The Tudor Society

  • November 3 – A man said to be Henry VIII’s illegitimate son dies in the Tower

    1 year ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 3rd November 1592, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir John Perrot died at the Tower of London.

    Sir John Perrot, who was a privy councillor and former Lord Deputy of Ireland, is a fascinating Tudor character. He survived being a Protestant and protecting ‘heretics’ in Mary I’s reign, and he was saved six times from serious punishment by Queen Elizabeth I’s intercession.

    Was this favour due to him being the queen’s half-brother? Some people think so.

    You can find out more about Perrot and the arguments for and against him being Henry VIII’s son, in this video:

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  • 3 November – Henry VIII’s supremacy of the English church and the death of Sir John Perrot

    2 years ago Author: Joel Ridgway
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    On this day in Tudor history, 3rd November 1534, Parliament passed the First Act of Supremacy, establishing King Henry VIII’s supremacy of the English church and rejecting the authority of the pope.

    In today’s talk, historian Claire Ridgway shares what the act said and explains that it didn’t actually make him head of the church, just confirmed the fact, and goes on to share the oath that people had to take and what it meant if they refused.

    It was an important act in the break with Rome and the English Reformation.

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  • Sir John Perrot (c1527/30 – 1592)

    5 years ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    On this day in 1592, Sir John Perrot, Privy Councillor and former Lord Deputy of Ireland, died at the Tower of London. He was buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula at the Tower.

    John Perrot was born between 1527 and 1530 in Pembrokeshire, and was the son of Mary (Berkeley) and Sir Thomas Perrot, although some believe him to have been Henry VIII’s illegitimate son. John’s mother, the pretty Mary Berkeley, had served Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon. The King was a friend of her husband, Sir Thomas Perrot, a keen huntsman, and historian Philippa Jones believes that Henry VIII began an affair with Mary after noticing her when he came to visit and hunt.

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