The Tudor Society
  • November 17 – The death of Mary I and the accession of Elizabeth I

    A panel portrait of Elizabeth I in coronation robes and a portrait of Mary I by Hans Eworth.

    On this day in Tudor history, 17th November 1558, Queen Mary I died at St James’s Palace in London.

    The forty-two-year-old daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon passed the throne on to her twenty-five-year-old half-sister, Elizabeth, who became Queen Elizabeth I.

    Let me tell you about the accession of Queen Elizabeth I and the traditional story of Elizabeth finding out that she was queen at Hatfield…

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  • 17 November – Elizabeth I’s accession and the death of Mary I

    On this day in Tudor history, 17th November 1558, twenty-five-year-old Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, became Queen Elizabeth I following the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary I.

    In this talk, I look at an alternative account of Elizabeth I’s words on her accession, one recorded by her godson, Sir John Harington. Hear Elizabeth I’s wonderful speech, which she used to motivate her supporters and to reassure those who’d served Mary I.

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  • Elizabeth I’s accession – 17 November 1558

    Today is Accession Day, a day that was celebrated throughout the reign of Elizabeth I and the reigns of many of her successors. It commemorated the day that Elizabeth I came to the throne on the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary I, on 17th November 1558. You can click here to read about how Accession Day was celebrated, but in today’s Claire Chats video I’m talking about the 17th November 1558 and the story of Elizabeth receiving the news that she was queen.

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  • 17 November – Accession Day

    Accession Day was celebrated throughout the reign of Elizabeth I and the reigns of many of her successors, and commemorated the day that Elizabeth I came to the throne on 17th November 1558. As well as Accession Day, it was also known as Queen Elizabeth’s Day or Queen’s Day and was celebrated with the ringing of bells, processions, the burning of an effigy of the Pope, and special tilts in which knights not only jousted but also dressed up and took parts in special pageants involving poetry and theatre.

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