On 18th March 1601, just six days before the day of Queen Elizabeth I, soldier, secret agent and rebel Sir Christopher Blount was executed on Tower Hill for high treason.
He was accused of treason following his involvement in the rebellion of his stepson, Elizabeth’s former favourite, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex.
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On this day in Tudor history, 17th March 1570, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, soldier, courtier and landowner, died at Hampton Court, aged sixty-three.
Here are some facts about this Tudor earl, who was known as Black Will Herbert and had a queen as a sister-in-law…
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On this day in Tudor history, on the evening of 9th March 1578, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, sixty-two-year-old Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, died.
Margaret had been recorded as suffering from a colic but the fact that she had dined with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, two days before, led to rumours that she had been poisoned. However, there was no evidence to support the rumour. Margaret was buried at Westminster Abbey on 3rd April 1578.
Margaret Douglas was the daughter of Margaret Tudor, dowager queen of Scotland, by her second husband, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, making her the granddaughter of King Henry VII and the niece of King Henry VIII. Margaret was also the mother-in-law of Mary, Queen of Scots, whose second husband was Margaret’s son, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and the grandmother of James VI of Scotland/James I of England, and the ill-fated Lady Arbella or Arabella Stuart.
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th February 1540, in the reign of King Henry VIII, courtier, author and administrator, Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, was born at Shottesham in Norfolk.
Northampton was the second son of courtier and poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and his wife, Lady Frances de Vere.
Let me give you a few facts about this Tudor earl…
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th February 1585, lawyer, legal scholar and law reporter, Edmund Plowden, died in London.
Plowden was laid to rest in the Middle Temple Church.
Cambridge University’s libraries and the British Library contain manuscripts of his commentaries and opinions, and he is known for his 1571 volume of law reports covering cases during the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I.
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On this day in Tudor history, 24th January 1503, the foundation stone of King Henry VII’s chapel, a large Lady Chapel, at Westminster Abbey, was laid.
At the time, Henry VII planned for the chapel to be a shrine to King Henry VI, who was expected to be canonised, but this never happened.
The chapel was completed in 1516, in the reign of Henry VII’s son, King Henry VIII, and became the burial place of fifteen kings and queens, including Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York, who have beautiful gilt-bronze effigies, and their grandchildren Edward VI, Elizabeth I and Mary I, and great-granddaughter, Mary, Queen of Scots. Others buried there in the Tudor period include, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII’s mother, and Lady Margaret Douglas, his granddaughter.
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd January 1561, Francis Bacon, Viscount St Alban, was born at York House in the Strand, London.
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th January 1538, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria, was born at Eythrope in Buckinghamshire.
Jane was a favourite of Queen Mary I, and was the one Mary trusted on her deathbed to deliver her jewels to her successor and half-sister, Elizabeth I. She married Gómez Suarez de Figueroa, Count of Feria, later Duke of Feria, in December 1558.
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th December 1573, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Hugh Paulet died at his home in Hinton St George in Somerset.
Paulet distinguished himself as a soldier in Henry VIII’s reign, and in Edward VI’s reign he served as Governor of Jersey. Although he was a Protestant, he served as Vice-President of the Welsh Marches in Mary I’s reign, and went on to have a successful career in Elizabeth I’s reign.
Paulet was an important man and a royal servant, but still managed to die a natural death at his home.
Find out more about Sir Hugh Paulet…
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On this day in Tudor history, 16th November 1601, Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland, died in Nieuwpoort in Flanders.
The nobleman and rebel had fled into exile following the failure of the Northern Rebellion, also known as the Rising of the North or the Revolt of the Northern Earls, a plot to release Mary, Queen of Scots, from prison and to overthrow Elizabeth I.
Unfortunately, Westmorland didn’t learn his lesson and was involved in a further plot. He died in debt and separated from his wife and daughters.
