The Tudor Society

  • July 21 – John Dudley is arrested

    1 year ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    On this day in Tudor history, 21st July, 1553, two days after Mary I had been proclaimed queen, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland was arrested near Cambridge.

    This was just days after Northumberland had left London with an army to apprehend Mary, on behalf of his daughter-in-law, Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey).

    But how and why did the man who had ruled England on Edward VI’s behalf, as Lord President of his privy council, come to this?

    I explain his role in the accession of Lady Jane Grey in July 1553 and what happened when Mary overthrew Queen Jane…

    [Read More...]

  • July 18 – Kat Ashley, and Queen Jane is betrayed

    1 year ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 18th July 1565, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the queen’s close friend and loyal servant, Kat Ashley, died.

    Find out more about Kat (also known as Katherine Ashley, Katherine Astley and Katherine Champernowne) in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

    [Read More...]

  • July 13 – Some of Queen Jane’s councillors begin to feel uneasy

    1 year ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 13th July 1553, while the queen’s father-in-law, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was preparing to leave London to apprehend the late Henry VIII’s daughter, Mary, members of Queen Jane’s royal council were meeting with the imperial ambassadors.

    What was the meeting about?

    What was the news from East Anglia?

    And why were the queen’s councillors beginning to feel uneasy?

    Let me explain…

    [Read More...]

  • July 12 – Mary rallies support while Queen Jane makes a mistake that will cost her dearly

    1 year ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 12th July 1553, Mary (future Mary I), the half-sister of the late King Edward VI, moved from Kenninghall to Framlingham Castle. There, she set about rallying support for her claim to the throne.

    Lady Jane Grey, Mary’s cousin’s daughter, had been proclaimed queen on 10th July but Mary believed the crown was hers.

    Sir Thomas Cornwallis was able to intercept Mary on her journey to Framlingham and pledge his loyalty to her. He wasn’t the only one flocking to her cause.

    Meanwhile, back in London, the new queen, Queen Jane, made a serious mistake by refusing to send her father to go and apprehend Mary.

    Why was this a mistake?

    Find out what was going on back in 1553 in this video…

    [Read More...]

  • July 11 – Men swap sides in the succession crisis of 1553

    1 year ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 11th July 1553, Sir Thomas Cornwallis, sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, Lord Thomas Wentworth, and some other prominent Suffolk gentlemen declared for Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey) in Ipswich, Suffolk. They then publicly proclaimed her the rightful queen.

    However, the following day, Cornwallis recanted and proclaimed Mary as queen.

    Why?

    What happened to make this sheriff change his mind so soon?

    Find out more about the situation in July 1553 in this video…

    [Read More...]

  • July 9 – Mary I wants to avoid bloodshed and vengeance, and Elizabeth I visits Leicester’s home

    1 year ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 9th July 1553, Mary (the future Mary I), daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, wrote to her late half-brother’s privy council regarding “some evil” that she had heard.

    This was three days after Edward VI’s death and the day after Mary had proclaimed herself queen at at Kenninghall.

    But what was going on? What had Mary heard and was she going to do about it?

    Find out more about the situation and Mary’s letter…

    [Read More...]

  • July 8 – A rebellion begins, and Mary declares herself queen

    1 year ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 8th July 1549, in the reign of King Edward VI, a rebellion began in East Anglia. It was Kett’s Rebellion.

    Find out more about Kett’s Rebellion, why it began, what happened next and what happened to the rebels leaders, in this short video:

    [Read More...]

  • July 1553 – The month of three monarchs

    1 year ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    July 1553 was a month of three Tudor monarchs – Edward VI, Queen Jane and Mary I – but how did this come about?

    In this talk, historian and author Claire Ridgway looks at what led to the events of July 1553 and particularly the actions that Mary took to stage her successful coup d’etat.

    [Read More...]

  • The Places and People of July 1553

    2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    July 1553 was the month of three monarchs: King Edward VI, Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey) and Mary I. It was a rather eventful month.

    But how much do you know about the places and people involved in this succession crisis? [Read More...]

  • 7 July – Mary hears news of Edward VI’s death

    2 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 7th July 1553, in the short reign of Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey), Mary, eldest daughter of King Henry VIII, received news of her half-brother King Edward VI’s death.

    Where was Mary when she received the news? What was she doing and what happened next?

    Find out in this latest edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…

    [Read More...]

  • 30 July – Elizabeth leaves Somerset House to meet Mary

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 30th July 1553, Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, left her new home, Somerset House, to ride to Wanstead and greet her half-sister, Mary, who’d been officially proclaimed queen on 19th July.

    Somerset House was Elizabeth’s new London residence and you can find out more about how Elizabeth acquired it and who built it originally in today’s talk.

    [Read More...]

