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