7 February – The birth of Sir Thomas More, a joust, unrequited love and a nasty accident

| February 7, 2022

7 February – The birth of Sir Thomas More, a joust, unrequited love and a nasty accident

On this day in history, 7th February 1477 or 1478, Sir Thomas More, Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor, was born in London. More had once wanted to be a monk but ended up being one of the most well-known statesmen of the Tudor period. Unfortunately, Sir Thomas More came to a sticky end after refusing to […]

12 January – Elizabeth I goes to the Tower and Henry VIII’s first joust as king

| January 11, 2022

12 January – Elizabeth I goes to the Tower and Henry VIII’s first joust as king

On this day in Tudor history, Thursday 12th January 1559, Queen Elizabeth I travelled by barge from Whitehall to the Tower of London to prepare for her coronation, which was due to take place on the 15th January. Of course, her journey wasn’t a low key one in a normal river barge, it was a […]

10 March 1524 – Henry VIII laughs off a jousting accident

| March 10, 2016

10 March 1524 – Henry VIII laughs off a jousting accident

It is easy to forget when looking at later portraits of Henry VIII and hearing about him being so overweight and ill that he had to be carried around on a special chair, that Henry VIII was once a keen sportsman. He was not just an enthusiastic sportsman, he was actually good as well. One […]

12 January 1510 – Panic at the Joust

| January 12, 2015

12 January 1510 – Panic at the Joust

On 12th January 1510, at a private joust at Richmond Park, Henry VIII jousted for the first time as king. He and his good friend William Compton attended the joust in disguise so that nobody knew the king was taking part. However, this led to panic when one of the disguised men was injured and […]

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