On this day in Tudor history, 7th April 1498, King Henry VII’s contemporary, King Charles VIII of France, died.
Charles the Affable, as he was known, died after hitting his head on a lintel at the Chateau d’Amboise while on his way to watch a tennis match. He made it to the match, but after the game, he was taken ill, slipped into a coma and died. He’d been king since 1483.
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th April 1523, in the reign of King Henry VIII, nobleman and courtier Henry Stafford, Earl of Wiltshire, died at the age of about 44.
Stafford died without issue so his earldom became extinct until 1529 when Thomas Boleyn, father of Anne Boleyn, was made Earl of Wiltshire.
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On this day in history, 5th April 1603, twelve days after the death of Queen Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch, King James VI of Scotland left Edinburgh, bound for London. He was now King of Ireland and England, as King James I, as well as being King of Scotland.
Thirty-seven-year-old James, who was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her second husband, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, had received news of Elizabeth’s death late on 26th March, when an exhausted Sir Robert Carey had arrived at Holyrood. James had been in bed, but Carey was escorted to his chamber, where he knelt by him, and as Carey recorded, “saluted him by his title of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland”. In reply, James said, “I know you have lost a near kinswoman, and a loving mistress: but take here my hand, I will be as good a master to you, and will requite this service with honour and reward.”
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On this day in Tudor history, 4th April 1581, Francis Drake, the famous Elizabethan explorer, sea captain and pirate, was awarded a knighthood by Elizabeth I. He was dubbed by Monsieur de Marchaumont on board the Golden Hind at Deptford.
The knighthood was a reward for Drake’s 1577-80 expedition, which saw him plundering Spanish ports, capturing Spanish ships, claiming Point Loma for England as Nova Albion, circumnavigating the globe, and more importantly, bringing back a rich cargo of treasure and spices for his queen.
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On this day in Tudor history, 3rd April 1538, Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire, died at Baynard’s Castle in London, the home of Hugh Faringdon, the Abbot of Reading.
Elizabeth was about sixty-two years of age when she died, and her death came just less than two years after the executions of her daughter and son, Queen Anne Boleyn and George Boleyn, Lord Rochford.
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On this day in Tudor history, 2nd April 1568, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Ambrose Cave, member of Parliament, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Knight of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, died at the Savoy. He was buried at Stanford after a funeral at the Savoy Chapel.
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On this day in Tudor history, 1st April 1604, author and soldier Thomas Churchyard died in Westminster, London.
Churchyard started writing in the reign of Edward VI and some of his poems were published in “Tottel’s Miscellany”.
Churchyard was also an active soldier, serving with the Duke of Somerset in Scotland and fighting as a mercenary for Protestants in Europe.
Let me share with you a few facts about this man…
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On this day in Tudor history, 31st March 1509, the dying Henry VII made his last will and testament at Richmond Palace, three weeks before his death.
The will was based on an earlier draft, with some new provisions added, for example, the addition of Sir Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley to the list of executors.
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On this day in Tudor history, 30th March 1587, in the reign of Elizabeth I, Sir Ralph Sadler died. He was in his 80th year.
Sadler was a diplomat and administrator who worked as Thomas Cromwell's secretary before being noticed by Henry VIII.
At his death, he was one of the richest men in England.
Here are a few more facts about him…
On this day in Tudor history, 29th March 1591, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, playwright and Church of England clergyman William Wager was buried at the church where he was rector, St Benet Gracechurch.
I was drawn to him simply because of the titles of two of his plays, “Enough is as Good as a Feast” and “The Longer thou Livest the More Fool thou art”, which have been described as polemical Protestant interludes. I love those titles!
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On this day in Tudor history, 28th March 1555, Protestants Stephen Knight and William Pygot were burnt at the stake for heresy in Essex, at Maldon and Braintree, respectively.
