Important Tudor Dates

Important Tudor Dates

January

6^th– 1540 Cranmer marries Henry VIII to Anne of Cleves

7^th– 1536 Catherine of Aragon dies

13th – 1547 Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey is sentenced to death.

15^th–  1559 Elizabeth I crowned Queen

16th- 1501 Birth of Sir Anthony Denny. Sir Anthony was a powerful confidante of Henry VIII, served as Groom of the Stool and attended Henry on his deathbed. It was Denny that told the king to prepare himself for his coming death- brave man!

16^th– 1549 Thomas Seymour’s arrest ordered

18th- 1486  Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, joining the houses of Lancaster and York.

19th – 1547 Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, was executed on Tower Hill. He was the eldest son of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and a first cousin of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.

22nd – 1552 Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, executed on Tower Hill and buried in St. Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London.

24th – 1536 Henry VIII’s horse falls heavily in the tiltyard, knocking Henry unconscious.

25^th– 1533 Anne Boleyn marries Henry VIII

28^th -1457 Henry VII born

28^th– 1547 Henry VIII dies. Edward VI ascends to the throne

29^th– 1536 Anne Boleyn miscarries

February

1st- Elizabeth I signs a warrant for the execution of her cousin and rival, Mary Queen of Scots.

7^th– 1478 Sir Thomas More born

8^th– 1587 Mary Queen of Scots is executed

11th- 1466 Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII and mother of Henry VIII, is born.

1503 On this same day Elizabeth of York died after succumbing to a post-partum infection. She was 37 years old.

12^th – 1554 Lady Jane Grey is executed

13^th– 1542 Catherine Howard and Jane Boleyn (Lady Rochford) are executed (Read about Catherine Howard’s execution here).

16th – 1547 Henry VIII was buried in St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, next to his third wife, Jane Seymour. This was intended to be temporary, while a grand monument was completed. However, Henry’s plans for a magnificent renaissance tomb were never completed and the king’s resting place was not permanently marked until the 19th century.

18^th– 1516 Mary I born

20^th – 1547 Edward VI crowned at Westminster

March

12th – 1539 Thomas Boleyn died. He is buried in St. Peter’s Church, Hever

13th – 1533 George Boleyn, now Viscount Rochford, travelled ‘post-haste’ to the French Court to inform Francis I that Henry VIII had married Anne Boleyn. George was instructed to ask Francis to keep the marriage secret for a while.

16th – 1485 Anne Neville, wife of Kind Richard III, died at the Palace of Westminster.

18th – 1496 Mary Tudor, fifth child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, is born at Richmond Palace.

20^th– 1549 Sir Thomas Seymour executed

21st – 1534 Queen Anne Boleyn was granted ‘certain lands and rents, the same as enjoyed by the princess Katharine, late wife of Arthur prince of Wales, the King’s brother.’

21^st– 1556 Thomas Cranmer burnt at the stake

24^th– 1603 Elizabeth I dies. James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England

30th- 1533 Cranmer is consecrated as archbishop in St Stephen’s Chapel

April

2^nd 1502 – Arthur, Prince of Wales, dies

9th 1533 – Katherine of Aragon was formally notified that Henry VIII had married Anne Boleyn and that she should now refrain from calling herself queen

10th 1533 – Chapuys was granted an audience with the King and had a long discussion with him, ‘to whom he represented the injustice done to the queen.’ (Read more here)

12^th 1533- Anne Boleyn declared Queen publicly

17th 1534- Thomas More imprisoned in the Tower of London for refusing to take the oath of succession

18th- 1536, Imperial ambassador Eustace Chapuys bows to Anne Boleyn for the first time, acknowledging her as Henry’s Queen.

21st 1509- King Henry VII, the first monarch of the house of Tudor, died at Richmond Palace. He was succeeded by his second son, Henry VIII.

23rd 1536 – On this day the annual meeting of the Order of the Garter took place at Greenwich attended by the King and many Lords. It was expected that George Boleyn would be preferred but instead Henry chose Sir Nicholas Carew – an ominous sign.

24th 1536 – Sir Thomas Audley, the Lord Chancellor,  appointed two special commissions of oyer & terminer to investigate offences committed in Middlesex & Kent.

28^th 1603- Elizabeth I buried at Westminster

29th 1536 – On the 29th of April or early in the hours of April 30 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn was heard arguing with Sir Henry Norris, Henry VIII’s groom of the stool. Anne Boleyn ‘had made personal accusations about Norris’s feelings for her and had been too angry to notice an audience.’ Anne questioned Norris about why he was postponing his proposed marriage to her cousin, Margaret Shelton and even went as far as saying, ‘You look for dead men’s shoes; for if ought came to the king but good you would look to have me.’ A horrified Norris responded that if he ever entertained such thoughts, ‘he would his head cut off.’ In what can only be described as a moment of madness, Anne Boleyn had crossed all the boundaries of courtly love and given her enemies cause to celebrate.

