Claire | July 14, 2015
Sweating sickness, or the English Sweat, was a horrible disease which decimated towns and took thousands of lives in its five epidemics in England in 1485, 1508, 1517, 1528 and 1551. It was a disease which killed quickly. Chronicler Edward Hall wrote of how it could kill within 2-3 hours, commenting “some merry at dinner […]
Claire | March 15, 2015
Today I am honoured to be the final stop on David Baldwin’s blog tour for his book Henry VIII’s Last Love: The Extraordinary Life of Katherine Willoughby, Lady-in-Waiting to the Tudors. Amberley Publishing is also offering one lucky Anne Boleyn Files follower a copy of David’s book too – see further down for details. The […]
Claire | September 19, 2014
On this day in history, 19th September 1580, Katherine Bertie (née Willoughby and previous married name Brandon), Duchess of Suffolk, died at the age of sixty-one after a long illness. She was buried in Spilsby church, Lincolnshire. Katherine was the wife of Richard Bertie and had previously been married to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, […]
Claire | September 19, 2013
On 19th September 1580, sixty-one year-old Katherine Bertie (née Willoughby and previous married name Brandon) died after a long illness. She was buried in Spilsby church, Lincolnshire. Katherine was the daughter of William Willoughby, 11th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, and his wife, Lady Maria de Salinas, who had travelled to England from Spain in Catherine […]
Claire | July 14, 2013
On this day in history, 14th July 1551, the fifteen year-old Henry Brandon, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, and his fourteen year-old brother, Charles, 3rd Duke of Suffolk, died of sweating sickness at the home of the Bishop of Lincoln in Buckden, Huntingdonshire. Charles survived his brother by under an hour, becoming 3rd Duke of Suffolk […]
Claire | March 22, 2013
Today is the traditional birth date of Katherine Willoughby (married names: Brandon and Bertie), daughter of William Willoughby, 11th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, and Lady Maria de Salinas, maid-of-honour to Queen Katherine of Aragon. Katherine was baptised at Parham Church in Suffolk and was named after Katherine of Aragon. Following the Baron’s death in 1526, […]
Claire | September 19, 2012
On this day in history, 19th September, Katherine Willoughby, or rather Bertie as she was then, died after a long illness. She was laid to rest at Spilsby Church in Lincolnshire. Here are some facts about this fascinating Tudor lady: Katherine was born in 1519 and was the only child of William Willoughby, 11th Baron […]
Claire | August 30, 2012
On this day in history, 30th August 1548, Catherine Parr, Queen Dowager and wife of Thomas Seymour, Baron Seymour of Sudeley, gave birth to a healthy baby girl. The birth took place at Sudeley Castle and the little girl was baptised Mary, being named after her godmother and stepsister, Mary Tudor, the future Mary I. […]
