9 March – Frances Radcliffe, Countess of Sussex’s most rare gifts both of mind and body, and Mary, Queen of Scots’ secretary is murdered

On this day in Tudor history, 9th March 1589, Lady Frances Radcliffe, Countess of Sussex, and wife of Sir Thomas Radcliffe, Lord Fitzwalter and 3rd Earl of Sussex, died at her home in Bermondsey.

Frances is known for being the benefactor of Cambridge University’s Sidney Sussex College, but there is much more to her than that. Her enemies even turned her husband and Queen Elizabeth I against her at one point!

Find out all about Frances Radcliffe (née Sidney) in this talk…

Also on this day in history, 9th March 1566, a pregnant Mary, Queen of Scots witnessed the murder of her private secretary, David Rizzio, by a gang of assassins led by her husband, Lord Darnley.

Find out more about this murder in this video…

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