On this day in Tudor history, 27th May 1541, the frail sixty-seven-year-old Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, was executed at the Tower of London.
The former governess of Princess Mary had an awful end because the usual executioner was away from London, and one account has led to stories of her tormented ghost reliving her final moments at the Tower.
Find out why Margaret Pole was executed and what happened in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 22nd May 1541, following their elections on St George’s Day, 23rd April 1541, Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford; Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey; Sir John Gage, and Sir Anthony Wingfield were all installed as Knights of the Garter.
Who were these men and what was the Order of the Garter?
I introduce these Garter Knights and explain the origins of the Order of the Garter, England’s oldest order of chivalry, in this video:
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 20th May 1535, Pope Paul III made John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, Cardinal-Priest of San Vitale, and arranged to have his cardinal’s hat sent to him.
The pope hoped that this would save Fisher, who was imprisoned at the time, from further punishment, but it made the king even more determined to behead Bishop Fisher. Oh dear!
Find out more about what happened in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 19th May 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn was executed within the confines of the Tower of London.
It must have been an incredibly hard day for the queen’s friend, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. Not only did he have a visit from a friend regarding a terrifying vision, in the early hours… Not only did he have to cope with the idea of his friend and patron being beheaded, but he had to issue a dispensation for the king to marry again!
Find out more in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 15th May 1537, Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy, and his cousin, John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford, were tried for treason at Westminster after being implicated in the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion.
Both men may have been sympathetic to the rebel cause, but there was no actual evidence that they conspired against the king. Poor men!
Find out more about them and how they ended up being branded rebels, and what happened next, in today’s talk.
[Read More...]On this day in Tudor history, 14th May 1538, the French ambassador, Louis de Perreau, Sieur de Castillon, wrote a dispatch regarding King Henry VIII having been dangerously ill due to a problem with one of his legs.
Henry VIII was plagued with problems from his legs, leg ulcers, from at least 1528 right up until his death. But what do we know about his problems and what are the theories regarding the cause?
Find out in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
As it’s the anniversary of the “Lady in the Tower” letter today, a letter said to have been written by Queen Anne Boleyn on 6th May 1536, I thought I’d answer this question from member Real Tudor Lady:
“What is your opinion on the authenticity of the last letter of Queen Katherine of Aragon to Henry VIII, and the last letter of Anne Boleyn, ‘The Lady in the Tower ” letter, to Henry VIII? Are they both fake or real?”
The letter said to be from Catherine of Aragon was written in her final days, in January 1536, and reads…
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 3rd May 1568, courtier, member of Parliament, and privy councillor, Sir Edward Rogers, died.
Rogers had a long and successful royal career, serving three of the Tudor monarchs, and he managed to keep his head too.
Find out more about him, and how he even survived being implicated in rebellion and opposing Mary I, in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 23rd April 1536, St George’s Day, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, lost to Nicholas Carew in the Order of the Garter elections.
George Boleyn was, of course, the brother of Queen Anne Boleyn, so how did he lose, and was this a sign of the beginning of the end for the Boleyns?
Find out what exactly happened in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 1st April 1578, English physician William Harvey, was born in Folkestone, Kent. Harvey has gone down in history as being the man who discovered the circulation of blood, and he was also physician extraordinary to King James I and King Charles I.
How did Harvey work out that the heart pumped the blood around the body and how was his challenge of Galen’s work received?
Find out more about William Harvey’s work, and also his role in the pardoning of women accused of witchcraft, in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 14th March 1555, courtier, envoy and landowner, Sir John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, died at his London residence on the Strand aged around 70.
Russell was an important Tudor man who served four Tudor monarchs – Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I – AND he managed to keep his head, dying a natural death at a good age.
Find out more about this Earl of Bedford, his life, his rise and his career at the royal court, in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 20th February 1523, Agnes, or Alice, Lady Hungerford, was hanged at Tyburn.
Agnes was said to have “procured” her servants to murder her first husband, John Cotell, who was strangled before being thrown into the furnace of Castle Farley. A dastardly deed.
Find out exactly what happened in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 2nd February 1550, Sir Francis Bryan, died suddenly in Ireland. He was a rather colourful Tudor character, known as much for his drinking, gambling and all-round bad behaviour, as his diplomacy, royal favour and gift for poetry.
Find out more about this one-eyed courtier and his nickname, “the vicar of hell”, in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 8th December 1542, Mary Stuart (Stewart), or Mary, Queen of Scots, was born at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland.
Mary was the daughter of King James V of Scotland and his second wife, Marie de Guise, and she became Queen of Scotland when she was just six days old.
Find out about the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, including her three marriages and abdication, her imprisonment and downfall in today’s talk.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 22nd November 1545, Henry VIII’s trusted physician and confidant, Sir William Butts, died after suffering from a “dooble febre quartanz”, a form of malaria.
Sir William Butts was the doctor who was sent to treat Anne Boleyn, when she was ill with sweating sickness, and also advised on Princess Mary’s sickness, and was the man King Henry VIII confided in about his problems consummating his marriage to Anne of Cleves. He was obviously a man the king could trust.
Find out more about this Tudor physician in today’s talk, with help from Teasel the dog.
[Read More...]
Here's the full 72 page version of your monthly magazine: November's Tudor Life magazine, packed with articles about Tudor Scandals...
