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: