Claire | December 17, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 17th December 1559, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Matthew Parker was consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury. Fifty-five-year-old Parker was far from happy about his appointment. It was an office which he did not want and would not have accepted if “he had not been so much bound […]
Claire | May 20, 2022
King Henry VIII wasted no time in May 1536. He wasn’t letting the grass grow under his feet! With wife number 2 dead and buried, he quickly moved on to wife number 3, getting betrothed to Jane Seymour the day after Anne Boleyn’s execution and marrying her ten days later. Let me tell you more…
Claire | May 19, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 19th May 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, was executed at the Tower of London. As her friend, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer said, “she who has been the Queen of England upon Earth will today become a Queen in heaven.” In this video, I explain exactly […]
Claire | May 18, 2022
Queen Anne Boleyn’s execution was scheduled to take place on 18th May 1536 so Anne prepared herself for death. But how did Anne prepare herself? Why was her execution postponed? What exactly happened on this day in 1536?
Claire | May 17, 2022
While King Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn was being declared null and void by Archbishop Cranmer at Lambeth, executions were taking place on Tower Hill. On this day in 1536, 17th May, George Boleyn, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton were executed for high treason after being found guilty […]
Claire | May 16, 2022
On this day in history, 16th May 1536, the condemned and imprisoned Queen Anne Boleyn’s spirits seemed to have lifted and she was hoping for mercy. Why? What could have made her so hopeful?
Claire | May 15, 2022
On this day in history, 15th May 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn and her brother, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, were tried by a jury of their peers presided over by their own uncle, the Duke of Norfolk. Did they have any hope of justice? What happened? What do the contemporary sources tell us? And what happened […]
Claire | May 14, 2022
On this day in 1536, 14th May, while her predecessor and former mistress was in the Tower of London waiting for her trial, Jane Seymour was moved to be closer to the king and was treated like a queen. Find out more about this, and hear Eustace Chapuys’ rather unflattering description of Jane… Also on […]
