Today in 1500 is the traditional date given for the birth of Cardinal Reginald Pole, who was Mary I’s archbishop, but is also remembered because he was a thorn in Henry VIII’s side through most of the 1530’s, and contributed to the downfall of Cromwell. This is because he wrote a paper against Henry VIII leaving Katherine of Aragon, and then engaged in some pretty treasonous activity including plotting to have Henry overthrown, all from the safety of Rome. Which was particularly galling because he was one of the final Plantagenets, and his mother, who was the niece of Edward IV, suffered the brunt of the consequences, along with the rest of his family in England. His mother was executed when she was in her 70’s, one of the most shameful of Henry’s executions. Reginald kept writing his tracts and plotting the downfall of Henry even after his family was imprisoned, so he honestly isn’t so innocent in this either.
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 Margaret Pole.
Related links:
Episode 081: Tudor Times on Margaret Pole
Watching the Tudors: Season 3 Episode 5
Watching the Tudors: Season 3 Episode 6
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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.