In his Book of Martyrs, martyrologist John Foxe writes of how Stephen Knight and William Pygot were first examined regarding their views on the eucharist, to which they answered that the body and blood of Christ were only in heaven and nowhere else. After being examined regarding other beliefs, according to Foxe, they “were exhorted to recant and revoke their doctrine, and receive the faith” but refused, and when Bishop Bonner realised “that neither his fair flatterings, nor yet his cruel threatenings, would prevail”, he condemned them for heresy.
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On 27th March 1539, George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, was laid to rest in the Shrewsbury Chapel of St Peter’s Church, Sheffield.
Talbot is known for his loyalty to the king during the Pilgrimage of Grace uprisings, which was seen as crucial to the failure of the rebellion.
But let me tell you a bit more about this Tudor earl…
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On this day in Tudor history, 26th March 1566, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Edmund Grindal, Bishop of London, summoned one hundred and ten ministers to Lambeth Palace to get them to pledge their willingness to wear vestments, as worn by the man in front of them: Robert Cole, a former non-conformist who now complied.
The outfit consisted of a square cap, gown, tippet, and surplice. They were also asked “to inviolably observe the rubric of the Book of Common Prayer, and the queen’s majesty’s injunctions, and the Book of Convocation” and to commit to these orders on the spot, by writing “volo” or “no volo”.
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On 25th March 1584, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, letters patent were granted to Walter Ralegh giving him “free liberty and licence… to discover, search for, fynde out and view… landes, countries and territories”, for the benefit of himself, “his heyres and assignes forever.”
It went on to describe these territories: “such remote heathen and barbarous lands countries and territories not actually possessed of any Christian Prince and inhabited by Christian people”, and as Nancy Bradley Warren points out in her book “Women of God and Arms”, Elizabeth I and her government were not only granting Ralegh the right to colonise lands owned by the indigenous people, they were also giving him the right to take lands held by Spain, as they didn’t view Catholicism as true Christianity.
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th March 1582, , Sir James Dyer, judge, law reporter, Member of Parliament and Speaker of the House of Commons, died at the age of 72. His other offices included King’s Sergeant-at-Law, Judge of the Common Pleas and Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. He was buried at Great Staughton Church in Huntingdonshire, next to his wife.
Dyer was Speaker of the House of Commons during the reign of King Edward VI and served as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from January 1559 until his death.
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On this day in Tudor history, 23rd March 1596, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, soldier, member of Parliament and diplomat, Sir Henry Unton, or Umpton, died after being taken ill with “a violent, burning fever”.
Unton had been taken ill after accompanying King Henry IV of France to the siege at La Fère. He was about thirty-eight years of age at his death.
Here are a few facts about this Tudor man…
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd March 1546, Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, landed in Calais to relieve the out of favour Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, in his military duties as lieutenant general there.
Hertford had been officially appointed the previous day “as the King’s lieutenant in the parts beyond sea, and commander in chief of the army and armada now about to be sent thither; with authority to invade France at discretion, and to order all admirals, vice-admirals and shipmasters there.” The privy council also wrote to Surrey recalling him to England.
But what had happened? Why was Surrey being replaced with Hertford?
[Read More...]On this day in Tudor history, 21st March 1555, Kent landowner, Deputy Lieutenant of Kent and Puritan Sir John Leveson was born at Whornes Place in Cuxton, Kent.
His surname was pronounced “Looson”, and we know this because of letters, such as one by Robert Cecil regarding Sir Richard Leveson where he wrote it as “LUSON”. It obviously comes from Louis or Lewis’s son.
Sir John Leveson was the eldest son of landowner Thomas Leveson and his wife, Ursula Gresham. He was educated at Queen’s College, Oxford, and then Gray’s Inn in London.
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th March 1572, in Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, Mary Bassett (née Roper), translator and granddaughter of Sir Thomas More, died.
Mary’s education was praised by scholars Roger Ascham and Nicholas Harpsfield, and she presented Mary I with a copy of five books of Eusebius’s “Ecclesiastical History” which she had translated from Greek into English.
Mary, born in around 1523, was the daughter of Sir Thomas More’s beloved daughter, Margaret, or Meg, who married William Roper. More, being a humanist, had provided an excellent education for his daughter and Meg did the same with Mary, making sure that she learnt Greek and Latin.
