Mary I turns back the clock decades - The Tudor Society

On this day in Tudor history, 12th November 1555, with the passing of the Second Statute of Repeal, Queen Mary I turned back the religious clock decades. This Parliamentary act abolished every piece of legislation that had been passed against the Papacy since 1529, restoring papal authority and reuniting England with the Catholic Church of Rome once more. One thing it didn't change, though, was the English monarchs status as supreme head of the Church in England. And what about the land and property granted or sold to nobles from the dissolution of the monasteries? What did Mary I do about that? Let me tell you...

The Sad Life of Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon - The Tudor Society

On this day in Tudor history, 3rd September 1553, Edward Courtenay was created Earl of Devon by Queen Mary I. He hadn't long been released from the Tower of London, having spent 15 years there, losing his father, the Marquess of Exeter to the executioner's block. In this video, I trace the extraordinary (and rather sad) life of Edward Courtenay.

A Groom of the Stool and Tudor Survivor You've Never Heard of - Sir Thomas Heneage - The Tudor Society

On this day in Tudor history, 21st August 1553, Sir Thomas Heneage died a natural death just days after he'd congratulated a victorious Queen Mary I. He was quite the survivor. He began his career in the household of Cardinal Wolsey, but then transferred to King Henry VIII's privy chamber, surviving his former master's fall and rising to the position of groom of the stool. Then, despite his Catholic faith, he served in Edward VI's privy chamber, and rode to Ipswich during the succession crisis of 1553 to congratulate Mary when it became clear she was victorious against Queen Jane. Survival at the Tudor court wasn't about luck, it was about timing, tact, and knowing when to step forward... and when to step back...

Philip of Spain's Magnificent Journey to England - The Tudor Society

On this day in Tudor history, 20th July 1554, Prince Philip of Spain landed on English soil to marry Queen Mary I, having left Valladolid on 14th May. He did not travel light. 1000s of soldiers and men sailed with him, including a dancing master - yes, he had his priorities right - and his journey had been marked by processions, fireworks and artillery salutes. Let me take you behind the scenes of one of the most politically charged royal arrivals in English history.

Bartholomew Green - A Protestant Martyr - The Tudor Society

On this day in 1556, Bartholomew Green, a Protestant lawyer, paid the ultimate price for his beliefs: death. Burned at the stake at Smithfield alongside six others, Green’s story is one of unshakable faith, defiance, and courage in the face of persecution. But how did this Oxford-educated lawyer end up on the wrong side of Queen Mary I’s laws? What role did secret communions, controversial letters, and his refusal to attend Catholic mass play in his downfall? Bartholomew Green, or Bartlet Green as he’s sometimes known, was a gentleman and lawyer who found his faith while studying at Oxford. It was there, while listening to lectures by the Protestant theologian Peter Martyr, that Green, as martyrologist John Foxe describes, “saw the true light of God’s gospel.”

Eustace Chapuys - diplomat, protector, and Mary I’s unsung hero - The Tudor Society

On this day in Tudor history, 21st January 1556, former imperial ambassador, Eustace Chapuys, died in Louvain (Leuven) in Belgium, the place he had retired to in 1549. He was laid to rest in the chapel of Louvain College, the college he had founded following his retirement. Chapuys, who was born between 1490 and 1492 and was the second son of Louis Chapuys, a notary of Annecy, in the duchy of Savoy, joined the imperial service in 1527. Two years later, in September 1529, he arrived in England to act as advisor to the emperor’s aunt, Catherine of Aragon, in the negotiations regarding the annulment of her marriage to Henry VIII. He was her link to the emperor and to Rome. He became Catherine’s champion, preparing Catherine’s formal protest when Cranmer summoned her to his special court in 1533, a court that ruled her marriage to the king invalid, and in 1534 he acted for Catherine’s daughter, Mary, when he drew up her protest against the Act of Succession. He wasn’t only their staunch supporter and go-between, he became their friend, and I’d go as far as to say that he became a father figure to Mary.

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The Knight Letter – Lewis Carroll Society of North America