Claire | January 15, 2023
On this day in Tudor history, 15th January 1559, twenty-five-year-old Elizabeth I, daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Queen Anne Boleyn, was crowned at Westminster Abbey by Owen Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle. Elizabeth had become queen on 17th November 1558, on the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary I, and ruled until […]
Claire | November 17, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 17th November 1558, the daughter of King Henry VIII by his second wife, Anne Boleyn, became Queen of England. Twenty-five-year-old Elizabeth became queen following the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary I, who had ruled for five years. Elizabeth would reign for over forty-four years. In the video and […]
Claire | October 18, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 18th October 1555, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was finally given permission from her half-sister the queen to leave court and travel to her own estate at Hatfield. Previously, Elizabeth had been confined in the Tower of London and […]
Claire | October 10, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 10th October 1562, Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, came down with smallpox. The twenty-nine-year-old queen was taken ill at Hampton Court Palace, with what was thought to be a bad cold. However, it soon became clear that Elizabeth I had smallpox. Elizabeth became very […]
Claire | September 28, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 28th September 1553, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Elizabeth, the nineteen-year-old daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, accompanied her thirty-seven-year-old half-sister, Mary I, to the Tower of London. The sisters travelled in a decorated barge, and they were going to the Tower to prepare for Mary’s […]
Claire | September 10, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 10th September 1533, in the reign of King Henry VIII, Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth I, was christened at the Church of Observant Friars in Greenwich. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. She had a lavish christening service presided over by […]
Claire | September 5, 2022
There are only 2 days to go until my online event “Elizabeth I: The Life of Gloriana, the Virgin Queen” starts! Yes, it starts on Wednesday 7th September, and runs until 16th September. Do register while you still have the chance. See all the details and register at https://claireridgway.com/events/elizabeth-i-the-life-of-gloriana-the-virgin-queen-online-event-7-16-september-2022/ Dr Estelle Paranque is one of […]
Claire | September 3, 2022
Did Robert Dudley have his wife killed so that he could marry Elizabeth I? Was the Virgin Queen really a virgin? In her talk on Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Dr Elizabeth Goldring will sort fact from fiction, answering these and other questions as she tells the thrilling story of one of […]
