PERSON OF THE MONTH
Arbella Stuart

Lady Arbella Stuart was a potential successor to Elizabeth I, but her life was one of frustration and sorrow.

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  • On This Day 29th March 1461

    29th March 1461 was the date of the Battle of Towton. It was Palm Sunday, yet, despite the custom of the time not to fight on a holy day, the battle was joined. It is reputed to be the bloodiest battle ever fought in England, taking place in driving wind and snow. The Lancastrian forces bore the brunt of the weather, the wind blowing straight into them, blinding them with sleet and carrying the Yorkist arrows further than the usual range. Edward of York won the battle and was crowned Edward IV the following June, whilst the Lancastrians fled into exile. More on the Wars of the Roses here

  • On This Day 28th March 1624

    28th March 1624 was the date of death of Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset. He was young, only 35, but it is unlikely that he was much mourned by his widow, Lady Anne Clifford. Lady Anne, heiress of the Earl of Cumberland, fought a bitter battle to inherit her father’s barony, which was heritable by women and as much of his lands as were not entailed to the earldom. She and Dorset had been married in around 1611, and were based at his family home of Knole, Kent. Rather than supporting his wife, Dorset gambled, philandered and, in a final insult, compromised Lady Anne’s legal claims for cash to pay his gambling debts. He was survived only by daughters, so his earldom, which was entailed on heirs male, passed to his brother. Lady Anne went on to marry the Earl of Pembroke, and lived well into the reign of Charles II.

  • On This Day 27th March 1625

    27th March 1625 saw the death of James VI of Scots and I of England at Theobalds House. He was the first King of Great Britain, claiming the English throne as the great-great grandson of Henry VII. Called the ‘Wisest Fool in Christendom’, apparently by Henri IV of France, to indicate that James was well educated but not necessarily possessed of common sense. This opinion of James has persisted for centuries, but of late there has been a reassessment of his character.

    He was certainly a survivor – crowned King of Scots in opposition to his mother at the age of two, he survived several assassination attempts, the most notorious being the Gun Powder Plot of 1605, and he died in his bed. His achievements were considerable – peaceful unification of the crowns (although not the states) of Scotland and England, cessation of war with Spain whilst maintaining alliances with the Protestant states of the Empire, the commissioning of King James’ Authorised Version of the Bible, still dear to Anglican hearts, and an adult male heir. Like many people of his time, James was obsessed with witchcraft. Read more about that in this article by Tracy Borman, first published on Tudor Times in 2015.

    Picture of James VI & I by Critz around 1606


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