Tudor Royal Progresses

Tudor Royal Progresses were an important way for the Tudor monarchs to consolidate their rule throughout England.[1] Following his victory at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485, the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII, ensured his coronation (November 1485), called a parliament (November 1485), married Elizabeth of York (January 1486) – all in London before embarking on his first Royal Progress in March 1486.[2] The last Tudor Royal Progress took place in summer 1602,[3] as Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch died in March 1603.[4]

Henry VII: 1485–1509

Henry VII traveled widely in England in his first few years as King, largely to consolidate his rule after the Wars of the Roses. As he grew older, and particularly after the death of his wife Queen Elizabeth in 1503, the King traveled less. [5] The king spent most of his reign at Windsor Castle or Richmond Palace which he rebuilt in 1497 and where he died in 1509.

Year Months Locations Details
1 1486 March - August Lincoln, Nottingham, York, Worcester, Hereford, Gloucester, Bristol and to Whitehall via Putney Henry progressed to Lincoln for Easter, then to York, by way of Nottingham. While in York he dispersed the abortive rising of the Yorkists led by Lord Lovell. Henry VII then progressed south where he spent Whitsun in Worcester and by way of Bristol back to London. When the royal couple reached Putney where they progressed by barge back to Whitehall with the Lord Mayor of London.[6]
1486 September-October Winchester Henry removed his wife Queen Elizabeth and the court to Winchester for the birth of his heir Prince Arthur, due to it being the supposed location of King Arthur's castle of Camelot. Prince Arthur was born on 20th September and christened on the 24 September.[7]
2 1487 May - October Norwich, Walsingham, Kenilworth, Nottingham, then fought the Battle of Stoke Field, Lincoln, Pontefract, York, Durham and Newcastle-upon-Tyne Henry progressed first to Norfolk and after visiting the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, moved to the Midlands to face and defeat the pretender Lambert Simnel at Battle of Stoke Field. After defeating the rebels Henry VII then celebrated his victory in Lincoln and moved north by way of Pontefract, York and Durham to Newcastle. While there he opened negotiations with James IV, before returning to London for his second parliament in November. [8]
3 1492 September - November Dover, Calais, Boulogne, Étaples, return to London via Kent Henry VII launched an abortive invasion of France, traveling through Kent and the Pale of Calais, to besiege Boulogne, before agreeing to the Peace of Étaples after three weeks of campaigning and returning to London by 22 November. [9]
4 1495 June-July Lancashire, Lathom House and Knowsley Hall Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth visited his step-father Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby at his new houses of Lathom and Knowsley Hall. [10]
5 1497 October - November Exeter Henry VII visited Exeter to receive the submission of the city after the capture of the pretender Perkin Warbeck who had attempted to capture the city the previous month, He returned to London on the 27 November. [11]
6 1500 May - June Calais Henry VII traveled to Calais for discussions with Philip the Handsome Duke of Burgundy. The two met outside the walls of Calais on 9 June at St Peter Church. [12]
7 1503 June - July Collyweston Henry VII escorted his daughter Margaret Tudor from Richmond Palace north, to the residence of his mother Margaret Beaufort of Collyweston Palace in Northamptonshire. This was a part of her journey north to Scotland to marry James IV. [13]

Henry VIII: 1509–1547

Henry VIII traveled widely through the south of England and Calais in the first few years of his reign. As he grew older the King traveled less, the major exceptions being the major western progress of 1535 and the great northern progress of 1541. Henry spent the majority of his reign at his 55 royal palaces, the vast majority of which were in and around London.[14]

