10 September 1533 – The Christening of the future Elizabeth I

Baptismal font
A baptismal font

Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth I and daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was christened on Wednesday 10th September 1533 at the Church of Observant Friars in Greenwich. She was just three days old, having been born on 7th September.

Her godparents were Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Centerbury; Agnes Howard (nee Tylney), Dowager Duchess of Norfolk; Margaret Grey (nee Wotton), Marchioness of Dorset; and Gertrude Courtenay, Marchioness of Exeter.

Click here to read a primary source account of Elizabeth’s christening.

Also on this day in history…

  • 1515 – Thomas Wolsey was made Cardinal.
  • 1547 – The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, part of the War of the Rough Wooing between England and Scotland. It took place near Musselburgh, in Scotland, on the banks of the River Esk. The English forces, led by Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, defeated the Scots, killing thousands.
  • 1549 – Death of Sir Anthony Denny, Henry VIII’s great friend and groom of the stool, at Cheshunt. He was buried in St Mary’s Church, Cheshunt.
  • 1557 – Execution of Joyce Lewis (née Curson and other married name Appleby, Lady Appleby), Protestant martyr, at Lichfield. She was burned at the stake for her Protestant beliefs.

Related Post