The Tudor Society

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  • 29 December – Japanese pirates

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in history, 29th (or 30th) December 1605, in the reign of King James I, Elizabethan navigator and explorer, John Davis (also spelled Davys) died near Bintang, off the coast of Borneo.

    Davis died after being attacked by Japanese pirates. He was about 55 when he died.

    He is known for his voyages, for being the first Englishman to document a sighting of the Falkland Islands, for his 1594 “The Seaman’s Secrets” and 1595 “The World’s Hydrographical Description”, and for his invention, the Davis Quadrant, or the backstaff.

    Find out more about him, his final voyage and death, in today’s talk.

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  • 22 December – Bishop Fisher begs for a shirt

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 22nd December 1534, John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, who was a prisoner in the Tower of London, wrote to Thomas Cromwell.

    In his letter to Cromwell, the poor bishop begged him for a shirt, sheet, food and books, as well as asking him to intercede with King Henry VIII on his behalf.

    It is so sad that a man who had served the king so loyally in the past had come to this, and, of course, the king’s mercy would only stretch to commuting his method of execution to beheading.

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  • December 20 – Catherine Howard’s stepgrandmother begs forgiveness from the king

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 20th December 1541, a “very sickly” Agnes Tilney, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, begged King Henry VIII for forgiveness.

    The dowager duchess had been arrested and taken to the Tower accused of misprision of treason for hiding her stepgranddaughter Catherine Howard’s past relationship with Francis Dereham.

    In today’s talk, I share what the dowager duchess wrote to the king and also what happened to this sickly woman.

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  • 15 December – Cardinal Pole is laid to rest

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 15th December 1558, Cardinal Reginald Pole, Mary I’s Archbishop of Canterbury and her chief advisor, was buried at Canterbury Cathedral. Coincidentally, Cardinal Pole had died the same day as his queen, on 17th November 1558.

    Find out a bit more about Cardinal Pole, his background, death and burial, in today’s talk.

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  • 11 December – Robert Dudley’s lover and mother of his son

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in history, 11th December 1608, one of Queen Elizabeth I’s former ladies and a lover of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was buried at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster. Her name was Douglas Sheffield (née Howard), Lady Sheffield, and she was the mother of Leicester’s illegitimate son, Sir Robert Dudley.

    Find out more about Douglas Sheffield, who claimed to be Leicester’s legal wife, in today’s talk.

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  • 9 December -The King is a beast and worse than a beast!

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 9th December 1538, Sir Edward Neville, courtier, Gentleman of the Privy Chamber and son of George Neville, 2nd Baron Bergavenny, was beheaded on Tower Hill.

    He had been condemned to death for treason, accused of conspiring against the king in the Exeter Conspiracy of 1538, along with members of the Pole family. He was also accused of saying “The King is a beast and worse than a beast”, which is not a wise thing to be overheard saying in Tudor England.

    Find out more about Neville’s life and downfall in today’s talk.

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  • 5 December – Anne Cecil and her unhappy marriage

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 5th December 1556, Anne de Vere (née Cecil) was born, She was the daughter of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, and his second wife, Mildred Cooke.

    Anne only lived until she was 31 years old, but in her short life she managed to impress scholars, have five children, and have a rather eventful and unhappy marriage with Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, who didn’t treat her at all well and even refused to recognise their first daughter as his own, at one point. If only she had married Philip Sidney instead!

    Find out more about the life of William Cecil’s daughter, Anne de Vere, Countess of Oxford, in today’s talk.

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  • 1483: The Year of Three Kings – Matthew Lewis – Expert Talk

    4 years ago Author: ADMIN Tim
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    This month we have the wonderful Matthew Lewis telling us about a very eventful year – Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III. This is an exceptional talk and we know you’ll enjoy it.

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  • 27 November – William Shakespeare gets married

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 27th November 1582, eighteen year-old William Shakespeare, the famous playwright and a man known as the Bard, married twenty-six year-old Anne (also known as Agnes) Hathaway, at Temple Grafton, near Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire.

    Anne Hathaway was pregnant at the time of their marriage and went on to give birth to a daughter, Susannah, the following May. The couple went on to have twins, Hamnet and Judith, in 1585.

    Find out more about William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, and their marriage, and also what happened to them, in today’s talk:

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  • 26 November – Henry Fitzroy gets married

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 26th November 1533, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, illegitimate son of King Henry VIII, married Mary Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, at Hampton Court Palace. They were both fourteen years old.

    It appears that the marriage, which was a political match rather than a love match, was the idea of Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn.

    Find out more about Henry Fitzroy and Mary Howard’s marriage and its context in today’s talk.

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  • 25 November – The coronation of Elizabeth of York

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 25th November 1487, the Feast of St Catherine, Elizabeth of York, queen consort of Henry VII and mother of one-year-old Arthur Tudor, was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey.

