On this day in Tudor history, 24th January, the foundation stone of Henry VII’s Lady Chapel was laid at Westminster Abbey, Henry VIII suffered a jousting accident, and English and Spanish knights jousted at Westminster…
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#OTD in Tudor History – 24 January
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January 24 – Henry VII’s Lady Chapel
On this day in Tudor history, 24th January 1503, the foundation stone of King Henry VII’s chapel, a large Lady Chapel, at Westminster Abbey, was laid.
At the time, Henry VII planned for the chapel to be a shrine to King Henry VI, who was expected to be canonised, but this never happened.
The chapel was completed in 1516, in the reign of Henry VII’s son, King Henry VIII, and became the burial place of fifteen kings and queens, including Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York, who have beautiful gilt-bronze effigies, and their grandchildren Edward VI, Elizabeth I and Mary I, and great-granddaughter, Mary, Queen of Scots. Others buried there in the Tudor period include, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII’s mother, and Lady Margaret Douglas, his granddaughter.
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This week in Tudor History – 18-24 January – Part 2
Part 2 of “This week in Tudor History” covers Tudor history events from 22nd to 24th January.
22nd January 1561, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I – The birth of politician, philosopher, author and scientist Francis Bacon at York House, the Strand, London. Bacon is known as “the Father of the Scientific method” and Baconians believe that he was the true author of some or all of William Shakespeare’s plays…
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The tomb of Elizabeth I and Mary I
Thank you to Lynne for asking these two questions about the shared tomb of Queens Elizabeth I and Mary I: “Why did James I decide to bury Elizabeth I on top of her sister Mary? Why is Elizabeth I’s effigy visible with her mother’s coat of arms and nothing on display for Mary?”
Let me tell you about their burials and their present resting place at Westminster Abbey.
Queen Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, died on 17th November 1558. Mary left instructions in her will for her mother’s remains, which had been buried at Peterborough Abbey, to be exhumed and brought to London so that Catherine could be buried with Mary. However, her instructions were ignored; Catherine remained at Peterborough and Mary lay in state at St James’s Palace until her funeral on 14th December 1558, when she was buried at Westminster Abbey with just stones marking her resting place. You can read more about her funeral in my article 14 December 1558 – Burial of Queen Mary I.
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