June Overview

As a new month is about to begin, we have brushed off our cobwebs seeing as we have been a bit quiet on here recently. What with things slowly returning to normal and another year of university over time just escaped us. But between now and October we plan to fill this with as much history as possible.

1st

1533 Anne Boleyn is proclaimed Queen Consort of England

Anne was the second wife of Henry VIII and was the last one to receive a proper coronation. Henry had been after Anne for the last six years, so when he finally got what he wanted he wanted to shower her with affection and to show her off as best he could. Anne and Henry had secretly been married in November 1532 after they returned from France, not long after Anne fell pregnant with what would be the future Elizabeth I. To help legalise the marriage, they married two months later in a small private ceremony.

On the 1st June a magnificant ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey which was then followed by a banquet. Anne was the last Queen to be crowned seperate from her husband and unlike most Queen Consorts the St Edwards Crown was used. By now Anne's pregnancy was starting to show and rumors started to fly that it was the male heir that Henry wanted. The day before Anne went on procession through the streets of London. She was sat on a litter of "White cloth of gold" while the barons of Cinque Ports help a canopy of cloth of gold over her head. Anne worn white, which was the tradition and a top her head was a gold coronet with her dark hair flowing free. Henry had the Queen's apartment's at the Tower of London redecorated just for Anne to stay in the night before the ceremony, which was also the traditions for monarchs. 

1927 Suspected axe murderer Lizzie Borden dies

1926 Blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe is born

2nd

1692 Bridget Bishop is the first women put on trial during the Salem Witch Trials

1953 The Coronation of Elizabeth II is televised in TV 

2017 Peter Sallis the voice of Wallace from "Wallace and Gromit"passed away

3rd

1083 Henry IV of Germany storms Rome, capturing St Peter's Cathedral

1098 After 5-month siege during the First Crusade, the Crusaders seize Antioch

1326 Treaty of Novgorod delineates borders between Russia and Norway in Finnmark

4th

1536 Jane Seymour is proclaimed Queen of England, 5 days after she marries Henry VIII

Everyone knew that Henry had is eye on Jane ever since his marriage to Anne was starting to fall apart. The day after Anne's execution Jane and Henry were betrothed. Ten days later they were married at the Palace og Whitehall. As part of his weddig gift to her, he granted her 104 manors that were in four different counties, he also gave her a number of forests and hunting chases that would help give her an income and support her while they were married. Jane was publicly proclaimed Queen, she never recieved a proper coronation due to the fact that the plague was in London. Henry may have also been reluctant to give her a coronation until after she had given him an male heir.

1561 The steeple of St Paul's is destroyed by fire from lightning

1913 Emily Davidson throws herself in front of a horse

5th

754 Friezen robbers murder Bishop Boniface (later Saint) and over 50 companions near Dokkum

1341 Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, son of Edward III of England, born in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, England (d. 1402)

6th

1868 Robert Scott the explorer is born

1968 Robert 'Bobbie' Kennedy JR is shot and killed

7th

1329 Robert The Bruce dies

1954 Alan Turing, who broke The Enigma Code, dies

2015 Christopher Lee passes away

8th

793 Vikings raid Lindisfarne, the start of Norse activity in England

1492 Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward VI, dies

9th

1672 Peter the Great, Russian Emperor is born

1961 Michael J Fox is born

10th

1692 Bridget Bishop is hung, the first women part of the Salem Witch Trials

Bridget was put on tiral a few days before and was found guilty of being a witch and was then sentanced to death by hanging. Between 8am and 12pm, Sheriff George Corwin took Bridget from the prison in Salem to be hung, there was no official hanging spot in Salem as Boston normally dealt with capital crimes. A spot of communal land was choosen on the edge of town. She was transported in a cart that was flanked by guards along with guards on the cart with her, it passed the jail and on to the Main Street. A crowd soon gathered as the cart passed and followed to the execution site along with some of the suposed effected children. 

Either a temporary structure was put in place or one of the trees that grew there served as the gallows. With the noose around her neck, her hands fastened behind her back and her legs tired close together she claimed her innocence to the very end. She was blondfolded and then placed half-way up a ladder. Bridget was either pushed off the ladder or it was kicked away so that her body would drop allowing for her neck to break quickly. Bridget's body was buried near by, but to this day it's not really known were she and the rest of those who were hung are buried. 

A feature post on the Salem Witch Trials will be posted later this month. 

1922 Judy Garland is born

11th

1509 Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon are married 

1560 Mary of Guise, mother of Mary Queen of Scots, dies

12th

918 Æthelflæd, daughter of Alfred the Great dies

1381 The Peasants Revolt assemble at Blackheath

13th

1525 Martin Luther marries Katharina Von Bora, which was against the celibacy rule for Roman Catholic Priests

14th

1404 Owain Glyndŵr declairs himself Prince of Wales

1928  Emmeline Pankhurst, organizer of the Suffraget movement dies

Emmeline had been campainging for most of her life and when her health started to decline she still carried on as best she could. Her health problems were down to the years of touring, lectures and the hunger strikes. There was also the scandal that her daughter had given birth out of wedlock and named the baby in memory of her father. All of this led to many reports in the newspaper and led Emmeline to devastation and led her to spend the day crying and her campaigning to end. As her health declined, she moved into a nursing home in Hampstead. She asked that she be treated by the same Dr who attended her while she was in prison on hunger strikes. He used a smoach pump that helped her feel better, everyone around her was in shock that the treatment would wound her severely. But before he could carry out the procedure Emmeline fell into a critical condition that nobody expected her to recover from. News of her death soon traveled and her funeral took place 4 days later at Brompton Cemetery in London. 