30th 1536- Cromwell and his colleagues laid further evidence of the ‘Queen’s immorality’ before the King, alleging that Anne Boleyn had seduced several members of the Privy Chamber including her own brother and Mark Smeaton. Henry VIII sanctioned the arrest of Mark Smeaton and summoned the Council to debate the evidence against the Queen and her alleged accomplices. ‘The Queen, meanwhile, took her pleasure unconscious of the discovery, watching dogs and animals that day fight in [Greenwich] Park’.

Mark Smeaton is arrested and taken to Cromwell’s house in Stepney for questioning…

May

1 1536 – On this day in 1536, the May Day tournament at Greenwich is interrupted by the King’s sudden departure prompted by a message he was given. What did the message reveal? It is likely to have informed the King that Smeaton had confessed to adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn and incriminated Rochford, Norris & Brereton. Norris and Rochford were later arrested and Brereton detained for questioning. Queen Anne Boleyn enjoyed her last night of freedom…

2nd 1536- Queen Anne Boleyn is arrested and taken to the Tower. This was a busy day for the Tower officials, as Anne was not the only new prisoner – Mark Smeaton, Sir Henry Norris and George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford were also committed to the Tower.

4th 1536 – Sir Francis Weston and Sir William Brereton are arrested and incarcerated in the Tower.

5th 1536 – Thomas Wyatt, a privy councillor, diplomat and celebrated poet, and Sir Richard Page, a former secretary to Cardinal Wolsey, were arrested and imprisoned in the Tower. They joined the five other men already incarcerated there and accused of committing adultery with Queen Anne Boleyn. These were the final arrests made and of all the men, Wyatt and Page were the only ones that lived to tell their tale. It is possible that Wyatt was held in the Bell Tower from where he probably witnessed the terrible end of Rochford, Weston, Brereton, Norris and Smeaton. From his cell he penned a poem reflecting on the fate of those who rose high at court and experienced a reversal of fortune. Read it here.

6th 1536 – From my doleful prison in the Tower: In the British Library there exists a letter alleged to have been written by Anne Boleyn to Henry VIII from the Tower of London on the 6th of May, 1536 and discovered amongst Cromwell’s belongings after his execution. Read more here.

15th 1536 – On this day in 1536, Queen Anne Boleyn and her brother, George, were tried in the King’s Hall in the Tower of London. Anne was tried first and pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charges laid against her. She was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to death. The Duke of Norfolk, Anne’s  uncle, pronounced the sentence: ‘that thou shalt be burned here within the Tower of London, on the Green, else to have thy head smitten off, as the king’s pleasure shall be further known of the same.’ George Boleyn soon followed his sister to the bar of the court, he too pleaded ‘not guilty’ and defended himself eloquently. He too was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to death.

16^th 1532- Thomas More resigns as Chancellor of England

17^th 1536- Anne’s brother, George Boleyn, is executed. Henry Norris, Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton also suffer the same fate.

19^th 1536- Anne Boleyn is executed on Tower Green

20^th 1536- Henry VIII betrothed to Jane Seymour

23^rd 1533- Cranmer’s court divorces Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon

25th 1553- Lady Jane Grey marries Guildford Dudley

27^th 1541- Countess of Salisbury executed

28^th 1533- Cranmer proclaims Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn married

30^th 1536- Henry marries Jane Seymour

31st 1443 – Birth of Margaret Beaufort at Bletsoe Castle in Bedfordshire. Mother of Henry VII.

31st 1495 – Death of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, mother of Edward IV and Richard III

31st 1533 – Anne Boleyn’s coronation processions makes its way from the Tower of London to Westminster

June

1^st 1533- Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England

7th 1520 – The Field of Cloth of Gold is the name given to a place between Guines and Ardres in France, near Calais. This was the site of the historic meeting between King Henry VIII and Francis I that commenced on this day in 1520.

8^th 1533- Parliament ends Papal authority in England

10th 1540- Thomas Cromwell was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Henry would eventually regret this decision and lay the blame on his ministers.

11^th 1509- Catherine of Aragon marries Henry VIII

22^nd 1535- Bishop John Fisher executed

24^th 1509- Catherine of Aragon is crowned Queen

1532 – Birth of Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester and favourite of Elizabeth I.

28^th 1491- Henry VIII born

July

1^st 1536- Elizabeth and Mary declared illegitimate by parliament

2^nd 1489- Thomas Cranmer born

6^th 1535- Sir Thomas More executed

6^th 1553- Edward VI dies

9^th 1540- Henry VIII marriage to Anne of Cleves is dissolved

1575 – Elizabeth I arrives at Kenilworth Castle, the home of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, where the Queen and her entourage stayed for 19 days!

