The Tudor Society

YOUR SEARCH UNCOVERED 1514 RESULTS

  • 14 November – Bad Signs for Culpeper and Lady Rochford, and Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon get married but not to each other

    On this day in Tudor history, 14th November 1541, an inventory was taken of “the goods and chattels, lands and fees of” Thomas Culpeper, a groom of King Henry VIII’s privy chamber and a man who had been having secret meetings with Catherine Howard, Henry VIII’s fifth wife.

    An inventory had also been taken of the possessions of Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, wife of the late George Boleyn, a woman who had allegedly helped the queen meet with Culpeper.

    But what was going on in November 1541 and what was listed in these inventories?

    Find out more in this talk…

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  • 4 November – The imprisonment of a treasonous family and the arrest of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey

    On this day in Tudor history, 4th November 1538, Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu, his brother-in-law, Sir Edward Neville; Henry Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter; Courtenay’s wife, Gertrude Blount, and the couple’s son, Edward Courtenay, were all arrested for treason and imprisoned in the Tower of London.

    Montagu, Neville and Exeter, along with Montagu’s brother, Geoffrey Pole, were accused of plotting with Cardinal Reginald Pole against the king. Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, was also arrested, accused of the same.

    But how had it come to this, when Henry VIII had sought Cardinal Pole’s opinion on his marriage and the papacy?

    Find out what Cardinal Pole had done to upset the king, and what happened to his family and friends as a result, in this talk…

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  • 14 October – Strong teeth save a man and the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots begins

    On this day in Tudor history, 14th October 1565, diplomat and poet, Sir Thomas Chaloner the Elder, died at his home in Clerkenwell, London. He was just forty-four years old. He’d served four Tudor monarchs as a diplomat, but he also wrote English and Latin works.

    Find out more about Thomas Chaloner, his life, his career, and how his teeth saved him from death…

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  • 24 August – Cecily of York and an awful massacre

    On this day in Tudor history, 24th August 1507, Cecily of York, Viscountess Welles, died at Hatfield in Hertfordshire. She was buried at “the friars”.

    Cecily was, of course, the daughter of King Edward IV and his queen consort, Elizabeth Woodville, and the sister of Elizabeth of York and the Princes in the Tower, but there’s far more to her than that.

    Did you know that she married without permission and had to be sheltered by Lady Margaret Beaufort?

    Find out all about Cecily of York’s life…

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  • 23 August – A siege and a courtier goes all out to impress

    On this day in Tudor history, 23rd August 1548, Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury, arrived at the Siege of Haddington, in East Lothian, Scotland, with a large army. This siege was part of the Anglo-Scottish war known as the War of the Rough Wooing between England and Scotland., regarding Henry VIII’s desire to marry his son, Edward, off to Mary, Queen of Scots.

    What happened at this siege and to Haddington after it?

    Find out…

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  • Hans Holbein’s Portrait of Queen Catherine Howard? by Roland Hui

    A big thank you to our resident art historian, Roland Hui, for this excellent article on a Tudor miniature by Hans Holbein the Younger which is causing controversy at the moment.

    Over to Roland…

    In an essay on the portraiture of Henry VIII’s six wives, art historian Brett Dolman offered the depressing, but sobering, opinion that pictures of one of them, Catherine Howard, may not even exist:

    “Catherine left no documentary proof that her portrait was ever painted during her lifetime, and perhaps, we are searching for the impossible.”…

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  • 15 August – The Oaten Hill Martyrs and a lady-in-waiting who was attacked by Elizabeth I

    On his day in Tudor history, 15th August 1588, Catholics Robert Wilcox, Edward Campion, Christopher Buxton and Robert Widmerpool were examined while imprisoned in the Marshalsea prison in Southwark, London.

    These men ended up being executed, three of them for being Catholic priests and one for giving aid to priests. All four died with courage and in 1929 were beatified.

    Find out more about these men and how they came to be executed in this video…

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  • 14 August – William Parr and Margaret Pole

    On this day in Tudor history, 14th August 1513, William Parr, Marquess of Northampton and brother of Queen Catherine Parr, was born.

