The Tudor Society
  • #OTD in Tudor History – 21 January

    The Met Museum portrait of a woman thought to be Catherine Howard, and a portrait of Eustace Chapuys

    On this day in Tudor history, 21st January, a bill of attainder was passed against Queen Catherine Howard, the Earl of Surrey and friends went on the rampage in London, and Eustace Chapuys, the imperial ambassador, was laid to rest…

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  • November 11 – Queen Catherine Howard is moved from Hampton Court Palace to Syon

    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, who had been confined to her apartments in Hampton Court Palace, to Syon House, formerly Syon Abbey.

    In the video and transcript below, I share the instructions that Archbishop Cranmer was given and what Catherine was sent for her time at Syon. I also explain 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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  • Quiz – The Fall of Catherine Howard

    As today is the anniversary of King Henry VIII abandoning his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, at Hampton Court Palace after allegations had been made against her, I thought I’d share this quiz from our archives.

    How much do you know about Catherine Howard’s fall?

    Test yourself with this fun quiz.

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  • 10 December – The ends of Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham

    On this day in Tudor history, 10th December 1541, Thomas Culpeper, a gentleman of the privy chamber, and Francis Dereham, a member of the queen’s household, were executed at Tyburn.

    They had been found guilty of high treason for intending to do ill with Queen Catherine Howard, i..e intending to commit adultery with her, and had been sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. Dereham suffered the full traitors’ death, while Culpeper was beheaded.

    Find out more about what happened from a primary source account in today’s talk.

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