Find out more about Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland…
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This day in Tudor history, 9th November 1569, is the traditional date given for the start of the Rising of the North, the only major armed rebellion of Elizabeth I’s reign.
The rising is also known as The Northern Rebellion or Revolt of the Northern Earls.
Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland, and Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland, led this uprising against Queen Elizabeth I. The rebellion sought to depose her, replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots, and restore Catholicism.
But what happened?
Find out about the 1569 rebellion and the fate of the Northern Earls…
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd October 1577, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Parker, 11th Baron Morley, died in Paris.
Morley was a Roman Catholic who had fled abroad in 1570 after refusing to subscribe to Elizabeth I’s “Act of Uniformity” and having been implicated in the 1569 Rising of the North.
Find out more about Morley, 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…
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On this day in Tudor history, 18th October 1541, Margaret Tudor died of a stroke at Methven Castle, Perthshire, Scotland. She was laid to rest at the Carthusian Priory of St John in Perth, which was later destroyed.
Margaret Tudor was the sister of King Henry VIII and eldest daughter of King Henry VII. At the age of 13, she was sent to Scotland to marry the Scottish king, James IV.
Margaret Tudor had an interesting life. She was widowed, divorced and unhappily married, and she fled to England at one point.
Margaret was the mother of Lady Margaret Douglas, she was the grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots AND Lord Darnley, and she was the great-grandmother of King James VI of Scotland (King James I of England).
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On this day in Tudor history, 29th September 1564, Michaelmas, Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite, Robert Dudley, was made Earl of Leicester and Baron Denbigh.
Dudley was made earl in a ceremony in front of the Scottish ambassador, Sir James Melville, as the queen was granting him the earldom to make him a suitable potential bridegroom for Mary, Queen of Scots.
There was a moment of intimacy during the proceedings – Elizabeth I tickled Robert Dudley’s neck!
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th September 1586, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, conspirators Anthony Babington, John Ballard, John Savage, Chidiock Tichborne, and three others, were executed near St Giles-in-the-Fields in London.
They were hanged, drawn and quartered after being found guilty of treason for the Babington Plot, which sought to assassinate Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.
Find out more about Anthony Babington, the Babington Plot, the men involved, how it was discovered, and how it led to Mary, Queen of Scots’ execution…
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On this day in Tudor history, 12th September 1573, Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll, died suddenly at Barbreck.
Argyll was a Protestant reformer, and leading politician in the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, and he’d got married just six weeks earlier.
On the night he died, he showed no signs of illness before retiring to bed, so his death was very sudden.
Argyll was the third most important noble in Scotland, the most important highland chief, and a founder of the Lords of the Congregation. He went from opposing Mary, Queen of Scots, to leading her troops in battle.
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On this day in Tudor history, 23rd August 1548, in the reign of King Edward VI, Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury, arrived at the Siege of Haddington, in East Lothian, Scotland, with a large army.
The Siege of Haddington was part of the Anglo-Scottish war known as the War of the Rough Wooing between England and Scotland, which had started when Scotland backed out of the treaties which arranged the marriage of Edward VI and Mary, Queen of Scots.
What happened at this siege and to Haddington after it?
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th July 1584, Francis Throckmorton was executed at Tyburn for high treason after the discovery of his plot, the Throckmorton Plot.
The Throckmorton Plot aimed to depose the Protestant Elizabeth I and to replace her with the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots.
But why did Francis Throckmorton plot against his queen? Who did he plot with, and how was the plot discovered?
Find out more about Francis Throckmorton and his plot…
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Fancy chatting with other Tudor history lovers weekly about episodes of “becoming Elizabeth”? Well, if you do, you can join us by being part of my latest event.
After the success of my previous two online events, I’m excited to announce my third, and it’s on Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Anne Boleyn.
“Elizabeth I: The Life of Gloriana, the Virgin Queen” is a completely online event, so you can listen to expert talks and participate in Q&A sessions and chats from the comfort of your own home.
