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Claire | July 25, 2017
With his letter written on the Feast of St James (25th July) 1535, to Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle, who was Charles V’s advisor, Eustace Chapuys included an interesting post script. It was written in cipher, but said: “P.S.—He the other day nearly murdered his own fool, a simple and innocent man, because he happened to […]
Claire | July 6, 2017
On this day in history, Tuesday 6th July 1535, Henry VIII’s former friend and Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More, was beheaded on Tower Hill as a traitor. More had been found guilty of high treason under the Treason Act of 1534 for denying the king’s supremacy and refusing to take the Oath of Succession. Trivia: […]
Claire | July 4, 2017
On this day in history, 4th July 1551, Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell and son of the late Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, died of sweating sickness at Launde Abbey, in Leicestershire. He was buried at the abbey’s chapel on 7th July. Merchant-taylor Henry Machyn recorded the sweating sickness outbreak and Gregory Cromwell’s death in […]
Claire | July 1, 2017
Sir Thomas More once said of King Henry VIII that “if my head would win him a castle in France, it should not fail to go” and I often wonder how serious he was. Was it said in jest or did More know exactly what Henry VIII was capable of? It’s impossible to know, but […]
Claire | June 29, 2017
On this day in history, 29th June 1540, nineteen days after his arrest, a Bill of Attainder was passed against Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, and King Henry VIII’s former right-hand man. The Journal of the House of Lords records on Tuesday 29th June 1540, day 81 of that parliament, the following: “Item Billa Attincture […]
Claire | April 29, 2017
On 29th April 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn had two separate encounters with male courtiers, men who would soon be accused of sleeping with her and plotting with her to kill King Henry VIII. You can read more about Anne’s encounters with Mark Smeaton, a musician, and Sir Henry Norris, her husband’s groom of the stool, […]
Claire | April 20, 2017
Today’s Tudor topic for my 60-second history video series is Elizabeth of York. I refrained from shouting “she wasn’t raped!”, “there’s no evidence that she was in love with Richard III!” and the like and, instead, focused on a brief bio of this Tudor queen consort. As I’ve explained before, the idea of this series […]
Claire | April 17, 2017
On this day in history, 17th April 1534, Sir Thomas More, Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor and good friend, was sent to the Tower of London. He wasn’t sent there to see a prisoner, he was sent there as a prisoner. Sir Thomas More had been called to Lambeth four days earlier, on 13th April, to […]
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