Today in 1619 Anne of Denmark died. She was Queen of England, married to James I, and when she came to England she immediately began supporting artists and culture. She is remembered for supporting Inigo Jones, and the Banqueting Hall at Whitehall Palace.
Interestingly, it was her voyage from Denmark that inadvertently led to one of the biggest witch hunts in history, as she faced a terrible storm, and James was convinced that it had been caused by witches. He instigated a large hunt for witches, which led to many women being killed, and suspicion and arrests throughout Scotland.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th-century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com where there is an episode on Anne of Denmark, as well as one on James and Witchcraft.
Suggested links:
Episode 059: Tudor Times on Anne of Denmark
James I and Witchcraft
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.