Claire | June 25, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 25th June 1503, in the reign of King Henry VII, the nearly twelve-year-old Henry, Prince of Wales, the future King Henry VIII, got betrothed to seventeen-year-old Catalina de Aragón (Catherine of Aragon). The betrothal took place at the Bishop of Salisbury’s palace in Fleet Street, London. Henry was the […]
Claire | June 24, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 24th June 1509, seventeen-year-old King Henry VIII and his new bride, Catherine of Aragon, were crowned king and queen at a joint coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey. It was Midsummer’s Day and the Feast of St John the Baptist, a perfect day for this young couple’s coronation. Let me […]
Claire | June 23, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 23rd June 1509, twelve days after their marriage, King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon processed through the streets of London dressed in their finery. This was their coronation procession. In this video, and transcript below, I share contemporary descriptions of the king and queen’s appearance and outfits, […]
Claire | June 21, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 21st June 1529, ten days after her 20th wedding anniversary, Queen Catherine of Aragon appeared at the Legatine Court at Blackfriars and delivered an impassioned speech which stole the show. This court was hearing the case for the annulment of Catherine’s marriage to the king, and Catherine was going […]
Claire | June 20, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 20th June 1540, five months into their marriage, Henry VIII’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, got rather cross about her husband’s inappropriate behaviour. Anne complained to her advisor about they king’s interest in one of her maids of honour, a certain Catherine Howard. What exactly was going on and […]
Claire | June 18, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 18th June 1529, in the reign of King Henry VIII, the king’s wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon, made her protest at the Legatine Court in Blackfriars, a court that was examining the king’s case for an annulment of their marriage. What was Catherine protesting about? What were the grounds […]
Claire | June 13, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 13th June 1548, Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, brother of the late Queen Jane Seymour and uncle of King Edward VI, accompanied his wife, Catherine Parr, the dowager queen, on a journey to the Cotswolds. They set off from the dowager queen’s manor of Hanworth in London […]
Claire | June 12, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 12th June 1530, twenty-one years and a day after they got married, Queen Catherine of Aragon got rather angry with her husband, King Henry VIII. Catherine accused the king of leading an evil life and setting a bad example. What led to these accusations? What had Henry VIII done […]