    In today’s talk, I share details of Elizabeth of York’s coronation, including Elizabeth’s apparel, and who attended, plus a list of some of the interesting dishes served at Elizabeth of York’s coronation banquet which included swan and seal!

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  • 24 November – Elizabeth of York’s coronation procession

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, Saturday 24th November 1487, the coronation procession of Elizabeth of York, queen consort of King Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch, took place in London.

    Elizabeth of York’s coronation was scheduled for the next day. She had become queen in January 1486, but her coronation had been postponed due to pregnancy and trouble with the Cornish rebels and Perkin Warbeck. Finally, Henry VII’s wife and the mother of little Prince Arthur could be crowned queen.

    Find out all about her coronation procession, what Elizabeth wore, who was involved and what happened, in today’s talk.

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  • 23 November – The pretender Perkin Warbeck

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Note: I say that Margaret of York was the Princes’ sister, when actually she was their aunt. Sorry!

    On this day in Tudor history, 23rd November 1499, in the reign of King Henry VII, pretender Perkin Warbeck was hanged at Tyburn after allegedly plotting to help another claimant, Edward, Earl of Warwick, escape from the Tower of London.

    Perkin Warbeck had claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the younger of the Princes in the Tower, and had even been proclaimed King Richard IV, but his rebellion and claim failed.

    In today’s talk, I give Perkin Warbeck’s background, and explain how he ended up trying to claim the throne of England, and what happened.

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  • 20 November – Sir Christopher Hatton Elizabeth I’s mouton and lids

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 20th November 1591, Sir Christopher Hatton, Elizabeth I’s Lord Chancellor and favourite, died aged fifty-one. He was such a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I that he had a dazzling career and was constantly at her side.

    Find out more about Sir Christopher Hatton, his career and accomplishments, his patronage of learned men and explorers, and his special relationship with Elizabeth I, in today’s talk.

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  • 14 November – Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon get married (but not to each other!)

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    2 Comments

    On this day in Tudor history, 14th November and the Feast of St Erkenwald, there may have been two royal Tudor weddings. We know that Catherine of Aragon married Arthur, Prince of Wales, on 14th November 1501, but chronicler Edward Hall gives 14th November 1532 as the date of a secret wedding for King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Marquess of Pembroke, in Dover.

    Let me tell you all about the weddings of Catherine of Aragon and Arthur Tudor, and Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

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  • 12 November – Queen Jane Seymour’s remains are moved to Windsor

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 12th November 1537, the corpse of Queen Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife, was transported by chariot in a procession from Hampton Court Palace to Windsor Castle, in preparation for burial. Jane Seymour’s heart and entrails had been buried in the chapel at Hampton Court Palace following her death on 24th October 1537.

    Queen Jane’s stepdaughter, the Lady Mary, acted as chief mourner for the proceedings.

    There was also a commemoration for Queen Jane in the city of London.

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  • 11 November – Queen Catherine Howard is moved to Syon House

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 11th November 1541, the feast of Martinmas, King Henry VIII’s council sent Archbishop Thomas Cranmer a letter containing instructions to move Queen Catherine Howard from Hampton Court Palace to Syon House, formerly Syon Abbey.

    In today’s talk, Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society, shares the instructions that Cranmer was given and what the queen was sent for her time at Syon. Claire also shares what else happened on this day in 1541, along with some trivia about the people in charge of Catherine’s household at Syon.

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  • 10 November – Cats, pigeons and lions

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 10th November 1536 (some sources say 1537), Sir Henry Wyatt of Allington Castle, politician, courtier, Privy Councillor and father of poet Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, died.

    Sir Heny Wyatt was an important man, but rather than tell you about his career, Claire Ridgway, author of “On This Day in Tudor History”, thought she’d share with you two interesting stories concerning this Tudor man and cats, pigeons and a lion.

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  • 9 November – A stillborn daughter for Queen Catherine of Aragon

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 9th November 1518, Queen Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s wife of nine years, gave birth prematurely to a stillborn daughter at Greenwich Palace.

    This was to be Catherine’s sixth and final pregnancy. She had tried her very best to give King Henry VIII what he wanted, a surviving son and heir, a Prince of Wales.

    In today’s talk, I explain what happened on this day in 1518 and what we know about Queen Catherine of Aragon’s pregnancies.

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  • Richard III and his supporters are attainted – 7 November 1485

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    2 Comments

    On this day in 1485, just over two months after King Henry VII’s forces had defeated those of King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, Henry VII’s first parliament attainted Richard and his supporters.

