On this day in Tudor history, 9th or 10th June 1563, 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? Well, let me give you a few facts about this Tudor man.
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Thank you to Tudor Society members who also subscribe to the Anne Boleyn and Tudor Society YouTube Channel – we’ve just hit 45,000 subscribers!
To celebrate, I jumped at the opportunity to humiliate Tim with another Tudor History Challenge. This time, it’s on the six wives of Henry VIII.
Why don’t you play along and see if you can do better than Tim?
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This month’s magazine is all about the Tudor poor, and it’s 82 pages long packed with great articles!
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On this day in Tudor history, 1st May 1551, in the reign of King Edward VI, Norfolk landowner and Member of Parliament, Sir Edmund Knyvet, died.
Knyvet had an interesting court career, being helped by his Howard connections, but he was known for his rather hot temper, which nearly led to him losing his right hand.
Find out more about hot-tempered Sir Edmun Knyvet in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 30th April 1544, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Thomas Audley, Baron Audley of Walden and Lord Chancellor, died at his home in London.
Audley was Thomas Cromwell’s right-hand man in 1536, during the fall of Anne Boleyn, and became even more important after Cromwell’s fall.
Find out more about Thomas Audley, an important Tudor statesman, and how he served King Henry VIII, in today’s talk.
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On this day in history, late on 26th March 1603, two days after the death of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Robert Carey arrived at Holyrood in Edinburgh, Scotland, to inform King James VI that Queen Elizabeth I was dead and that James was now king.
It took Carey just two days to get from London to Scotland, and he had an accident on the way, but it was all worth it. Find out about his journey and what happened in today’s “on this day in Tudor history” talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th March 1568, Elizabeth Seymour, Lady Cromwell, died. She was around fifty years old at her death.
Elizabeth was the sister of a queen, and a lord protector, and two of her brothers were executed as traitors, but what else do we know about Elizabeth Seymour and how is she linked to the Cromwell family and a portrait once thought to be of Queen Catherine Howard?
Find out more in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 13th March 1540, sixty-eight-year-old Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex, died after suffering a broken neck in a horse-riding accident. Chronicler Charles Wriothesley recorded: “the Earl of Essex, riding a young horse, by misfortune cast him and brake his neck at his place in Essex, which was great pity.”
Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex, was related to the royal family and served both Henry VII and Henry VIII. Find out more about this Tudor man in today’s talk.
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On this day in history, 18th February 1612, Italian banker Roberto di Ridolfi died in Florence, Italy, aged 80.
Amazingly, he died a natural death even though he’d been the brains behind the Ridolfi Plot, a plot to depose Queen Elizabeth I and to replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots, thereby restoring Catholicism in England.
Find out more about Ridolfi and his famous plot in today’s talk:
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On this day in Tudor history, 27th January 1606, in the reign of King James I, the eight surviving conspirators of the November 1605 Gunpowder Plot were tried at Westminster for high treason.
Why am I talking about something that happened during the reign of King James I, in the Stuart period? Well, because the Gunpowder Plot actually had its origins in Elizabeth I’s reign.
Let me tell you more in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th January 1601, Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, died at Wilton, the family home near Salisbury.
Who was Henry Herbert?
Let me tell you about this interesting Tudor man in today’s talk.
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Happy Epiphany! Happy Kings’ Day! Yes, today is the Feast of the Epiphany, the day that commemorated the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child.
Following on from yesterday’s Teasel’s Tudor Trivia about Epiphany Eve and Twelfth Night Cake, I thought I’d share with you some examples of how Epiphany was celebrated at the royal court. Find out what those Tudor people got up to on Twelfth Night in today’s talk.
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On this day in Tudor history, 3rd January 1521, Pope Leo X excommunicated Reformer, German priest and professor of theology Martin Luther from the Catholic Church.
In today’s talk, I explain what led to Luther’s excommunication, what happened when Luther was called to the Diet of Worms, and what happened next to this famous Reformer.
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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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On this day in Tudor history, 20th September 1486, King Henry VII’s wife, Elizabeth of York, gave birth to the couple’s first child at Winchester.
The baby was a boy and was baptised Arthur, named after the legendary King Arthur. There were high hopes for this boy and King Henry VII believed that his firstborn would be a powerful king who would bring a golden age to the country. Of course, things wouldn’t go according to plan.