  • The Summer of 3 Monarchs Crossword Puzzle

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    The summer of 1553 was very eventful and saw three different Tudor monarchs rule England in just the month of July: King Edward VI, Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey) and Queen Mary I.

    How much do you know about the events of summer 1553 and the struggle for the throne?

    Test those little grey cells with this week’s puzzle, a fun crossword puzzle. Simply click on the link or image below to open and print out. Good luck!

    [Read More...]

  • 18 July – Queen Jane is betrayed and Queen Mary wins

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    On this day in Tudor history, 18th July 1553, while her father-in-law and his forces made their way from Cambridge to Bury St Edmunds to stand against the forces of Mary, and Jane was busy writing to men requesting them to muster forces to support her, Jane was being betrayed by members of her council.

    William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, and Henry Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, called a council meeting and Pembroke was even said to have threatened council members with a sword! They then proclaimed for Mary.

    Find out more about what happened on 18th and 19th July 1553 in today’s talk.

    [Read More...]

  • 13 July – Unease among Queen Jane’s councillors

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    On this day in Tudor history, 13th July 1553, while John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was preparing to leave London to apprehend the late Henry VIII’s daughter, Mary, members of the new Queen Jane’s council were meeting with the imperial ambassadors.

    What was the meeting about? What was the news from East Anglia? And why were councillors beginning to feel uneasy?

    Find out what was going on in today’s talk.

    [Read More...]

  • 12 July – Men flock to Mary’s cause and Jane makes a mistake

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    On this day in Tudor history, 12th July 1553, Mary (future Mary I) moved from Kenninghall to Framlingham and set about rallying support. Sir Thomas Cornwallis was able to intercept her on her journey and pledge his loyalty to her. He wasn’t the only one flocking to her cause.

    Meanwhile, back in London, the new queen, Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey), made a serious mistake by refusing to send her father to go and apprehend Mary.

    Why was this a mistake?

    Find out what was going on back in 1553 in this talk.

    [Read More...]

  • 11 July – Men change sides from Queen Jane to Mary

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    On this day in history, 11th July 1553, in Ipswich, Suffolk, Sir Thomas Cornwallis, sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, Lord Thomas Wentworth, and some other prominent Suffolk gentlemen declared for Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey) and publicly proclaimed her the rightful queen. However, the following day, Cornwallis recanted and proclaimed Mary as queen.

    Why? What happened to make this sheriff change his mind so soon?

    Find out more about the situation in July 1553 in today’s talk.

    [Read More...]

  • 9 July – Mary wants to avoid bloodshed and vengeance

    3 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    On this day in Tudor history, 9th July 1553, three days after the death of her half-brother, King Edward VI, and the day after she’d proclaimed herself queen at her estate at Kenninghall, Mary (future Mary I), daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, wrote to the late king’s privy council regarding “some evil” that she’d heard.

    But what was going on? What had Mary heard and what was she going to do about it?

    Find out more about the situation and Mary’s letter in today’s talk.

    [Read More...]

  • The Events of July 1553 Quiz

    4 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    July 1553 was a month of three monarchs: King Edward VI, Queen Jane (lady Jane Grey) and Queen Mary I – what a month for the citizens of London! It was definitely eventful. But how much do you know about the events that led from Edward’s death to Mary’s accession? Let me test your knowledge with this fun little quiz – good luck!

    [Read More...]

  • Robert Wingfield’s Vitae Mariae – A first-hand account of the events of July 1553

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    1 Comment

    In today’s Claire chats video talk, I delve into the “Vita Mariae Angliae Reginae”, Robert Wingfield of Brantham’s account of Mary I’s successful coup d’état in July 1553. It is a fascinating primary source as it gives us details of Mary’s side of things, what was happening in East Anglia then.

    [Read More...]

  • 30 July 1553 – Elizabeth rides to greet Mary

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    On this day in history, 30th July 1553, Mary I’s half-sister Elizabeth left her new home, Somerset House, to ride to Wanstead and greet Mary, who had been proclaimed queen on 19th July 1553 in place of Queen Jane.

    Elizabeth had been at her estate at Hatfield when she heard the news that Mary was queen and so had departed for London, entering the city on 29th July through Fleet Street. She had made her way to her new townhouse, or rather palace, Somerset House, a house just off The Strand, on the north bank of the River Thames.

    The contemporary source, “The chronicle of Queen Jane, and of two years of Queen Mary, and especially of the rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyat”, states:

    [Read More...]

  • Claire Chats video – A timeline of the events of 1553

    6 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
    No comment yet

    July 1553 was a month of three monarchs – Edward VI, Queen Jane and Mary I – but how did this come about? In today’s Claire chats, I look at what led to the events of July 1553 and particularly the actions that Mary took to stage her successful coup d’etat.

    [Read More...]