On this day in Tudor history, 30th July 1553, eleven days after her half-sister, Mary, had been proclaimed queen, Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, left her new home, Somerset House, to ride to Wanstead and greet Mary.
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 this video:
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On this day in Tudor history, 25 July 1554, on the Feast of St James, Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII by Catherine of Aragon, got married at Winchester Cathedral in a ceremony officiated by Lord Chancellor Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester.
The thirty-eight-year-old Mary married twenty-seven-year-old Philip of Spain, son of her cousin, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
Let me share a contemporary account of Mary and Philip’s wedding ceremony…
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th July 1554, Philip of Spain, son of Mary I’s cousin, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, arrived in England.
He had come to prepare for his forthcoming marriage to Mary I.
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th July 1545, in the reign of King Henry VIII, the king’s flagship, the Mary Rose, sank right in front of his eyes.
She sank in the Battle of the Solent between the English and French fleets.
But why did the Mary Rose sink?
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Our Friday treat from the archives is an expert talk from Johanna Strong on Queen Mary I, who, I believe, is really stealing the show at the moment in the Starz series “Becoming Elizabeth”.
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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:
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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.
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Linda Porter is one of my favourite Tudor historians so for our Friday video this week I thought I’d share this talk she did for us back in 2014.
In “Three Tudor Queens”, Linda explores the lives of Katherine Parr, Mary I and Mary, Queen of Scots.
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th April 1554, in the reign of Queen Mary I, there was an act of rebellion and religious defiance in London.
Someone who didn’t like Mary’s religious changes hanged a cat on the gallows at Cheapside. The cat was dressed as a Catholic priest and was holding a piece of paper to represent that communion wafer.
Find out more about what happened, the meaning behind it, and Mary’s reaction to it…
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On this day in Tudor history, 30th March 1533, at the Passion Sunday service, Thomas Cranmer, Archdeacon of Taunton, was consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.
His consecration was not like those of others before him, however, because as well as making the usual oath promising to be faithful to the papacy and to denounce heretics, he also made a protestation to show that his oath would not conflict with his loyalty to King Henry VIII and his commitment to reforming the church. Hmmmm…. complicated.
Find out more in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 15th March 1532, King Henry VIII used what was described as “foul language” to William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Henry VIII also threatened the poor man, and it is amazing that Warham kept his head as the king was furious.
What happened? Find out what Warham did to upset the king in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 6th March 1536, King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries began when the “Act for the Suppression (or Dissolution) of the Lesser Monasteries” was introduced into the Reformation Parliament.
The Dissolution of the Monasteries had a major impact on England and her people, but was of great benefit to the king, his nobles and the gentry.
Find out what happened, why and its impact in this talk…
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On this day in Tudor history, 26th January 1546, judge of assize and law reporter, Sir John Spelman, died.
Now, you may never have heard of Justice John Spelman, but his reports on the legal cases of people like Queen Anne Boleyn, Sir Thomas More, Bishop John Fisher and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey have been very useful to historians – a wonderful resource.
Find out more about Sir John Spelman and what he had to say about Anne Boleyn’s trial in this video…
[Read More...]We had a wonderful time last Friday at the live Q&A session with historian Johanna Strong. Mary I is such a fascinating historical personality, and one that really divides opinions. A big thank you to Johanna for answering all of our questions.
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As the topic of our expert talk this month is Queen Mary I, I thought I’d test your knowledge of Mary I places with a fun crossword puzzle.
Good luck!
Simply click on the link or image below to open and print out.
[Read More...]This month’s expert is Johanna Strong who is talking about England’s first crowned queen, Mary I.
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On this day in Tudor history, 13th October 1553, Queen Mary I wrote a very interesting letter to the imperial ambassador, Simon Renard. In it, she asked the ambassador to meet with her secretly, and she’d encouraged him previously to come to her secretly and in disguise.
Why? What was going on? And why did Mary seem to trust the emperor and his ambassadors more than her own council?
Find out more about the situation…
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On this day in Tudor history, 8th October 1536, while the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion was getting underway in Lincolnshire and spreading to Yorkshire, Henry VIII wasn’t only issuing orders regarding the rebels, he was also issuing orders regarding his eldest daughter.
Henry and Mary had recently reconciled after Mary had finally submitted to him and recognised his supremacy and her illegitimate status. It was something that cost Mary dearly, but it did mend her relationship with her father and allow her back at court.
But then Henry VIII put more pressure on his daughter by forcing her to write to the pope and to Mary of Hungary, the emperor’s sister.
What did Mary have to write? What did the king want of his daughter? And why had Mary submitted to her father?
Find out all about this…
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On this day in Tudor history, 5th October 1549, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector, ordered a gathering of men at Hampton Court Palace, where he was lodged with the young King Edward VI, due to tensions mounting between Somerset and John Dudley, Earl of Warwick.
What was going on and what happened when 4,000 peasants turned up? How did John Dudley react and what did King Edward VI have to say about it all?
Find out what happened, and how this led to Somerset’s undoing…
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On this day in Tudor history, 28th September 1599, Elizabeth I’s favourite, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, strode into the queen’s bedchamber unannounced and saw her without her makeup or wig, without her “mask of youth”.
Why would he do such a thing?
Find out why Devereux was troubled and wanted to see the queen urgently and how Elizabeth I reacted to his visit, and what happened next…
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On this day in Tudor history, 26th August 1555, Queen Mary I and her husband, Philip of Spain, departed from Whitehall in preparation for Philip’s return to the Low Countries.
This was an awful time for Mary I. She had just come out of confinement after months of believing she was pregnant, and now her husband was leaving her. He’d be gone for over 18 months.
Find out more about Mary’s state of health and mind, the arrangements for Philip’s departure, and Mary’s reaction…
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On this day in Tudor history, 19th August 1551, Princess Mary, the future Mary I, wrote to her half-brother King Edward VI regarding orders that he had sent, orders that she was not going to obey.
As historian Henry Ellis noted, this letter is evidence of Mary’s talent at writing and her intellect, and it also shows just how stubborn she could be. But then Edward was stubborn too! He wasn’t going to let his sister defy him but she wasn’t going to obey him and compromise her faith – oh dear!
Find out more about the situation, and hear Mary’s words to Edward…
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On this day in Tudor history, 20th July 1554, Philip of Spain, son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, arrived in England to prepare for his marriage to Queen Mary I.
Find out more in this edition of #TudorHistoryShorts…
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Mary I was the daughter of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and she was Queen of England from July 1553 to November 1558, but how much do you know about her?
In this latest edition of my “facts about…” series, I share 21 interesting facts about Mary I.
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