Find out more about Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, who was, of course, Catherine of Aragon’s first husband, in today’s talk from Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society.
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As usual, we have two live chats this month, an informal one and a Q&A session with our expert speaker, Sarah Morris.
Both chats will take place in the Tudor Society chatroom. They wll last an hour.
Our informal live chat is on Tudor childhood and will take place on Saturday 24th August. The idea of the informal live chats is for members to dive in with their comments, opinions, book recommendations etc. and to pose questions to each other on the topic. Anything that is topic-related. Claire attends to moderate, and to take part too. We can talk about childhood, education, upbringing, children in different classes, toys, all sorts!
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On this day in Tudor history, 4th September 1588, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, died at Cornbury while on his way to Buxton to take the waters for his health.
The death of her favourite, and the man that is considered to be her ‘true love’, was a devastating blow to Elizabeth I and her reaction to the news shows just how much she loved her “sweet Robin”.
Leicester wrote to his queen just days before his death and “His Last Letter” was something that Elizabeth I treasured for the rest of her life.
Find out more about Leicester’s death, his last letter and Elizabeth’s grief in today’s video.
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Here's the full version of your monthly magazine: September's Tudor Life magazine is packed with articles about Tudor Childhood, along with a whole lot of other fascinating things about Tudor people and places.
This month the magazine contains:
On this day in Tudor history, 24th August 1572, on the Feast of St Bartholomew, an awful massacre too place in Paris, and it was followed by further atrocities in other towns and cities.
Those who suffered were Huguenot men, women and children, French Protestants. But what happened and why?
I explain all in today’s video…
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th August 1513, the Battle of Spurs took place at Guinegate, or Enguinegatte, in France.
It actually wasn’t a pitched battle at all, as the French knights fled the scene, but that didn’t stop Henry VIII claiming victory and doing a bit of exaggerating.
I explain what exactly happened on this day in 1513 in today’s talk.
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Yes, you read that correctly! On this day in Tudor history, 4th August 1540, thirteen men were executed in London – 12 by being hanged, drawn and quartered, and one by being hanged. Awful!
In today’s talk, I explain who these 13 men were and why they were attainted by Parliament and executed.
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July’s 66 Page FULL-COLOUR Tudor Life magazine is focused on Medicine and Health during the Tudor period but as always, our contributors have gone far wider than that with their articles. Enjoy!
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th June 1567, a silver casket of eight letters, which have become known as the Casket Letters, were allegedly found in the possession of James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots.
These letters were instrumental in bringing down Mary, Queen of Scots, so in today’s video, I tell you a bit more about these letters and why they were “dynamite” for Elizabeth I’s advisors.
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On this day in Tudor history, 1st May 1517, foreign traders in London had their shops and property vandalised and damaged by a mob of angry apprentices and labourers.
What sparked off this “Evil May Day Riot”? What happened to the troublemakers? And how did Queen Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII’s sisters, Margaret and Mary, get involved? Let me explain…
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Happy Birthday to Queen Mary I! Yes, Mary I, a woman who has unfortunately gone down in history as “Bloody Mary” and whose reign is often seen as a failure, was born on this day in 1516.
In today’s video,I talk about Mary I’s birth and baptism and share some of Mary I’s achievements as queen. She’s so much more than Bloody Mary.
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Sir Francis Drake died on this day in Tudor history in 1596, but who was he? I share some Francis Drake facts and two legends that surround this colourful man.
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This month’s Tudor Life Magazine focuses on Tudor documents and sources. Our regular writers and guests have come up with another wonderful Tudor-packed magazine. And who knows, in 500 years time, Tudor Life magazine will also be a great historical document!
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24th December:
1545 – King Henry VIII made his final speech to Parliament. Historian Robert Hutchinson describes it as “both measured and compelling”, and writes of how Henry wanted “to impart a stern message” to all of his subjects.
1604 – Death of Sir Thomas Cornwallis, Comptroller of the household of Mary I and member of Parliament, at the age of eighty-six. He was buried at Brome in Suffolk. Cornwallis was active in putting down Kett’s Rebellion in 1549 and in 1553, after originally proclaiming Lady Jane Grey as Queen in Ipswich, he swapped sides and swore allegiance to Mary I.
In this month’s stunning 98 page edition of Tudor Life magazine, we cover the reputation of Mary I and whether she deserves the title “Bloody Mary”. In this edition, we look into the lives of some of the martyrs …
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