June 4 - Lightning strikes St Paul's

On the afternoon of this day in Tudor history, Wednesday 4th June 1561, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, London was hit by a tremendous thunderstorm. Fires caused by lightning strikes destroyed one church and damaged St Paul's Cathedral.
 
Find out more about the storm, how St Paul's was damaged, the reactions to the lightning strike, what Queen Elizabeth I did, and what happened next, in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of several Tudor history books.
https://youtu.be/W3wCUDA2IcE
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 4th June 1550, sweethearts Robert Dudley and Amy Robsart tied the knot at the royal palace of Sheen at Richmond in a service attended by King Edward VI. This marriage was a love-match, but it lasted just ten years, ending with Amy's death in 1560, a death which is surrounded by controversy. Find out more in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/ntXH7_kxRng 

June 1 - Christopher Marlowe's death and inquest

On this day in Tudor history, 1st June 1593, the inquest into the death of playwright, poet and translator Christopher Marlowe took place. 
 
Twenty-nine-year-old Marlowe, writer of such famous works as “Tamburlaine”, “Dr Faustus” and “The Jew of Malta”, had been fatally stabbed at a house in Deptford Strand, London, by a man named Ingram Frizer on 30th May 1593, but what happened?
 
In today's "on this day" talk, historian Claire Ridgway shares William Danby's coroner's report on what happened that fateful day.
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 1st June 1533, Whitsunday, a pregnant Queen Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife, was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony performed by her good friend, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. Find out more in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/RODcq1iD2lI 
 
You can find out more about Marlowe and the theories regarding his death in Claire's video for February 26 – Christopher Marlowe – a rather colourful character! - https://youtu.be/QnT2Qp7RuXc
 
The books Claire mentioned can be read online:
 
Christopher Marlowe by Frerick S Boas - https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.461513/page/n295/mode/2up 
The Death of Christopher Marlowe by J Leslie Hotson - https://archive.org/details/deathofchristoph008072mbp/page/n39/mode/2up

May 29 - John Penry and his scandalous writings

On this day in Tudor history, 29th May 1593, Welsh religious controversialist, and a man regarded by Welsh historians as the pioneer of Welsh nonconformity, John Penry was hanged at St Thomas-a-Watering in Surrey. 
 
John Penry was linked to the Martin Marprelate tracts and the resulting Marprelate Controversy, not for writing them, but for helping to run the secret press that printed them.
 
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/HAvUa2rgtek
 
Find out more about Penry, his life and his work, and his involvement with these tracts, and how appealing to William Cecil didn't save him from the hangman's noose, in today's talk from historian Claire Ridgway.
February 23 - Job Throckmorton, a colourful and lucky character - https://youtu.be/URAyKk4Qodw  
 
Martin Marprelate Press and Controversy - http://people.umass.edu/marprelate/index.html 
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 29 May 1533, the celebrations for Queen Anne Boleyn’s coronation kicked off with a spectacular river pageant on the Thames. Find out more in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/971Y88EauTA 

May 28 - The Spanish Armada sets sail

On this day in Tudor history, 28th May 1588, the Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon in Portugal bound for the Spanish Netherlands.
 
With the Pope's blessing, King Philip II was going to invade England and depose the heretic, Queen Elizabeth I. The stop at the Netherlands was simply to pick up the Spanish forces there.
 
What happened next and why did the Spanish Armada fail?
 
Find out all about the Spanish Armada and how England was victorious in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of "On This Day in Tudor History".
 
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/OcnS-lmbN00
 
Book recommendation - Garrett Mattingly’s “The Defeat of the Spanish Armada”.
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 28th May 1582, Roman Catholic priests Thomas Forde, John Shert and Robert Johnson suffered full traitors' deaths at Tyburn for their alleged implication in the Rome and Reims Plot. However, many believe that this plot wasn't actually real. Find out more in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/vBiIMRm4m04 

May 27 - Margaret Pole's botched execution

On this day in Tudor history, 27th May 1541, the frail sixty-seven-year-old Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, was executed at the Tower of London.
 
The former governess of Princess Mary had an awful end because the usual executioner was away from London, and one account has led to stories of her tormented ghost reliving her final moments at the Tower.
 
Find out why Margaret Pole was executed and what happened in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society.
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/6v9LGPqClTY
 
Also on this day in history, 27th May 1537, there were celebrations in England for the pregnancy of Queen Jane Seymour. Find out more in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/0UfaRuXbHEk 

May 26 - Henry VIII and Charles V meet

On this day in Tudor history, 26th May 1520, in the lead-up to King Henry VIII’s meeting with Francis I of France at the Field of Cloth of Gold, the English king met with his nephew Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, at Dover Castle on the south coast of England.
 
Find out more about this meeting and the rather lavish outfits worn by Henry VIII and his queen consort, Catherine of Aragon, in today's talk from historian Claire Ridgway.
https://youtu.be/LeKUWiMh0-s
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 26th May 1536, Henry VIII's daughter, Mary, sought the help of Thomas Cromwell, the king's right-hand man. Now that Anne Boleyn was dead and gone, Mary hoped for a reconciliation with her father the king. What happened and how was she treated? Find out in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/piFHGOhSXEI 

May 25 - A great shaking of the ground - a Tudor earthquake

On this day in Tudor history, 25th May 1551, at around noon, Croydon and several Surrey villages, in the south of England, experienced a “great shaking of the ground”, in other words, an earthquake.
 
In today's talk, Tudor history author, Claire Ridgway, shares descriptions of this earthquake, as well as other Tudor earthquakes, such as the famous 1580 Dover Straits Earthquake, which causes fatalities and damage.
 
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/CKKhplIBCi4
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 25th May 1553, Lady Jane Grey got married to Lord Guildford Dudley, son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. They weren't the only couple to get married in the ceremony at Durham House, Jane's sister, Katherine, and Guildford's sister, Catherine, also got married. Find out more in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/0_cFulXOssU 
 
Read "A warning for the wise, a feare to the fond, a bridle to the lewde, and a glasse to the good Written of the late earthquake chanced in London and other places, the. 6. of April 1580. for the glorie of God, and benefite of men that warely can walke, and wisely can iudge", Churchyard's pamphlet on the 1580 eathquake, at https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A18767.0001.001?view=toc 

May 24 - The Life of Anne Askew

On this day in Tudor history, 24th May 1546, letters were sent from the Privy Council to the future Protestant martyr Anne Askew and her estranged husband Thomas Kyme. 
 
The couple were ordered to appear in front of the council within fourteen days. But why? What was going on? And what happened next.
 
In today's talk, historian Claire Ridgway gives an overview of the life of Anne Askew, who was famously racked illegally at the Tower of London prior to being burnt as a heretic.
You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/nvtJAJ0I_gw
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 24th May 1562, according to contemporary sources, a "monstrous" child was born in Chichester, Sussex.This deformed baby was not the only "monstrous" birth that year and these events were seen as signs from God. Find out more in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/K1kml_DFVLk 
 
More Anne Askew videos:
June 18 - Protestant martyr Anne Askew is found guilty of heresy - https://youtu.be/bmJtFqoJXDcJuly 16 - Anne Askew's courageous end - https://youtu.be/29QImEPHhbE