On this day in Tudor history, 8th December 1538, courtier and Master of the Horse to Queens Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour, Sir William Coffin, died at Standon in Hertfordshire. 

 

It is thought that he died of the plague because his wife Margaret wrote to Thomas Cromwell saying that Coffin had “died of the great sickness, full of God’s marks all over his body”. 

 

Who was Sir William Coffin and what did the Master of the Horse do?

 

Find out in today's talk from historian Claire Ridgway.

 

Trivia: Coffin's wife was one of Queen Anne Boleyn's ladies when she was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1536.

 

Also on this day in Tudor history, 8th December 1542, Mary, Queen of Scots, was born at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland. She was the daughter of King James V of Scotland and his second wife, Marie de Guise, and she became Queen of Scotland when she was just six days old. You can find out about her life, including her three marriages and abdication, her imprisonment and downfall, in last year’s talk - https://youtu.be/OGhYsl8cL1M