Claire | April 24, 2022
On this day in 1536, Sir Thomas Audley, Lord Chancellor to King Henry VIII, set up two commissions of oyer and terminer, one for the county of Middlesex and one for the county of Kent. What were these commissions and what did they have to do with the fall of Anne Boleyn, if anything? On […]
Claire | April 19, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 19th April 1558, fifteen-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots and fourteen-year-old Francis, the Dauphin, son of King Henry II of France, were formally betrothed at the Louvre Palace in Paris. This betrothal was just five days before their wedding and was a lavish affair, celebrated with a ball. Find out […]
Joel Ridgway | March 9, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 9th March 1589, Lady Frances Radcliffe, Countess of Sussex, and wife of Sir Thomas Radcliffe, Lord Fitzwalter and 3rd Earl of Sussex, died at her home in Bermondsey. Frances is known for being the benefactor of Cambridge University’s Sidney Sussex College, but there is much more to her than […]
Joel Ridgway | February 17, 2022
Well, ok, perhaps love at second or third sight! On this day in Tudor history, Saturday 17th February 1565, Mary, Queen of Scots, met and fell in love with Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, at Wemyss Castle in Scotland. Just over 7 months later, the couple got married. Find out more about the background of this […]
Joel Ridgway | December 14, 2021
On this day in Tudor history, 14th December 1542, six-day-old Mary, daughter of King James V and his second wife, Marie de Guise, became Queen of Scotland – Mary, Queen of Scots. King James V, who had ruled since 1513, was just 30 at his death. Find out what happened to James V, and how […]
Joel Ridgway | December 8, 2021
On this day in Tudor history, 8th December 1538, courtier and Master of the Horse to Queens Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour, Sir William Coffin, died at Standon in Hertfordshire. It is thought that he died of the plague because his wife Margaret wrote to Thomas Cromwell saying that Coffin had “died of the great […]
Joel Ridgway | December 5, 2021
On this day in Tudor history, 5th December 1560, King Francis II of France, died at the age of just 15. Francis was King Consort of Scotland, as the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and his father had also proclaimed him and Mary as King and Queen of England back in 1558! He was […]
Joel Ridgway | December 2, 2021
On this day in Tudor history, 2nd December 1586, following a joint petition from the Houses of Lords and Commons, Elizabeth I finally agreed to a public proclamation of sentence against Mary, Queen of Scots: death. Mary had been found guilty of high treason back in October 1586, but Elizabeth had not wanted to contemplate […]
