The Tudor Society
  • June 15 – The death of Will Somer, court fool

    On this day in Tudor history, 15th June 1559, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, court fool William Somer (Sommers) died in Shoreditch, London.

    He’d served as court fool to Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I.

    Somer managed to survive the wrath of King Henry VIII to die a natural death in Elizabeth’s reign.

    He wasn’t the only court fool at the time, and you can find out more about him and Jane the Fool in this video:

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  • Court Fools – William Somer and Jane the Fool

    William Somer (Sommers) served as Henry VIII’s fool from June 1535 and just a month later got into trouble with the King. In July 1535, Eustace Chapuys, the Imperial ambassador, recorded that Henry VIII was so angry with Somer that he nearly killed him:

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