Claire | December 22, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 22nd December 1534, in the reign of King Henry VIII, John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, wrote a letter to Thomas Cromwell. Fisher was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time, and in his letter, Fisher begged for a shirt, sheet, food and books, as well as asking […]
Claire | July 28, 2022
On this day in Tudor history 28th July 1540, King Henry VIII married for a fifth time. He married his fourth wife’s maid of honour, the young Catherine Howard, at Oatlands Palace. While the king was getting married, his former chief advisor, Master Secretary Thomas Cromwell was being executed for corruption, heresy and treason. Find […]
Claire | July 2, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 2nd July 1536, Master Secretary, Thomas Cromwell, the king’s chief advisor, was formally appointed Lord Privy Seal. The previous holder, Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond, had been stripped of the office following the falls and executions of two of his children, Queen Anne Boleyn and George Boleyn, […]
Claire | April 30, 2022
On this day in Tudor history, 30th April 1536, court musician Mark Smeaton was arrested and taken to the home of Henry VIII’s right-hand man, Thomas Cromwell. What happened to him there over the next 24 hours is not known, but he ended up confessing to sleeping with Queen Anne Boleyn on three occasions. On […]
Joel | October 23, 2021
On this day in Tudor history, 23rd October 1538, Thomas Goldwell, Prior of Christchurch, Canterbury, wrote to Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief advisor, regarding the forthcoming dissolution of his monastery and its fate. It’s quite a sad, grovelling letter, and even more sad when you know the full impact of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the […]
Claire | June 29, 2019
29th June is a busy day for “on this day in Tudor history” events, and I thought I’d share with you some information on a few of them. On this day in history, 29th June 1536, Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire, was stripped of his office of Lord Privy Seal, an office he had held […]
Claire | June 10, 2019
In 1540, Thomas Cromwell’s enemies were able to take advantage of King Henry VIII’s frustration with his right-hand man and fixer, Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, to bring him down once and for all. It was on this day in history, 10th June 1540, after Thomas Cromwell had so far failed to get the king […]
Claire | July 28, 2018
On this day in history, 28th July 1540, forty-nine-year-old King Henry VIII married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, who was about seventeen years old, at Oatlands Palace. The groom’s fourth marriage, to Anne of Cleves, had only been annulled on 9th July, so Henry’s fifth wedding was a low-key, private affair and news of the […]
