December 17 - A promise made to Anne Boleyn
On this day in Tudor history, 17th December 1559, fifty-five-year-old Matthew Parker was consecrated as Queen Elizabeth I's Archbishop of Canterbury. It was an office which Parker did not want and wou...
16 Dec 20207min
December 16 - A Grey man with Woodville links
On this day in Tudor history, 16th (or possibly the 18th) December 1503, George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent, died at Ampthill, Bedfordshire. Grey served as a soldier under Henry VII, was on the king’s c...
15 Dec 20206min
December 15 - Elizabeth I's loyal servant dies of "sheer grief"
On this day in Tudor history, 15th December, 1560, Comptroller of the Household to Elizabeth I and Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, Thomas Parry died. The Spanish ambassador claimed that Parry had died o...
14 Dec 20208min
December 14 - Mary, Queen of Scots is queen!
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 h...
13 Dec 20206min
December 13 - A lawyer thrown in to prison for refusing to do a favour
On this day in Tudor history, 13th December 1558, civil lawyer and dean of Chester William Clyffe died. Clyffe was one of the authors of the 1537 “Bishops' Book”, and he was consulted by convocation d...
13 Dec 20204min
December 12 - A soldier who had to hide from Elizabeth I
On this day in Tudor history, 12th December 1595, Protestant Welsh soldier and author, Sir Roger Williams, died from a fever with his patron, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, at his side. He was buried...
11 Dec 20208min
December 11 - A lavish reception for Anne of Cleves
On this day in Tudor history, 11th December 1539, Anne of Cleves and her retinue were received at Gravelines, just a few miles outside of Calais, by Lord Lisle, Deputy of Calais. Anne of Cleves was ...
10 Dec 20206min
December 10 - A priest caught by a priestfinder and torturer
On this day in Tudor history, 10th December 1591, Roman Catholic priest Edmund Gennings and Catholic Swithin Wells were executed on a scaffold set up outside Wells' house at Holborn. Gennings had be...
9 Dec 20207min