The main talks and Q&A sessions run from 7-16 September 2022, BUT we also have a bonus talk and Q&A session on the death of Amy Dudley (Robsart) in July, AND we have weekly chatroom sessions while the STARZ series “Becoming Elizabeth” is being aired. Out first chat is 17th June! We can dissect and discuss each episode – hurrah!
Let me tell you a bit more about my Elizabeth I event…
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On this day in Tudor history, 2nd June 1572, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, 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?
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The Tudors have an enduring appeal across the centuries and as soon as the film era hit, people were busy making movies about our favourite characters and events. This month we have a popular-culture filled magazine with all sorts of articles about how the Tudors have been represented. [Read More...]
On 7th May 1567, eight days before James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, married Mary, Queen of Scots, the Catholic court granted him a divorce from his wife, Lady Jean Gordon.
Who was Jean Gordon? Why did Bothwell divorce her? And what happened to Jean afterwards?
Find out more about Bothwell and Jean’s marriage, and about Jean’s life…
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It’s a busy date in Tudor history today!
On this day in Tudor history, 14th April 1578, Mary, Queen of Scots’ third husband, James Hepburn, Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell, died at Dragsholm Castle in Denmark. He’d been held at the castle in appalling conditions and it was said that he’d gone insane.
Find out more about the life of this earl who’d risen to be the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, but who’d died in prison, far away from home…
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On this day in Tudor history, 22nd February 1540, twenty-four-year-old Marie de Guise, or Mary of Guise, queen consort of King James V of Scotland, was crowned queen at Holyrood Abbey.
Did you know that Henry VIII was keen on making Marie de Guise his fourth wife? She declined, saying that her neck was small! Instead, she married James V.
Marie was, of course, the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and you can find out more about her in this talk…
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On this day in history, 13th February 1608, prominent Tudor noblewoman and one of the richest people in England, Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, more commonly known as Bess of Hardwick, died at her home at Hardwick.
Bess of Hardwick is known for her building projects, which included Chatsworth and Hardwick Hall, her beautiful needlework and the fact that she and Shrewsbury were guardians of the captive Mary, Queen of Scots.
Find out more about this fascinating Tudor lady in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 10th February 1542, Catherine Howard, King Henry VIII’s fifth wife, was escorted by barge from Syon House, where she’d been kept since November 1541, to the Tower of London in preparation for her execution.
Sadly, the queen would have seen the heads of her former lover, Francis Dereham, and her sweetheart, Thomas Culpeper, as she made her way to the Tower – a reminder of her own fate.
Find out more in this talk…
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As it is the end of 2021, we will look back at all the months and highlight the most exciting event, release, article or video. But we will also look forward to next year and update you on all the new things coming.
On this day in Tudor history, 7th December 1549, rebel leader Robert Kett was hanged from the walls of Norwich Castle after being found guilty of treason. His brother William was hanged the same day, but from the steeple of Wymondham Church.
In 1549, Kett was seen as a rebel and traitor who endangered the city of Norwich, but today Norwich pays tribute to him as “a notable and courageous leader in the long struggle of the common people of England to escape from a servile life into the freedom of just conditions”.
Find out all about Robert Kett and Kett’s Rebellion in this talk…
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From books to exhibitions, to new discoveries and more. Every month we (Merel and Emma) will give you an update on all things new and exciting in the Tudor world. Starting with the first blog in which we look back on what has happened in November.
On this day in Tudor history, 16th November 1601, nobleman and rebel Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland, died while in exile at Nieuwpoort in Flanders.
Westmorland had fled into exile following the failure of the Northern Rebellion, a plot to release Mary, Queen of Scots, from prison and to overthrow Elizabeth I. He didn’t learn his lesson, being involved in a further plot.
The earl died a sad end in debt and separated from his wife and daughters, but it was his own fault.
Find out more about the rebel northern earl in this talk…
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