Tragic Tudor romances are always fascinating to learn about, and we’ve dedicated this months magazine to this topic. Romeo and Juliet always come to mind when you mention star crossed lovers but there are so many more real-life couples to learn about.
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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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Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth. The battle took place on 22nd August 1485 and was between the forces of King Richard III and Henry Tudor. Henry’s forces defeated those of Richard, and Henry became King Henry VII.
Test your knowledge of the battle with this fun quiz and scroll down for more resources on the battle.
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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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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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The history of Walter Calverley is not a happy one, and he is best known today as being a man capable of infanticide.
Walter Calverley was the eldest son and heir of William Calverley, a writer, and his wife, Katherine. His family were landowners in the West Riding of Yorkshire, which is where he was probably born.
Whilst he was still a child, Walter’s father died, and under his father’s will, Walter became a ward of William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham. Walter also inherited the family lands at Calverley, titles to manors at Pudsey and Burley in Wharfedale, and several other pieces of land in Yorkshire. On 5th May 1579, Walter enrolled at the University of Cambridge as a scholar of Clare College alongside his brother William. They both left Cambridge in the October of that year, and Walter left Cambridge without a degree and entered into a dubious lifestyle.
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On this day in Tudor history, 7th August 1574, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester’s illegitimate son, Sir Robert Dudley, was born at Sheen.
Find out more about Sir Robert Dudley, who grew up to be a mariner, cartographer and landowner, in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 5th August 1503, in the reign of King Henry VII, administrator Sir Reynold or Reginald Bray died.
Who was Bray? What offices had he held? And what are his links to Westminster Abbey and St George's Chapel?
Find out more in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts...
On this day in Tudor history, 30th July 1563, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, writer and diarist Robert Parry was born.
Find out a bit more about Parry in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 29th July 1504, in the reign of King Henry VII, the king’s stepfather died.
Find out a bit more about Thomas Stanley, and his role in helping his stepson take the throne, in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 26th July 1538, in the reign of King Henry VIII, George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, died.
Shrewsbury was a loyal servant of the Crown and a soldier. Find out more about him in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th July 1594, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Catholic priest John Boste was executed in Durham.
Find out more about Boste and what led to his brutal end in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 23rd July 1584, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Protestant printer, bookseller and publisher John Day died.
Find out more about this Protestant printer and the famous works he printed in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 21st July 1586, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, explorer Thomas Cavendish set sail from Plymouth. Where was he going and why? And how would he break Sir Francis Drake's record?
Find out more in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts... [Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 18th July 1565, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the queen’s close friend and loyal servant, Kat Ashley, died.
Find out more about Kat (also known as Katherine Ashley, Katherine Astley and Katherine Champernowne) in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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Today is the anniversary of the birth of John Dee, the astrologer, mathematician, alchemist, antiquary, spy, philosopher, geographer and adviser to Elizabeth I and influential statesmen. He was born on 13th July 1527 in the reign of King Henry VIII.
Hear a few facts about John Dee in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On this day in Tudor history, 11th July 1564, the plague hit the Warwickshire town of Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare.
Find tout more in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts... [Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 10th July 1561, Queen Elizabeth I visited the royal mint at the Tower of London to check on her new coins. Why was she producing new coins? What was the problem with the previous coinage?
Find out in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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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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On this day in Tudor history, 1st July 1536, less than two months after the execution of Anne Boleyn, Parliament passed legislation that meant that the king had no legitimate heirs. How strange!
Find out more in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On 25th June 1503, the widowed Catherine of Aragon got betrothed to Prince Henry, second son of King Henry VII.
Find out more about this, the plans for their marriage, and what happened, in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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On 22nd June 1535, in the reign of King Henry VIII, John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, was executed.
Why was Fisher executed and how did the pope try to save him?
Find out in this #TudorHistoryShorts video...
On this day in Tudor history, 21st June 1509, King Henry VIII travelled from Greenwich to the Tower of London. Why was England’s new king going to the Tower of London?
Find out in this #TudorHistoryShorts video…
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On this day in Tudor history, the night of 20th/21st June 1585, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland, died at the Tower of London.
Was his death murder or suicide? And if it was murder, why?
Find out more…
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In this latest edition of Teasel’s Tudor Trivia, Tudor experts, historian Claire Ridgway and her researcher, Teasel the rescue dog, introduce their top picks for non-fiction books on the Tudor kings and queens.
The books featured are all excellent reads and are well-referenced – perfect for those just wanting to know more about the monarch or those who are using them for research.
Please do share in the comments if you have a favourite book on the Tudor monarchs.
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th June 1551, Sir George Blage died a natural death in Edward VI’s reign.
Blage was fortunate to die such a death as he’d been condemned to death in Henry VIII’s reign.
Find out more about him in this TudorHistoryShorts talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 2nd June 1537, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Sir Francis Bigod and two of his fellow rebels were executed at Tyburn.
Why had this reformer rebelled against the king and what had happened?
Find out in this #TudorHistoryShorts video:
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On 27th May 1536, Cardinal Reginald Pole, who was in Venice, wrote to King Henry VIII.
It was a very polite letter but what he sent with it brought Pole and his family trouble. He made the mistake of making an enemy of King Henry VIII.
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On this day in history, 26th May 1621, Barbara Sidney (née Gamage), Countess of Leicester, was buried at Penshurst.
Find out about this Tudor lady, whose marriage was the concern of several prominent Tudor men and who ended up marrying an Elizabethan poet.
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th May 1532, Sir Thomas More resigned as Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor.
But what led to More’s resignation when he had been such a loyal servant to King Henry VIII?
Find out…
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