August 20 - A proxy wedding for King James VI in Denmark

On this day in Tudor history, 20th August 1589, twenty-three-year-old King James VI of Scotland married fourteen-year-old Anne of Denmark by proxy at Kronborg Castle, Helsingør, Denmark.

 

James had chosen Anne of Denmark as his bride after praying and meditating over portraits of her and Catherine of Navarre, and Anne was very excited about marrying him. Unfortunately, married bliss didn't last long.

 

Find out more about the proxy wedding, Anne's eventful voyage, their real wedding and their married life, 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/EwyDv-9mtDY

 

Also on this day in Tudor history, 20th August 1588, there was a thanksgiving service at St Paul's to thank God for his divine intervention when England defeated the Spanish Armada. It was thought that God had sent his Protestant Wind to save England from Catholic Spain. Find out more in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/wwCKaBRmA_4