On this day in Tudor history, 29th April, William Dacre, the only man to be acquitted in Henry VIII’s reign, was born; Queen Anne Boleyn had an altercation with groom of the Stool Sir Henry Norris; Lady Jean Gordon started divorce proceedings against the Earl of Bothwell; and Sir Dru Drury died…
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th April, Lord Chancellor Thomas Audley set up some of the legal machinery used in the fall of Anne Boleyn; Mary, Queen of Scots married Francis, the Dauphin, at Notre Dame; and it was the night for divining who you were going to marry…
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th April, Mary, Queen of Scots got betrothed to the Dauphin; Sir Francis Drake “singed the King of Spain’s beard”; and a Catholic bookseller was hanged at Tyburn…
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On this day in Tudor history, 14th April, Sir Anthony Kingston died on his way to be tried for treason; astrologer, astronomer and magician Edward Gresham was born; and Mary, Queen of Scots’ third husband, the Earl of Bothwell, died in appalling conditions…
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th April, Anne Boleyn attended Easter Sunday mass as queen, causing quite a stir, and courtier and poet Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was born…
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I’ve been lucky enough to see historian and actress play Mary, Queen of Scots, at Tutbury Castle, where Lesley is custodian, so I’m very disappointed that I can’t make this event. I know she’ll do a terrific job portraying Anne Boleyn in her last 45 minutes on earth.
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On this day in Tudor history, 25th March, Lady Day was celebrated and the calendar new year began, and Catholic martyr Margaret Clitherow, the Pearl of York, was pressed to death for harbouring Catholic priests…
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th March, the Lady Elizabeth (Elizabeth I) delayed her arrest by writing her famous Tide Letter to her half-sister Mary I; theologian Alexander Alesius died in Edinburgh; and soldier and courtier William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, died at Hampton Court Palace…
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th March, soldier, translator and diplomat John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners, died; priests Robert Dalby and John Amias were executed at York as traitors; and actor Richard Burbage was buried…
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th March, John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford and a man who commanded Henry Tudor’s archers at the Battle of Bosworth, died; Henry VIII suffered a jousting accident jousting against his friend, Charles Brandon; and William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester and a man who served Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, died…
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On this day in Tudor history, 9th March, Mary, Queen of Scots’ private secretary was assassinated in front of the pregnant queen, Mary’s mother-in-law, Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, died, and Lady Frances Radcliffe, one of Elizabeth I’s ladies of the bedchamber, died…
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On this day in Tudor history, 1st March, Scottish evangelical preacher George Wishart was hanged and burnt, conspirator William Stafford was born, Grand Prior Sir Thomas Tresham died, and physician, poet and musician Thomas Campion died…
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd February, little Henry Duke of Cornwall, son of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, died suddenly, and Marie de Guise was crowned Queen of Scotland, rather than England, which had apparently been an option for her…
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th February, Edward Seymour, King Edward VI’s uncle, was made Duke of Somerset, Mary, Queen of Scots, met and fell in love with Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and Henry Radcliffe, 2nd Earl of Essex, died…
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In this second part of “Marriage Melancholy”, I’m exploring the unhappy union of Penelope Devereux, a poet’s muse trapped in an unhappy marriage; the tragic union of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, and Elizabeth Stafford, marred by accusations and domestic turmoil; the intriguing story of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, and Anne Cecil, as their seemingly orchestrated marriage gives way to strained relations and unexpected alliances; the complexities of Mary, Queen of Scots, as she navigates through two ill-fated marriages, each marked by betrayal, conspiracy, and tragic consequences, and the mysterious death of Amy Robsart, wife of Robert Dudley, and the scandalous affair between Dudley and Douglas Sheffield, shrouded in secrets and dark rumours.
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th February, Catherine Howard was escorted to the Tower of London to prepare for her execution, Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland, died, and Mary, Queen of Scots’ second husband, Lord Darnley, was murdered…
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th February, Mary, Queen of Scots was executed in a rather botched beheading, and Elizabeth I’s favourite, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, launched a rebellion, which did not go well…
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th February, Sir Thomas More, Henry VIII’s famous Lord Chancellor, was born, Mary, Queen of Scots was informed she’d be executed the next day, and Henry VIII took part in the Shrovetide joust with the motto “Declare I dare not”…
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On this day in Tudor history, Anne of York married the Earl of Surrey, Mary Boleyn married William Carey, and there was the first Protestant burning of Mary I’s reign…
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On this day in Tudor history, 3rd February, Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was born, Silken Thomas was executed, and Elizabeth I’s privy council met and agreed to send Mary, Queen of Scot’s death warrant to Fotheringhay without Elizabeth’s knowledge…
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On this day in Tudor history, 1st February, earldoms were granted by Henry VIII, including to his friend Charles Brandon; an alchemist was born; Mary I gave a rousing speech to the citizens of London, and Elizabeth I signed the warrant for the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots…
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On this day in Tudor history, 23rd January, King Ferdinand II of Aragon died, the half-brother of Mary, Queen of Scots, was assassinated, and Elizabeth I opened the Royal Exchange in London…
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd January, war was declared, a Lord Protector was beheaded, Wyatt’s Rebellion was planned, and Francis Bacon, a lord chancellor and famous philosopher, author and scientist, was born…
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Today’s on this day in Tudor history events include Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, being sentenced to death, the death of famous Elizabethan poet Edmund Spenser, and the death of a groom of Sir Henry Neville…
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What happened on this day in history, 8th January, in Tudor times?
Let me share with you some of the events that took place on this day in the reigns of the Tudor kings and queens…
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What happened on this day in Tudor history? Let me share with you some events from 3rd January during the reigns of the Tudor monarchs…
1521 – Pope Leo X issued the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem excommunicating reformer, German priest and professor of theology Martin Luther from the Catholic Church. See below.
1540 – Official reception of Anne of Cleves at Greenwich Palace. See below.
1541 – Anne of Cleves visited Hampton Court Palace to greet her former husband, Henry VIII, and his new wife, Catherine Howard, and to exchange New Year’s gifts.
On this day in Tudor history, 14th October 1593, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, soldier and Lord Deputy of Ireland, Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey of Wilton, died at his home of Whaddon in Buckinghamshire. He was buried there.
Grey had a reputation for radical Protestantism.
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th September 1539, in the reign of King Henry VIII, nobleman, soldier and adventurer Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, was born at Chartley in Staffordshire.
Devereux was the eldest son of Sir Richard Devereux and Dorothy Hastings, and the father of Elizabeth I’s favourite Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex.
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On this day in history, 8th September 1603, in the reign of King James I and just a few months after the death of Elizabeth I, courtier George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon, died.
Carey was the son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hundson, and grandson of Mary Carey (née Boleyn).
He served Elizabeth I as Marshal of the Household, Justice of the Peace, Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Captain of the Isle of Wight, member of Parliament, Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners, Lord Chamberlain and Privy Councillor.
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