The Tudor Fair Blog
Tudor Minute January 16: Philip II becomes the King of Spain
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for January 16. Today in 1556 Philip II became the King of Spain when his father, Charles V, abdicated. The relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Phillip started out rocky but cordial – with Philip…
January 15: The Coronation of Elizabeth I
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for January 15. Today is the anniversary of the coronation of Elizabeth I. The daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, she was the longest reigning child of Henry VIII, ruling for 44 years.…
Episode 116: Clocks and Timekeeping
From Historic Royal Palaces: King Henry VIII ordered this astronomical clock for the decoration of Hampton Court Palace in around 1540 – right after Cardinal Wolsey had fallen from power and Henry VIII began to rebuild his newly-acquired palace. Within the clock there are three bells of which the oldest…
Tudor Minute January 14: A Coronation and a Love Story
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for January 14. Today in 1559 Elizabeth I left the Tower for Westminster where she would be crowned Queen in a litter covered with cloth of gold. An apocryphal story is that as she…
Tudor Minute January 11: Get Your Lottery Ticket
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for January 11. Today in 1569 the very first English lottery was drawn at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Elizabeth’s bank account was running dry, and she could have either raised taxes, or held…
January 10: Happy Birthday Margaret of Austria
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for January 10. Today is the birthday of Margaret of Austria, born in 1480. She was the second child and only daughter of Maximilian of Austria and Mary of Burgundy, co-sovereigns of the Low…
Tudor Minute January 9: Columbus Meets Mermaids
Today in 1493 Christopher Columbus, sailing near the Dominican Republic, saw three mermaids, and said they were “not half as beautiful as they are painted.” Of course they weren’t mermaids, but manatees, also known as sea cows. Mermaids, mythical creatures that are half-female, half-fish, have been known in seafaring cultures…
Tudor Minute January 4: Columbus sails for home
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for January 4. Today in 1493 Christopher Columbus left the new islands he had stumbled upon in the Caribbean to return back to Spain. He had left Spain in August 1492 attempting to find…
Tudor Minute: Luther excommunicated
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for January 3. Today in 1521 Pope Leo X issued the Papal Bull that excommunicated Martin Luther from the Catholic Church. It had been over three years since Luther first published his 95 Theses,…
Tudor Minute January 2: The Alhambra Falls
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for January 2. Today in 1492 the citadel of the Alhambra, and Granada, fell to Spanish troops under the command of King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile. The Moors had been…
Tudor Minute January 1: Henry gets a Son
Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for January 1. Today in 1511 Katherine of Aragon gave birth to a son, Henry, Duke of Cornwall. It had been less than two years since Katherine and Henry VIII had been married, and…
Tudor Minute December 28: Feast of the Holy Innocents
To start with, today’s 12 Days of Christmas special at TudorFair.com is: 35% off the Treasures from Bess Tudor Treat Subscription Boxes when you pay for a year! Learn more at: https://tudorfair.com/collections/frontpage/products/treasures-from-bess-monthly-delivery-of-tudor-treats Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for December 28.…