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th March 1577, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Edmund Harman, former barber, of Henry VIII, died at Burford in Oxfordshire. He had retired there after Henry VIII’s death. Harman was buried at Taynton Church.
Harman, who was originally from Ipswich, had entered the king’s service by 1533 and served him until the king’s death in 1547. His main duty was the daily washing and trimming of the king’s beard and hair, but he also served Henry VIII as keeper of the wardrobe.
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On 18th March 1601, just six days before the day of Queen Elizabeth I, soldier, secret agent and rebel Sir Christopher Blount was executed on Tower Hill for high treason.
He was accused of treason following his involvement in the rebellion of his stepson, Elizabeth’s former favourite, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex.
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th March 1570, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, soldier, courtier and landowner, died at Hampton Court, aged sixty-three.
Here are some facts about this Tudor earl, who was known as Black Will Herbert and had a queen as a sister-in-law…
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We've been contacted by Ann Henning Jocelyn, and although August seems a long time away, we wanted to highlight a play and talk which is coming up at the Festival Theatre in Hever Castle, Kent, UK. 
The Sphere of Light play was originally performed in Cambridge but then Covid struck. Only now is the play on the move again, together with the novel of the same name. It has been endorsed by Dr Owen Emmerson, who will launch the novel at Hever on June 1st, following my lecture on the Boleyns, "The Boleyns in Context", as part of this year's Hever Theatre Festival.
Later in the year, it will be followed by a full production of the play on August 4th and 5th, 2023.
More information and bookings can be made with the Hever Festival Theatre, https://heverfestival.co.uk/, along with an action packed schedule of talks and events.
On this day in Tudor history, 16th March 1533, in the reign of King Henry VIII, soldier, translator and diplomat, John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners, died at Calais, while serving as Deputy of Calais.
Berners was succeeded as deputy by the king’s uncle, Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle.
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On 15th March 1554, in the reign of Queen Mary I, John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester, was deprived of his bishopric while imprisoned in Fleet Prison. He had been charged with owing over five hundred pounds in unpaid first fruits, a charge he denied.
Let me tell you a bit more about this man, who ended up being a Marian martyr…
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On this day in Tudor history, 14th March 1553, in the reign of King Edward VI, Arthur Bulkeley, Bishop of Bangor, died at his home in Bangor. He was buried in the cathedral quire.
Bulkeley, who was originally from Beaumaris in Anglesey, had been bishop since 1541. He’d previously served as chaplain to Charles Brandon and Thomas Cromwell.
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On this day in Tudor history, 13th March 1619, actor and star of Shakespeare’s Lord Chamberlain’s Men and the King’s Men, Richard Burbage, died aged fifty.
Burbage performed with William Shakespeare and is named in Shakespeare’s will of 1616 as a “fellow”, meaning a close friend or colleague.
Let me give you a few facts about this Elizabethan actor…
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th March 1564, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Roman Catholic priest and martyr Christopher Bales was baptised in Coniscliffe, in County Durham, in the north of England.
Bales ended up being executed by hanging on 4th March 1590.
Let me tell you a bit more about Bales and how he came to this sad end…
On this day in Tudor history, 11th March 1513, Giovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici was proclaimed Pope Leo X after being elected on 9th March. He was crowned pope on 19th March and held the office until his death by pneumonia on 1st December 1521. He was one of the leading Renaissance popes.
Giovanni was the second son of Lorenzo de’ Medici, or Lorenzo the Magnificent, a member of the prominent political banking and political Medici family, and ruler of the Republic of Florence.
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th March 1572, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, nobleman and administrator William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester, died at his home Basing House in Hampshire. He was said to be 97 years of age at his death. He was laid to rest in the parish church at Basing on 28th April.
Paulet’s offices under Henry VIII included Lord Treasurer, Great Master of the Household and Lord Great Chamberlain, and he also served the king’s children, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, in their reigns.
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