    William Parr is a fascinating man. He had a wonderful court career, his first wife eloped and left him, his divorce was granted and then rescinded, he was imprisoned in the Tower but then released, his marital happiness was rather shortlived… but he died a natural death!

    Find out more about William Parr…

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  • 2 August – Thornbury Castle, home of the Duke of Buckingham

    On this day in Tudor history, 2nd August 1514, Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, was granted a licence to found a college at his manor of Thornbury.

    Find out more about Thornbury Castle in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

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  • 1 August – John Ashley, or John Astley

    On this day in Tudor history, 1st August 1596, courtier John Ashley or Astley died. He and his wife Kat Ashley were loyal servants and friends of Queen Elizabeth I.

    Find out more about John Ashley in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

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  • August 2021 – Tudor Life – All About Anne

    This month's magazine is all about Tudor people called Anne. We obviously have Anne Boleyn, but also plenty of other interesting women to learn about. [Read More...]

  • 22 July – Baron Scrope, a royal councillor

    On this day in history, 22nd July 1437 or 38, soldier and royal councillor John Scrope, 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton, was born.

    Find out more about Scrope and his service to the Yorkists, and later imprisonment, in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

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  • 18 Interesting Facts about Lady Jane Grey (Queen Jane)

    In this latest edition in my “Facts about…” series, I share 18 interesting facts about Lady Jane Grey, or Queen Jane, who is also known as “The Nine Day Queen”.

    Find out more about the fourth Tudor monarch…

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  • 8 June – Mary is very wrong

    Henry VIII's eldest daughter, Mary, was convinced that her woes were all down to her stepmother, Anne Boleyn, and so there was hope for Mary after Anne Boleyn's execution in 1536.

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  • 18 May – I have a little neck

    On this day in Tudor history, 18th May 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn’s execution was postponed.

    Sir William Kingston, the Constable of the Tower of London, was surprised by the queen’s reaction when he informed her of the delay – why? How did Anne react? What did she say?

    Find out exactly what Anne Boleyn said…

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  • 17 May – Around the throne the thunder rolls

    On 17th May 1536, poet, courtier and diplomat Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London, witnessed the executions of his fellow courtiers, George Boleyn, Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton.

    Hear some of what he wrote about that awful day.

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  • Artists in the Spotlight – Sharon

    This week we are putting the spotlight on Sharon from Pennsylvania in the U.S. She is 64 years old and and makes stunning oil paintings from the Tudors.

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  • Henry Howard loses favour, purple fever takes an ambassador, and a Tudor judge and law reporter

    In this first part of This Week in Tudor History, I talk about Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey’s loss of royal favour after the English defeat in France, but his children’s joy at the news of him returning home; ambassador Sir Henry Unton (or Umpton) who was killed in France by the “purple fever”, and Sir James Dyer, a Chief Justice who has gone down in history as the first law reporter.

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  • International Women’s Day – unknown Tudor women

    Today it's not only International Women's Day, a day where we acknowledge the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, but the whole of March we celebrate Women's History Month! A month in which we commemorate the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society.

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  • Artists in the spotlight!

    In this first artists in the spotlight, we talked to Siria who is only 13 years old and is from Italy. She makes the most beautiful drawings of the Tudors, so we got in touch with her to chat about her art. 

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  • A murdered French duke, Margaret Douglas’s bad news, a Tudor countess, and Lady Katherine Grey

    In this second part of “This week in Tudor history” for the week beginning 15th February, I talk about how the death of a French duke led to an awful massacre, and how the imprisoned Margaret Douglas heard of her son’s murder, as well as introducing a countess who served all six of Henry VIII’s wives and who was close to his daughter Mary, and a noblewoman who managed to give birth twice while imprisoned in the Tower of London.

    18th February 1563 – Francis, Duke of Guise, was wounded by a Huguenot assassin at the Siege of Orléans. He died a few days later and his death was a factor in the 1572 St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

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  • Elizabeth Howard (née Stafford), Duchess of Norfolk (1497-1558)

    Elizabeth Stafford was born in 1497 and was the eldest daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, and his wife, Eleanor, eldest daughter of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland. Through her parents, Elizabeth was a descendant of King Edward III, and her paternal grandparents were Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and Lady Katherine Woodville, sister of Elizabeth Woodville. Her paternal grandfather was beheaded for treason against Richard III in 1483, which is a fate her father would suffer in 1521, beheaded for treason against Henry VIII.

