FREE Anne Boleyn
Files Welcome Pack of 5 goodies sent directly
to your inbox
Includes 3 Free Reports, Book List and Primary Sources List
Please check your spam box if you don't receive a confirmation email.
PLEASE NOTE: Your privacy is essential to us
and we will not share your details
with anyone.
King Henry VIII has gone down in history as the king who had six wives and who executed two of them, as well as having three of his marriages annulled. He had quite the marital history!
But did you know that Henry was just thirteen when he broke one of his wives’ hearts for the first time, and he broke up with her on the eve of their scheduled wedding. Bad form, Henry, bad form!
Yes, on this day in Tudor history, 27th June 1505, Henry, Prince of Wales, the only surviving son of King Henry VII, broke up with nineteen-year-old Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. The couple had been betrothed for two years by this point, but Henry renounced this betrothal.
You can find out more about this, why Henry did this to his fiancée, and how they ended up getting married in 1509, by watching my video:
Today is the feast day of St John the Baptist, an important celebration in the medieval and Tudor periods, with it coinciding with Midsummer, and a day that is still important in some Catholic countries.
Fairies, fires, dancing, feasting and drinking were all part of the celebrations.
In today’s extra “on this day in Tudor history” talk, I explain how this feast day was marked in the Tudor period, and also talk about how it is still celebrated today in my local area. It’s a lot of fun!
Book recommendations: “The English Year” by Steve Roud; “The Stations of the Sun” by Ronald Hutton; “Tudor Feast Days” e-book by the Tudor Society.
As you know – and if you don’t, where have you been?! – I’ve been doing daily “on this day in Tudor history” talks since 1 January 2019, which is keeping me nice and busy! These daily talks were inspired by my book On This Day in Tudor History, which I published back in 2012, […]
On this day in Tudor history, 24 June 1509, Midsummer’s Day and the Feast of St John the Baptist, England’s new king, seventeen-year-old Henry VIII, and his bride of thirteen days, Catherine of Aragon, were crowned king and queen by William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, in a joint ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London. The […]
No, it’s not me, lol! Although I am speaking at it and my family think I’m fabulous! 😉 My co-leader and organisational whiz, Philippa, has just announced our speaker for next year’s Anne Boleyn Experience Tour, and I must say that I’m thrilled. I’m already excited about the tour – you know that I quite […]
On this day in Tudor history, Saturday 23rd June 1509, seventeen-year-old King Henry VIII and his first wife, twenty-three-year-old Catherine of Aragon, processed from the Tower of London to Westminster in preparation for the coronation at Westminster Abbey. The citizens of London must have been excited about seeing the new king and his bride, and […]
On 22nd June 1528, after eight years of marriage, Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn, was widowed. Her husband, William Carey, died during the sweating sickness epidemic that hit the royal court that summer. Her first husband’s death had a major impact on Mary, who was left with two young children: Catherine, aged four, and […]
Historical novelist Loretta Goldberg has made this wonderful video for the Anne Boleyn Files and Tudor Society YouTube channel about her Elizabethn spy novel The Reversible Mask, which is a wonderful read. In her video, Loretta talks about her book, an Elizabethan spy novel, and then treats us to an excerpt. Here’s the book blurb […]
King Henry VIII has gone down in history as the king who had six wives and who executed two of them, as well as having three of his marriages annulled. He had quite the marital history!
Today is the feast day of St John the Baptist, an important celebration in the medieval and Tudor periods, with it coinciding with Midsummer, and a day that is still important in some Catholic countries.