This month the magazine contains:
On this day in Tudor history, 26th August 1533, Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, prepared for the birth of her first child by “taking her chamber” at Greenwich Palace. This child was of course the future Queen Elizabeth I.
“Taking her chamber” was common practice in Tudor England, and in today’s talk, I explain all of the rituals and traditions involved, as well as describing what Anne Boleyn’s chamber would have been like.
[Read More...]
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…
[Read More...]
Thank you to Lynne for asking about Catherine Cromwell. Lynne’s full question is “I was watching the actor Danny Dyer trace his family history on T.V. Apparently his family tree was traced to William the Conqueror and stopped at the Tudors which Catherine Cromwell was mentioned. She
seemed a powerful woman but I’ve never really heard of her. So my long-winded question is who was this Lady and how powerful was she in the
Tudor times?”
Now, there are several Catherine (or Katherine) Cromwells, one being the sister of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex and Henry VIII’s right-hand man, who married Morgan Williams and who is an ancestor of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector, but the Catherine that was mentioned in the TV programme on Danny Dyer’s ancestry was actually the great-granddaughter of Thomas Cromwell. Let me show you how she is linked to the Thomas Cromwell we all know and love (or hate!).
[Read More...]
This day in Tudor history, 7th June 1520, was the first day of that historic meeting between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France.
The meeting was known as the Field of Cloth of Gold and although it was a diplomatic meeting, it was a chance for these two Renaissance kings to show off to each other and try to outdo each other with their wealth, costumes and even strength.
Find out more about this famous meeting in today’s video.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 5th June 1604, Tudor physician and naturalist Thomas Moffet, or Muffet, physician and naturalist, died at Wilton in Wiltshire.
The fact that he is known for a poem on silkworms and his daughter is linked to the famous nursery rhyme piqued my interest and I talk more about him and his poem in today’s video.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 4th June 1550, sweethearts Robert Dudley and Amy Robsart tied the knot at the royal palace of Sheen at Richmond in a service attended by King Edward VI.
This marriage was a love-match, but it lasted just ten years, ending with Amy’s death in 1560, a death which is surrounded by controversy.
I share an excerpt from my book “On This Day in Tudor History” in today’s video.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 2nd June 1572, thirty-four-year-old Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, was beheaded on Tower Hill for high treason.
Norfolk was a Knight of the Garter, he’d served as Earl Marshal and Lord High Steward, he’d presided over Queen Elizabeth I’s coronation, so what had led him to this sticky end and how was he involved with Mary, Queen of Scots?
Let me tell you a bit more about this Tudor man and what led him to end his life on the scaffold.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 22nd May 1538, Franciscan friar John Forest met his end at Smithfield in London for his allegiance to the Church of Rome.
His death, along with the burning of a religious statue from Wales, was said to be the fulfilment of a prophecy made about the statue.
Find out more about Blessed John Forest and the prophecy in today’s video.
[Read More...]
On 19th May 1554, the future Queen Elizabeth I was released from the Tower of London after two months of imprisonment. It was the anniversary of her mother Queen Anne Boleyn's execution.
Elizabeth wasn't free, though, she was released into house arrest. Why? Why had she been imprisoned in the Tower and what happened next?
Claire Ridgway, author of "On This Day in Tudor History", tells the story of this period in Elizabeth I's life in today's video.
You can find out more about Elizabeth's arrest and her Tide Letter in Claire's video from 17th March -
On this day in history:
We couldn’t have picked better weather for our full day at Hever Castle! Blue skies and sunshine were perfect for appreciating the beauty of the castles and its stunning gardens.
We started our day with a lovely breakfast in the private Astor Wing before heading over to St Peter’s Church, just outside the castle grounds, to see the tomb and brass memorial of Thomas Boleyn and the little brass cross of Henry Boleyn. Then it was time to enjoy everything the castle has to offer – the castle interior with its large portrait collection, exhibition celebrating Hever Castle’s use in films and on TV (including two beautiful dresses worn by Genevieve Bujold in “Anne of the Thousand Days”), the gardens the gift shop and Hever ducks and swans.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 19th March 1563, Arthur Brooke, the man who wrote the very first version of the story of Romeo and Juliet in English, died in a shipwreck off the coast of Sussex.
Find out more about Arthur Brooke and his version of Romeo and Juliet in today’s video.
[Read More...]
On this day in Tudor history, 20th February 1547, the boy-king Edward VI was crowned king by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer at Westminster Abbey.
In today’s video, I share details of Edward’s coronation, including the changes made due to his youth – the king was just nine years old. He needed cushions on his throne!
[Read More...]
Lady Katherine Grey was born as the second surviving daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and his wife, Frances Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk. Born at Bradgate Park in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, Katherine was the offspring of an aspiring and preeminent Tudor family with ambitions at the royal court. Katherine’s maternal grandparents were Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and Mary Tudor, the youngest surviving sister of King Henry VIII; this gave Katherine, and her two siblings, Jane and Mary, a claim to the English throne through their grandmother. Known popularly as the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey, the tragic young queen who was sentenced to death by the Catholic Queen Mary I, Katherine has become a fashionable topic of discussion in the academic and popular history world. Historians such as Leanda de Lisle have revaluated her life to reveal an equally as resilient and tragic figure to her sister Jane; indeed, Lady Katherine’s short life witnessed a number of tumultuous and unexpected events. This article intends to put forward a condensed examination of her life, which will include: her marriage, imprisonment, claim to the throne and downfall.
[Read More...]
