The Tudor Society

June 9 – William Courtenay, William Paget, and the 1549 Book of Common Prayer

On this day in Tudor history, 9th June 1511, in the reign of King Henry VIII, William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, died.

Who was Courtenay and how did he go from being in favour to being a traitor and then back to being in favour?

On 9th or 10th June 1563, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, William Paget, 1st Baron Paget, diplomat and administrator, died, probably at his estate of West Drayton in Middlesex.

By his death, he'd served four Tudor monarchs and even though he'd fallen from favour and been imprisoned, he kept his head and climbed back in favour.

But who was Baron Paget?

And on this day in 1549, in the reign of King Edward VI, at Whitsun services all over England, the Book of Common Prayer was used for the first time. A service in English, not Latin!

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June 9 – William Courtenay, William Paget, and the 1549 Book of Common Prayer