Curated category
People executed under the Tudors for treason against England
- Anne BoleynAnne Boleyn went to the scaffold on the 19th of May 1536 wearing a red petticoat beneath a loose grey gown of damask trimmed in fur, and she laughed.
- Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of NorthumberlandThomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland, stood on a scaffold in York on the 22nd of August 1572 and refused to save his own life.
- John Dudley, 1st Duke of NorthumberlandJohn Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, died on the 22nd of August 1553 with a curious phrase on his lips: "I have deserved a thousand deaths." He had just…
- Catherine HowardCatherine Howard was Queen of England for barely sixteen months, and she was probably still a teenager when the axe fell on the 13th of February 1542.
- Mary, Queen of ScotsMary, Queen of Scots was six days old when she became queen. Her father, King James V of Scotland, died on the 14th of December 1542 before he ever truly…
- Lady Jane GreyJane Grey sat in the presence of her father or mother, speaking, keeping silence, sitting, standing, going, eating, drinking, merrily or sadly.
- Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of EssexRobert Devereux entered the world on the 10th of November 1565 at Netherwood in Herefordshire. He was the eldest son of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex…
- Thomas Wyatt the YoungerThomas Wyatt the Younger was born on the 10th of September 1521 into a family already famous for shaping English culture.
- Henry Norris (courtier)Henry Norris arrived into a world fractured by the Wars of the Roses. His grandfather Sir William Norris fought at the Battle of Stoke Field on the 16th of…
- Thomas MoreThomas More climbed the scaffold at Tower Hill on the 6th of July 1535 and, finding the structure so rickety it might collapse, told the waiting official: "I…
- Nicholas Carew (courtier)Nicholas Carew entered the household of the future King Henry VIII at six years old. He shared his education with the boy who would become England's most…
- Thomas CromwellThomas Cromwell was a blacksmith's son from Putney who died on Tower Hill with his head set on a spike above London Bridge.
- William Brereton (courtier)William Brereton, born around 1487 or perhaps as late as 1501, emerged from a prominent Cheshire family. His father was Sir Randle Brereton of Ipstones…
- Edmund DudleyEdmund Dudley died on Tower Hill on the 17th of August 1510, executed by the very dynasty he had spent his career enriching.
- Richard EmpsonRichard Empson died on the 17th of August 1510 with an axe, not a trial verdict, as the final word on his career. A lawyer who rose from Northamptonshire…
- Mark SmeatonMark Smeaton stood in the round window of Queen Anne's chamber at Winchester on a Saturday before May Day. He was around 23 years old when he died, yet his…
- John FisherJohn Fisher entered the world around the 19th of October 1469 in Beverley, Yorkshire. His father Robert worked as a prosperous mercer who died in 1477 when…