaoler to assassinate her!
Find out all about this, and how Mary DID end up being executed in February 1587, in this talk…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 26th January 1546, judge of assize and law reporter, Sir John Spelman, died.
Now, you may never have heard of Justice John Spelman, but his reports on the legal cases of people like Queen Anne Boleyn, Sir Thomas More, Bishop John Fisher and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey have been very useful to historians – a wonderful resource.
Find out more about Sir John Spelman and what he had to say about Anne Boleyn’s trial in this video…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 20th January 1569, not long after he’d given the best sermon of his life, Bible translator and Bishop of Exeter, Miles Coverdale, died in London.
Coverdale is known for completing the first English translation of the whole Bible and for his work on “The Great Bible”, which was put in every parish church in England.
Find out more about this accomplished Tudor man in this talk…
[Read More...]We had a wonderful time last Friday at the live Q&A session with historian Johanna Strong. Mary I is such a fascinating historical personality, and one that really divides opinions. A big thank you to Johanna for answering all of our questions.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 14th December 1542, six-day-old Mary, daughter of King James V and his second wife, Marie de Guise, became Queen of Scotland – Mary, Queen of Scots.
King James V, who had ruled since 1513, was just 30 at his death.
Find out what happened to James V, and how Mary became queen at such a young age, in this talk…
[Read More...]
As the topic of our expert talk this month is Queen Mary I, I thought I’d test your knowledge of Mary I places with a fun crossword puzzle.
Good luck!
Simply click on the link or image below to open and print out.
[Read More...]This month’s expert is Johanna Strong who is talking about England’s first crowned queen, Mary I.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 17th November 1558, twenty-five-year-old Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, became Queen Elizabeth I following the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary I.
In this talk, I look at an alternative account of Elizabeth I’s words on her accession, one recorded by her godson, Sir John Harington. Hear Elizabeth I’s wonderful speech, which she used to motivate her supporters and to reassure those who’d served Mary I.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 13th October 1553, Queen Mary I wrote a very interesting letter to the imperial ambassador, Simon Renard. In it, she asked the ambassador to meet with her secretly, and she’d encouraged him previously to come to her secretly and in disguise.
Why? What was going on? And why did Mary seem to trust the emperor and his ambassadors more than her own council?
Find out more about the situation…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 1st October 1500, John Alcock, Bishop of Ely, died at Wisbech Castle.
Alcock wasn’t just a bishop, he was a scholar, a royal tutor, and an administrator. He served as tutor to King Edward IV’s son, Prince Edward, the future King Edward V and a boy who is known for being one of the ill-fated Princes in the Tower. He also christened another prince.
Find out more about this Tudor bishop and royal servant…
[Read More...]