Tudor Times is the online repository for all things Tudor and Stewart (1485–1625)

On 14th August 1598, the Irish, under the leadership of Hugh O’Neill and his son-in-law and ally Hugh O’Donnell, won an important encounter in the Nine Years’ War between the Irish and the forces of the English Crown at the Battle of the Yellow Ford. The fighting took place about two miles away from Armagh. The English force was led by Hugh Bagenal, O’Neill’s brother-in-law, and consisted of some 4000 men plus heavy artillery and their purpose was to relieve the siege of the English held fortress at Armagh.

The Irish were well aware of the advance, and, with a force that was probably a bit larger than Bagenal’s, prepared in advance by digging trenches and blocking trackways. This, together with the boggy ground, broke the English formation of six regiments, allowing O’Neill’s men to inflict fatal injuries on the first regiment, which then retreated into the second, causing mayhem. About 900 of the English force were killed, but a further thousand deserted. Casualties on the Irish side were much lower.

On 13th August 1514, Princess Mary of England, who was eighteen years old, was married by proxy to the fifty-two year old widower, Louis XII of France. Mary had been betrothed in 1507 to Charles of Castile, grandson and likely heir of the Emperor Maximilian, but the Emperor had dragged his feet over completing the marriage. This was an insult to his ally, Mary’s brother, Henry VIII, which was made worse when Maximilian attempted to double-cross Henry by making a separate peace during the war they were prosecuting against Louis.

Henry had been let down by Maximilian before, and he and his chief minister, Cardinal Wolsey, were prepared. They swiftly made peace with Louis, and threw in the sweetener of a young, and reputedly beautiful, bride. Louis was delighted, and sent the princess gifts of expensive jewellery.

The proxy marriage took place at Greenwich Palace, in the presence of Henry VIII, his wife, Katharine of Aragon, and the highest ranking nobles of the court. Louis was represented by his kinsman, the Duke of Longueville, who had been taken prisoner the year before during the war. Read more on the background to the marriage and treaty here.

On 12th August 1570, Lady Ursula Pole, Lady Stafford died. Ursula was the only daughter of Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, and, aged about 20, in 1519 had married the oldest son of the Duke of Buckingham. Had matters gone as planned, this would have seen Ursula take rank as the highest lady in the kingdom after the royal family. Unfortunately, Ursula’s father-in-law, Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, fell foul of Henry VIII and was executed in 1521. His title and lands were forfeit to the Crown. Ursula’s husband was restored to a barony in 1547. Two of Ursula’s brothers, and her mother fell victim to the axe in the wake of the Exeter Conspiracy.

The Staffords, like many other families, were divided by religion: whilst Ursula’s brother, Reginald, was the last Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury, her daughter, Dorothy, was in exile during his tenure with other radical Protestants in Geneva and her son, Thomas, was executed in 1557 for an attempt on the throne.

The picture is alleged to be Ursula, although we cannot find any provenance for it. The symbols of the white rose and the monstrance show both her Yorkist blood and her Catholic faith. These, together with her costume which dates from the 1540s, suggest that the picture, if it were painted during Henry or Edward’s reign, was not for public consumption, or else that it was commissioned during Mary’s reign.