August 22 - The end of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland

On this day in Tudor history, 22nd August 1553, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was beheaded on Tower Hill for his part in putting his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, on the throne. Northumberland's friends and supporters, Sir John Gates and Sir Thomas Palmer, were also executed.
 
Northumberland was actually scheduled to die the previous day and the crowd turned up to see, the scaffold was prepared and even the executioner was ready... but, instead, the duke was taken to church.
 
Why? 
 
Find out why and also hear a contemporary account of the duke's execution in today's talk from historian Claire Ridgway. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/pahguELnWpE
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 22nd August 1485, the Battle of Bosworth took place. King Richard III was killed and Henry Tudor became King Henry VII, starting the Tudor dynasty on the throne of England. Find out what happened on that day in rural Leicestershire, and how Henry was victorious even though Richard came into battle with a huge advantage, in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/PhFpPpt23Fg 

August 19 - A defiant but polite Mary I

On this day in Tudor history, 19th August 1551, Princess Mary, the future Mary I, wrote to her half-brother King Edward VI regarding orders that he had sent, orders that she was not going to obey.
 
As historian Henry Ellis noted, this letter is evidence of Mary's talent at writing and her intellect, and it also shows just how stubborn she could be. But then Edward was stubborn too! He wasn't going to let his sister defy him but she wasn't going to obey him and compromise her faith - oh dear!
 
Find out more about the situation, and hear Mary's words to Edward, in today's talk from historian Claire Ridgway. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/q0HNva_JJHU
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 19th August 1561, Mary, Queen of Scots returned to her homeland, Scotland, from France following the death of her first husband, King Francis II of France. Find out more about her return to Scotland, which was the start of her troubles, in last year’s talk - https://youtu.be/pcZjTw1_mp4 

July 31 - Henry Grey, father of Lady Jane Grey, is released from the Tower

On this day in Tudor history, 31st July 1553, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was “discharged out of the Tower by the Earle of Arundell and had the Quenes pardon.”
 
Suffolk had, of course, been imprisoned after Mary I had overthrown his daughter, Queen Jane, or Lady Jane Grey, and his release was down to his wife, Frances, interceding with the queen and begging for mercy.
 
But who was Henry Grey and how did he go from being pardoned to being executed in 1554? 
 
Find out 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/pIwWLcPt6w4
 
Henry Grey's execution and the story regarding his head? - https://youtu.be/xkyb5qTHSBU 
 
Also, on this day in Tudor history, 31st July 1544 and 1548, the future Queen Elizabeth I wrote letters to her stepmother, Catherine Parr. The letters were written at very different times in Elizabeth's life, the first when Catherine was queen and Elizabeth had been separated from her for a while, and the second after Catherine had actually removed Elizabeth from her and Thomas Seymour's household. Find out more about these letters and their context in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/6jSr01gFj0Y 

July 21 - The arrest of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland

On this day in Tudor history, 21st July, 1553, just days after he’d left London with an army to apprehend Mary, half-sister of the late king, Edward VI, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland was arrested near Cambridge.
 
But how and why did the man who had ruled England on Edward VI’s behalf, as Lord President of his privy council, come to this?
 
Historian Claire Ridgway explains his role in the accession of Lady Jane Grey as Queen Jane in July 1553 and what happened when Mary overthrew Queen Jane. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/iR5B6U8_raI
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 21st July 1545, in the reign of King Henry VIII, French forces landed on the Isle of Wight in an attempt to invade the English island. Find out what happened in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/hbPNbt5KcF8 

July 18 - Queen Jane is betrayed and Queen Mary wins

On this day in Tudor history, 18th July 1553, while her father-in-law and his forces made their way from Cambridge to Bury St Edmunds to stand against the forces of Mary, and Jane was busy writing to men requesting them to muster forces to support her, Jane was being betrayed by members of her council.
 
William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, and Henry Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, called a council meeting and Pembroke was even said to have threatened council members with a sword! They then proclaimed for Mary.
 
Find out more about what happened on 18th and 19th July 1553 in today's talk from historian Claire Ridgway. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/MdcxN8xxtsk
Also n this day in Tudor history, 18th July 1509, just three months into the reign of King Henry VIII, one of King Henry VII's chief advisors was accused of being a "false traitor" and convicted of treason. The new king used Edmund Dudley and his colleague, Richard Empson, as scapegoats for his father's unpopular regime. Find out more about the charges against Dudley in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/czjlVvZ2ENI

July 15 - The Newbury Martyrs

On this day in Tudor history, 15th July 1556, the trial of Julins Palmer, John Gwyn and Thomas Robyns, men now known as the Newbury Martyrs, opened at St Nicholas Church in Newbury. The men were accused of sedition and heresy.
But how did Julins Palmer, a formerly staunch Catholic end up being executed for heresy in Mary I's reign?
 
Find out more about Palmer, his trial and the executions of the Newbury Martyrs in today's talk from Claire Ridgway, author of several Tudor history books. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/ugUnFI2WEx4
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 15th July 1553, the royal ships that were supposed to be Queen Jane’s and that were guarding the coast off East Anglia to stop Mary fleeing England or any of her supporters invading England, swapped sides and declared for Queen Mary. Find out what happened in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/YtNYo8e1iqQ 

July 13 - Unease among Queen Jane's councillors

On this day in Tudor history, 13th July 1553, while John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was preparing to leave London to apprehend the late Henry VIII’s daughter, Mary, members of the new Queen Jane's council were meeting with the imperial ambassadors.
 
What was the meeting about? What was the news from East Anglia? And why were councillors beginning to feel uneasy?
 
Find out what was going on 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/3anPO7y1M24
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 13th July 1626, Tudor poet and courtier, Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, brother of Sir Philip Sidney, died at Penshurst Place, the family seat in Kent. Sir Philip Sidney is known as one of the great poet and scholars of the Tudor age, but his brother, Robert, was also a talented poet. Find out more, including how historians discovered his work, in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/3mb_HSVgM_I 

July 12 - Men flock to Mary's cause and Jane makes a mistake

On this day in Tudor history, 12th July 1553, Mary (future Mary I) moved from Kenninghall to Framlingham and set about rallying support. Sir Thomas Cornwallis was able to intercept her on her journey and pledge his loyalty to her. He wasn't the only one flocking to her cause.
 
Meanwhile, back in London, the new queen, Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey), made a serious mistake by refusing to send her father to go and apprehend Mary. 
 
Why was this a mistake? Find out what was going on back in 1553 in this talk from historian Claire Ridgway. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:
https://youtu.be/FR03kIuoBHU
 
Also on this day in Tudor history, 12th July 1543, King Henry VIII got married for the sixth and final time. The fifty-two-year-old king married thirty-one-year-old Catherine Parr, Lady Latimer, in the Queen’s Closet of the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. Hear a contemporary account of the wedding service and find out who attended it in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/3ZX9HMVMzcg