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  • This week in Tudor History Part 2 – A princess marries, a queen faces death, and a spy and lawyer die

    In this second part of “This week in Tudor history” for the week beginning 1st February, I talk about Tudor events and people associated with 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th February.

    4th February 1495, in the reign of King Henry VII – Anne of York, daughter of the late King Edward IV, marries Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, at Westminster Abbey in London…

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  • This week in Tudor History – 18-24 January – Part 1

    Part 1 of “This week in Tudor History” covers Tudor history events from 18th to 21st January.

    Find out all about these Tudor events…

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  • 27 December – Katherine Killigrew, “the Muses friend, and saint of Heav’n”

    On this day in Tudor history, 27th December 1583, scholar and Puritan Katherine Killigrew died after giving birth to a stillborn child.

    Katherine was the daughter of renowned humanist and scholar, Sir Anthony Cooke, and was known for her ability at writing poetry and her knowledge of languages, including Hebrew, Latin and Greek. She was a very accomplished Tudor lady.

    Find out more about Katherine, and hear the epitaphs that were written in her honour, in today’s talk.

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  • 19 December – A conspirator found dead in his cell

    On this day in Tudor history, 19th December 1583, twenty-three-year-old convicted conspirator, John Somerville, was found dead in his cell at Newgate Prison. His death was said to be suicide, due to his poor mental health, but some Catholics believed that he had been killed.

    Somerville had been found guilty of conspiring to assassinate the queen, but did he really mean to? Was he mentally ill? Was he manipulated by others?

    Find out more about John Somerville in today’s talk.

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  • 15 December – Elizabeth I’s loyal servant dies of “sheer grief”

    On this day in Tudor history, 15th December, 1560, Comptroller of the Household to Elizabeth I and Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, Thomas Parry died. The Spanish ambassador claimed that Parry had died of “sheer grief”. He was buried at Westminster Abbey.

    Parry had served Elizabeth since 1547 and was a loyal servant and friend. So why did he die of grief?

    Find out more about Thomas Parry, his background, life, and why he was upset in 1560, in today’s talk.

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  • 9 December – A scary time for Queen Catherine Howard’s stepgrandmother

    On this day in Tudor history, 9th December 1541, sixty-four-year-old Agnes Tilney, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk and step-grandmother of Queen Catherine Howard, who was being detained at the Lord Chancellor’s home, was questioned regarding the location of her money and jewels.

    Why? What was all this about?

    Find out about this, why the dowager duchess ended up in the Tower, and what happened when she was indicted for misprision of treason, in today’s talk.

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  • 5 December – Mary Queen of Scots’ husband dies of an ear infection

    On this day in Tudor history, 5th December 1560, King Francis II of France, died at the age of just 15. Francis was King Consort of Scotland, as the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and his father had also proclaimed him and Mary as King and Queen of England back in 1558!

    He was taken ill in mid-November with what appears to have been an ear infection, and it led to him dying on this day in history. His death led to Mary, Queen of Scots, returning to her homeland of Scotland, a country she hadn’t seen for 13 years.

    Find out more about Francis II of France, his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, his death and what happened next, in today’s talk.

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  • 2 December – Elizabeth I relents and agrees to execute Mary, Queen of Scots

    On this day in Tudor history, 2nd December 1586, following a joint petition from the Houses of Lords and Commons, Elizabeth I finally agreed to a public proclamation of sentence against Mary, Queen of Scots: death.

    Mary had been found guilty of high treason back in October 1586, but Elizabeth had not wanted to contemplate regicide. However, Parliament believed that if Mary, Queen of Scots, was not executed, that she’d continue to plot against Elizabeth and would utterly “ruinate and overthrow the happy State and Common Weal of this most Noble Realm”. She was too much of a danger and needed dealing with once and for all.

    Find out what Parliament said and what happened next in today’s talk.

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