    Here is an account from Rapahel Holinshed’s chronicle. I have altered the spelling to make it easier to read:

    “For the establishing of all things, as well touching the preservation of his own estate, as the commendable administration of justice and preferment of the common wealth of his realme, he called his high court of parliament at Westminster the seventh day of November, wherein was attainted Richard late duke of Gloucester, calling and naming himself by usurpation, king Richard the third.

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  • 4 November – The arrest of Cardinal Wolsey

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 4th November 1530, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII’s former Lord Chancellor, was arrested at his home of Cawood Castle in Yorkshire.

    Wolsey was accused of high treason, but why? And what happened when his former servant, Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, arrived with orders to arrest him?

    I explain all in today’s talk, including how Wolsey ‘cheated’ the axeman.

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  • 2 November – The beginning of the end for Catherine Howard

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 2nd November 1541, All Souls’ Day, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer gave King Henry VIII a letter that would spark off the beginning of the end for Queen Catherine Howard, Henry VIII’s fifth wife.

    Catherine Howard’s past, her romances with Henry Manox and Francis Dereham, were about to come back to haunt her, and her present relationship with Thomas Culpeper would soon be uncovered.

    In today’s talk, I explain exactly what was in Archbishop Cranmer’s letter and what happened next.

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  • 22 October – A Catholic baron who fled abroad

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    3 Comments

    On this day in Tudor history, 22nd October 1577, Henry Parker, 11th Baron Morley and Roman Catholic exile, died in Paris. Morley had fled abroad in 1570 after refusing to subscribe to Elizabeth I’s “Act of Uniformity” and after being implicated in the 1569 Rising of the North.

    Find out more about this Tudor man, who was the nephew of Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, and his rather interesting family, with their connections to the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots and the Gunpowder Plot, in today’s video.

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  • Reminder – October’s Live Chats

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Just in case you missed the dates on the schedule, here’s a reminder about the dates and times of this month’s live chats. They will take place on 19th and 27th October.

    October’s informal live chat, which is on the topic of the Yorkists, is taking place on Saturday 19th October.

    Here are the times for the chat in different time zones:

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  • 8 October – Lady Margaret Douglas

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 8th October 1515, Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox and niece of King Henry VIII, was born at Harbottle Castle in Northumberland.

    Margaret Douglas was the daughter of Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland, and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. She was born while her mother was travelling to Henry VIII’s court in London after feeling Scotland.

    Margaret was a fascinating lady, and in today’s talk, I share an extract from my book, giving an overview of this Tudor lady’s life.

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  • 4 October – The Pilgrimage of Grace Rebellion is underway!

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, Wednesday 4th October 1536, trouble erupted in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. This was part of what we know as the Lincolnshire Rising which, in turn, was part of the famous Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion.

    In today’s talk, I share exactly what happened in Horncastle, which included two murders, what the rebellion was all about, and how King Henry VIII responded to the rebel’s grievances. I read King Henry VIII’s own words to the rebels of the Pilgrimage of Grace.

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  • 1 October – Mary I’s coronation and a sumptuous feast

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, Sunday 1st October 1553, Mary I was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey by Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester.

    It was a moment of real triumph for Mary and she was England’s first official queen regnant.

    In today’s talk, I share details from primary sources about Mary’s I’s coronation ceremony, and also the sumptuous banquet afterwards, which saw the Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of Arundel on horseback in the hall, and a challenge being made. What a spectacle it must have been!

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  • 27 September – Catherine of Aragon leaves Spain

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 27th September 1501, Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, set sail for England from Laredo, Spain.

    Catherine was leaving her homeland to marry Arthur Tudor, son and heir of King Henry VII, a marriage arranged by her parents and the English king in the Treaty of Medina del Campo.

    This was Catherine’s second attempt at sailing to England, but this time she was successful.

    I explain the background to Catherine’s journey, along with what happened when she first set sail in August 1501.

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  • 25 September – A pope, death cap mushrooms and poisoned candles

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 25th September 1534, Pope Clement VII (Giulio di Giuliano de’ Medici) died in Rome. It was rumoured that he died from eating death cap mushrooms or from fumes from poisoned candles placed in his room, but it was more likely to have been from natural causes.

    In today’s video, I introduce this pope, who was the leader of the Catholic Church at rather an interesting time, and also look at the rumours surrounding his death and what eating a death cap mushroom does. Lovely stuff!

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  • September 24 – Prince Arthur’s christening

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 24th September 1486, Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales and son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was christened at a lavish ceremony at Winchester Cathedral.

    His mother’s confinement, his birth, his christening and early upbringing had all been carefully ‘choreographed’ by his paternal grandmother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, and in today’s talk, Claire Ridgway, author of “On This Day in Tudor History”, shares details from Margaret Beaufort’s “Ordinances” regarding the christening of a royal prince or princess, as well as sharing specific details of Prince Arthur Tudor’s christening.

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