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Claire | April 21, 2012
At 11pm on Saturday 21st April 1509, Henry VII died. He had known that he was dying for some time and had retired to Richmond at the end of February to spend his last days there. There is an excellent chapter, “The Art of Dying”, in Thomas Penn’s “Winter King”, in which he describes how
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Claire | April 5, 2012
Today is Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday and in many countries it is a normal Thursday with the Easter holiday starting on Good Friday, but in Tudor times and in Catholic countries today it is still an important religious day. Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, that final meal that Jesus Christ had with his
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Claire | March 23, 2012
This day in history, 23rd March 1534, was an important day for King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn because it was on this day that Parliament passed the Act of Succession. You can read the full Act of Succession in the book “Documents Illustrative of the History of the English Church”, which is available
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Claire | February 20, 2012
On this day in history, 20th February 1547, King Edward VI was crowned King at Westminster Abbey. However, the celebrations had begun the day before… On the afternoon of Saturday the 19th February, the boy King processed out of the Tower of London. He was dressed in white velvet, which was embroidered with silver thread
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Claire | February 6, 2012
As a very proud British citizen, I just want to draw attention to the fact that today marks Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee, the 60th anniversary of her accession. On this day in 1952, Princess Elizabeth was told by her husband that her father, King George VI, had died and that she was Queen Elizabeth
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Claire | January 28, 2012
Today I will be remembering two Tudor monarchs: Henry VII and Henry VIII – one who is famed for starting the Tudor dynasty and the other for the number of wives he had. Two very different men, but father and son, and two great kings. One was born on this day in history, the other
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Claire | January 18, 2012
Following on from last week’s episode “Ruling by the Book”, Dr Janina Ramirez looked at the use of illuminated manuscripts by medieval kings. Here is a precis from my notes… Dr Janina Ramirez set the scene by explaining how in the 1420s the treasures of the French royal family, the nation’s culture and history, were
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Claire | January 18, 2012
On the 18th January 1486 Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, uniting the Houses of Lancaster and York and establishing a new royal house: The House of Tudor. Henry Tudor had become King on the 22nd August 1485 when he defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. He was crowned King on the 30th
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