10^th 1553- Lady Jane Grey proclaimed Queen

11^th1533- Pope Clement VII declares Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Argaon and marriage with Anne Boleyn null. He also pronounces ‘the King to have incurred the greater excommunication, but suspending the declaration of the same till the end of September.’.

12^th 1543 – Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr

19th 1543 – Mary Boleyn dies, leaving her 18 year old son, Henry Carey, to enjoy the Butler inheritance that took her three long years to secure. The cause of death is unknown, as is her final resting place, but it has been suggested that she may have been buried in St Andrew’s Church at Rochford, built by her grandfather on the site of an earlier church.

19th 1545 – The Mary Rose sank in the Solent, defending Portsmouth from French Invasion. Of her 500 crew, only 30 survived.

19^th 1553- Mary Tudor proclaimed Queen

25^th 1554- Queen Mary marries Phillip of Spain

28^th 1540- Henry VIII marries Catherine Howard

28^th 1540- Thomas Cromwell executed

August

3^rd 1553- Queen Mary enters London with Elizabeth

4th 1598 – William Cecil, Lord Burghley, died at his London residence, Cecil House.

6th 1504 – Birth of Matthew Parker, chaplain to Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I’s Archbishop of Canterbury.

6th 1514 – Margaret Tudor, widow of King James IV of Scotland, married Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus.

8^th 1553- King Edward buried at Westminster

17th 1473 – Richard, Duke of York was born at Shrewsbury. He was the second son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville

22^nd 1485- Battle of Bosworth Field; Richard III dies, Henry VII becomes king

Charles Brandon’s father, Sir William Brandon, was the standard-bearer of Henry Tudor and was slain by Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field.

22nd 1545-  Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, died of unknown causes at Guildford. He is buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

26th 1533 – After a relatively trouble-free pregnancy, Anne Boleyn took to her chambers at Greenwich to do what the royal physicians and astrologers had already predicted as certainty, give birth to a son and heir to the Tudor Throne. Read more here.

September

1^st 1532- Anne Boleyn made Marquess of Pembroke

4^th 1539- Henry VIII betrothed to Anne of Cleves

4^th 1588- Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, dies

5th 1548 – Death of Katherine Parr

7^th 1533- Anne Boleyn gives birth to Elizabeth

10^th 1533- Elizabeth is baptised at Greenwich

13^th 1521- William Cecil, Lord Burghley, born

16th 1537 – Jane Seymour retired to her rooms on the second floor at Hampton Court, for her ‘lying in’.

19^th 1486- Arthur, Prince of Wales, born

21st 1578 – Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester married Lettice Knollys, a cousin of Elizabeth I, without consulting or informing the Queen.

22^nd 1515- Anne of Cleves born

27^th 1501- Catherine of Aragon arrives in England

29^th 1528- Cardinal Campeggio arrives in England to try Henry VIII annulment case

October

1st 1553- Mary I crowned Queen at Westminster Abbey

2^nd 1452- Richard III born

9th 1514- An eighteen year old Mary Tudor married 52-year-old King Louis XII of France at Abbeville.

9th 1547 – Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish novelist, poet and playright, born.

11^th 1542- Sir Thomas Wyatt, poet, dies

11th 1551- Edward Seymour, first Duke of Somerset, is arrested.

12^th 1537- Edward VI born

15^th 1537- Edward VI christened

16th 1555 – Bishops Ridley and Latimer burnt at the stake

18^th 1541- Margaret Tudor dies

24^th 1537- Jane Seymour dies

25^th 1529- Thomas More becomes Chancellor of England

25th 1586 – Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was found guilty of treason, due to her involvement in the Babington Plot.

30th 1485- Henry VII’s coronation in Westminster Abbey

November

4th 1501 – Arthur Tudor and Catherine of Aragon meet for the first time at Dogmersfield in Hampshire.

14^th 1501- Catherine of Aragon marries Arthur, Prince of Wales

17th 1558- On this day in 1558 Mary I of England died aged 42 at St. James’ Palace, Elizabeth acceded the throne of England, proclaimed queen only six hours after Mary’s death in one of the most seamless transitions of power since Henry VI’s accession in 1422.

Cardinal Pole dies at Lambeth Palace

26th 1504 – Isabella I of Castile, Katherine of Aragon’s mother, dies in Medina del Campo aged 53

28^th 1489- Margaret Tudor born

29th 1530 – Death of Cardinal Wolsey at Leicester Abbey

December

8^th 1542- Mary, Queen of Scots, is born

14^th 1558- Mary I buried at Westminster

15^th 1485- Catherine of Aragon is born

21st 1549 – Marguerite de Navarre (also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre) died aged 57. Find out more about her connection to Anne Boleyn here.

30th 1460 – Richard Plantagenêt, 3rd Duke of York is killed in the Battle of Wakefield. It is said that after his death his head was put on a pike by the victorious Lancastrian armies and displayed over Micklegate Bar at York, wearing a paper crown. Richard was the father of Edward IV and Richard III.