The Tudor Society
  • #OTD in Tudor history – 22 April

    A photo of Henry Clifford's tomb and a portrait of Isabella I

    On this day in Tudor history, 22nd April, Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland, magnate and Warden of the West Marches, died, and Francis Beaumont, Justice of the Common Pleas, died from gaol fever. It’s also the anniversary of the birth of Isabella I of Castile…

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  • April 22 – Birth of Isabella I of Castile

    On this day in history, 22nd April 1451, Isabella I of Castile was born.

    She may not have been English and her birth was not in the Tudor period, but she is linked to the Tudors because her daughter, Catalina de Aragón, or Catherine of Aragon, married Henry VII’s eldest son, Arthur, in 1501, and his second son, Henry, in 1509.

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  • October 19 – Isabella I of Castile marries Ferdinand II of Aragon

    On this day in history, 19th October 1469, eighteen-year-old Isabella I of Castile married seventeen-year-old Ferdinand II of Aragon.

    Their marriage may have happened outside of the Tudor period, and in Spain, but it had an impact on Europe and has links with the Tudors.

    The couple became the famous “Reyes Catolicos”, the Catholic monarchs, and brough together two powerful kingdoms, which comprised most of what is modern-day Spain. They were also the parents of Catherine of Aragon, who married Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, and, after his death, King Henry VIII.

    Let me tell you more about this powerful couple, their reigns and their legacy…

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  • 22 April – Isabella I

    Isabella I of Castile, one of Spain’s famous “Reyes Catolicos” (Catholic monarchs) was born on 22nd April 1451.

    Hear a few facts about this famous Spanish queen and how she relates to the Tudors…

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  • 19 October – An important European marriage

    On this day in history, 19th October 1469, an event took place in Spain that was not only important in Spanish history, but which had an impact on Europe and which has links with the Tudors.

    The event was the marriage of an eighteen-year-old woman called Isabella and a seventeen-year-old man called Ferdinand. They’d become the famous Reyes Catolicos, the Catholic monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, and would bring together two powerful kingdoms, which comprised most of what is modern-day Spain.

    In today’s talk, I tell you more about this powerful couple, their reigns and their legacy.

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  • A bench belonging to Catherine of Aragon? – by John Roberts

    Discovering new artefacts from Henry VIII’s era, and so far away from England, sounds highly unlikely, but I am an ex-Brit living on the west coast of Canada, and I think I may have found the ‘holy grail’ of pre-Elizabethan furniture.

    I am a retiree, and in December 2016 I was looking for historical items for my daughter, Melanie, who had recently purchased a two-piece upright cupboard with 1703 among the carvings.

    My latest find, a highly ornate wood-panelled bench, or settle (we’ll settle on the bench word from now on!), was at a weekly auction in Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island. It was described as 19th century, and I was the winning bidder at a hammer price of $725 Canadian (415 GBP).

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  • Video – Claire at the Alhambra in Granada

    A video recorded on Claire’s visit to the Alhambra in Granada.

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