June 3 – John Aylmer, Bishop of London, and his sacrifice for his queen

On this day in Tudor history, 3rd June 1594, John Aylmer, Bishop of London, died at Fulham Palace. He was buried at St Paul's Cathedral.

I could tell you about his career as bishop, but I thought I’d share a story about him with you.

In 1578, Queen Elizabeth I couldn’t sleep and was in constant pain due to toothache. Her councillors implored her to have the offending tooth removed, but a scared Elizabeth refused. This is when Bishop Aylmer sought to reassure the queen by telling the surgeon to extract one of his teeth, though he had not many to spare, so she could see just how simple a procedure it was. Elizabeth did finally come round to the idea. What a sacrifice Aylmer made for his queen!

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Image: A portrait of John Aylmer, Bishop of London, English School.