15th

1215 King John puts his royal seal to the Magna Carta

1381 Rebel leader Wat Tyler was killed during negotiations

1648 Margaret Jones is hung in Boston on charges of Witchcraft

16th

1487 Battle of Stoke Field takes place

1586 Mary, Queen of Scots recognises Philip II of Spain as her successor

17th

1239 Edward I, King of England (1272-1307) who subdued Wales, warred against Scotland and expelled Jews from England, born in London

1462 Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat from Wallachia

18th

860 Rus Vikings attack Constantinople

1541 Irish parliament selects Henry VIII of England as King of Ireland

1815 Battle of Waterloo; Napoleon and France defeated by British forces under Wellington and Prussian troops under Blucher

19th

1566 King James I of England and VI of Scotland is born

1584 Francis, Duke of Anjou dies

Hercule Francois de France was the youngest son of Catherine de' Medici and Henry II of France, he was born on the 18 March 1555. When his eldest brother Francis passed away, he changed his name to Francis in memory of him. When his brother Charles died in 1574, it meant that he was now heir to the French throne and 2 years later he was made Duke of Anjou, Tourine and Berry. Francis was also one of the men that Queen Elizabeth I was thinking of marrying at one point. He even came over to England to meet her and to help get wheels in motion for the marriage. Francis led an attack on Antwerp which led to many people being killed, it led to his mother not being happy with him and Elizabeth ending her engagement with him. In Febuary of 1584 he fell seriously ill with malaria and his mother, Catherine de' Medici to have him brought back to Paris. Four months later he had died, he was only 29. Because of his death it meant that Huguenot Henry of Navarre became the next heir and led to the esculation in the French Wars of Religion. He was buried on the 27th June at the Bascilica of St Denis 

20th

1837 Queen Victoria accends to the throne of England

21st

1529 Queen Catherine Of England (Catherine of Aragon) speaks against her marriage's annulment at the Blackfriars Legatine Court

22nd

1477 Thomas Grey 2nd Marquess of Dorset, Grandfather to Lady Jane Grey, is born

23rd

1532 Henry VIII and Francis I sign "The Treaty of Closer Amity with France"

24th

1509 Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon are crowned King and Queen of England

Catherine had been married to Henry twelve days before in a private ceremony at Greenwich Palace. Catherine had already been married to Henry's older brother Arthur, but due to him dying from what was believed to be the sweating sickness. Henry was proclaimed King just five months before and as soon as his father Henry VII had died he made his move to marry Arthur's widow. On the day before the ceremony a procession took place. They spent the night at The Tower of London. The following day they were both anointed and crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Westminster Abbey. A banquet was then held at Westminster Hall. New Knights of the Bath were also created in honour of the new King and Queen. 

1916 Mary Pickford, the silent movie star, signed the first million-doller contract

25th

1533 Mary Tudor, Queen of France and sister to Henry VIII dies

26th

1483 Richard III becomes King of England 

27th

992 Battle of Conquereuil won by the Count of Anjou, Fulk the Black, defeating Conan I, Count of Brittany, in western France

1709 Peter the Great of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava, Charles goes into exile

1743 War of the Austrian Succession: Battle of Dettingen: in Bavaria, King George II of Britain personally leads troops into battle. The last time a British monarch commanded troops in the field.

1746 Flora MacDonald helps Bonnie Prince Charlie, disguised as Betty Burke an Irish maid, evade capture by landing him on the Isle of Skye

28th

1461 Edward VI is crowned King of England

1491 Future King Henry VIII is born to Henry VII and Elizabeth of York

Henry was the second son of Henry VIII and Elizabeth of York. Knowing he had an older brother, Henry was seen as the spare heir and was meant to have a life in the Church while his brother would become king. Henry was born at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich. Henry was baptised at the church of the Observant Franciscans by Bishop of Exeter, Richard Fox. 

At the age of 2 he was appointed Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. When he turned 3 he was then appointed Earl Marshal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Not long after that he was then made a Knight of Bath. The following day he was named Duke of York then the following month he was made Warden of the Scottish Marches. Just before he turned 4 he was appointed to the Order of the Garter. This was done so that his father Henry VII had more control of certain positions within England. Not much is known about Henry's younger life, but it is known that he received the best education and became fluent in Latin and French. Henry was also a mummy's boy and loved his mother. 

1838 The coronation of Queen Victoria takes place

29th

1613 The Globe Theater burns down after a canon explosion

The Globe Theatre is known as William Shakespeares theatre as he put on many of his plays within the theater. It was built in 1599 from timber from The Theatre that had been built in Shoreditch in 1576 by James Burbage. During a performance of Shakespeares production of Henry VIII the theatre caught fire. A theatrical cannon that was being used during the performance was set off, it misfired and set light to the many wooden beams that made up the theatre along with the thatched roof. Eyewitnesses from event survive and state that only one man was injured. His Breeches were on fire, but were put out with a bottle of ale. The theatre was rebuild the following year. 

30th

888 Æthelred, Archbishop of Cantebury dies