The Tudor Society
  • #OTD in Tudor history – 12 January

    Photo of a re-enactor jousting and a portrait of Elizabeth I

    Today was a very busy day in Tudor times!

    On this day in Tudor history, we have Henry VIII jousting as king for the first time, Elizabeth I travelling to the Tower of London, and the death of an important nobleman, soldier and naval commander…

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  • 12 January

    Let me tell you all about King Henry VIII’s first joust as king, which happened at Richmond Park on 12th January 1510.

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  • 1510 – Henry VIII’s first joust as king

    On 12th January 1510, eighteen-year-old Henry VIII jousted for the first time as king at a private joust at Richmond Park. He’d become king following the death of his father, Henry VII, on 21st April 1509.

    Henry and his good friend William Compton attended the joust on 12th January in disguise, but this led to panic when one of the disguised knights was seriously injured in the joust and a man who knew that the king was taking part cried out “God save the king!”

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  • Henry VIII’s 1524 Jousting Accident by Sarah Bryson

    King Henry VIII held a great love of jousting. As a young teenager Henry had been denied the ability to joust in competitions as he was the sole heir to the throne. His father, Henry VII, feared his son may be injured or even worse killed. Yet when Henry came to the throne in 1509 he was extremely athletic and quickly took to the excitement and chivalry of the joust.

    Throughout the early years of his reign Henry VIII participated in many fabulous jousting events, one of those being on 10th March 1524. However, the joust this day would not go as planned for the King and he faced a near disaster, one which could have ended his life.

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