Year Months Locations Details
1 1510 June - September Christchurch Priory, Corfe Castle, Southampton, Salisbury, The Vyne, Rotherfield Greys Castle Malshanger and Woking Henry VIII's first progress focused on Dorset and Hampshire. The King stayed with William Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys at The Vyne and with Robert Knollys at Rotherfield Greys Castle, ending with a tournament at Woking..[15]
2 1511 January Walsingham Henry VIII visited Walsingham to give thanks for the birth of his short lived son Prince Henry.[15]
1511 July-September Northampton, Leicester, Nottingham, Coventry and Warwick Henry VIII and Queen Katherine of Aragon traveled across the Midlands.[15]
3 1513 June-October Calais, Thérouanne, Lille, Tournai As part of the War of the League of Cambrai Henry VIII invaded France by way of Calais in June 1513. He besieged the town of Thérouanne through the summer, defeating a French attempt to relieve the town at the Battle of the Spurs on the 16 August. Thérouanne fell to the English on 22 August. Henry then moved on to besiege Tournai by way of Lille where he was hosted by Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy. Tournai fell on the 23 September, Henry celebrated mass in Tournai Cathedral on 2 October and returned to England via Calais on 21 October. [16]
4 1520 May-July Dover, Calais, Guînes, Field of the Cloth of Gold, Gravelines 1518 saw the Treaty of London (1518), also known as the treaty of perpetual peace between the major European powers. 1520 covered complex negotiations between Henry, Charles V and Francis I with Henry called upon to arbitrate between the two. The monarchs were also anxious to meet one another. After meeting with Charles on 27 May at Dover Henry proceeded separately, with Queen Katherine of Aragon and his court to Calais. In a valley between the Pale of Calais and the French possessions Henry and Francis met at the Field of the Cloth of Gold where from 7 June to the 24 June both monarchs engaged in discussions, jousts dancing and other pageantry with their courts. [17]

After bidding goodbye to Francis Henry and Katherine then met with Charles and his aunt Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy at Gravelines on 10 July. There they concluded a separate treaty of friendship and agreed not t make any new agreements with the French king for two years on 14 July, before Henry and Katherine returned to England.[18]

5 1522 May-July Dover, Canterbury, Sittingbourne, Rochester and Gravesend, Windsor, Winchester and Southampton Charles V visited England on the way to Spain, landing at Dover on 26 May, to be met by Henry on 28 May. The two then traveled to Canterbury on the 29 May and Sittingbourne on the 30 May. They then traveled to Rochester on 1 June, and Greenwich Palace on 2nd June via Gravesend. The two entered London on the 6 June, staying until the 9 June when they proceeded to Southwark, Richmond, Hampton Court and Windsor.They remained at Windsor from the 12 June to the 20 June and signed the Treaty of Windsor (1522). They then traveled to Winchester where they arrived on the 22 June and on the 6 July Charles departed for Spain from Southampton. [19]
6 1535 July-October Windsor, Reading Abbey, Ewelme, Abingdon Abbey, Langley, Berkshire, Winchcombe, Tewkesbury, Gloucester, Leonard Stanley, Thornbury Castle, Berkeley Castle, Acton Court, Little Sodbury, Bromham House, Wolf Hall, Thruxton, Hurstbourne Priors, Winchester, Bishops Waltham, Southampton, Portchester Castle, Beaulieu Abbey, Salisbury, Hurstbourne Priors, The Vyne, Basing House, Elvetham Hall and Easthampstead. Henry VIII and his second wife Queen Anne Boleyn went to the West Country in July 1535. They used Gloucester as a base for hunting trips to Painswick, Coberley, and Miserden. They then returned to London via Winchester. Detailed map below. [20]
Hernry VIII 1535 Progress
7 1541 August-October Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincoln, York Pontefract Castle, Leconfield,Hull The so called 'Great Northern progress' was the first visit of a king to Yorkshire since Henry VII's in 1487 (see above). Civil disturbance arising from the Pilgrimage of Grace and the dissolution of the monasteries were possible spurs to action, but the King’s assurances from 1537 that he would ‘go and see his country of the North’ came to nothing as the preparations were repeatedly postponed. In 1541, however, there was a new reason to come to York: Henry planned to meet his nephew King James V of Scotland, to calm the centuries-old hostility between the two nations and perhaps to negotiate an alliance between them. [21]

​The court left London for a tour of the north of England and arrived in York, via Lincoln, on 16 September. Ultimately James V did not arrive and so the royal entourage repaired to Leconfield to continue the evaluation of the fortifications at the port of Hull. The king and queen left Hull to return to London on 6 October. [22]

8 1544 July-September Dover, Calais and Boulogne Henry VIII launched his final invasion of France as part of the Italian War of 1542–1546. He crossed the Channel and took personal command of the Sieges of Boulogne (1544–1546), the first of which ended in an English victory on 14 September 1544., Henry personally entered Boulogne on 18 September, before returning to England. [23]

Edward VI: 1547–1553

1552: Edward VI embarked on a short progress to Guildford, but this was soon abandoned.[24]

Mary I: 1553–1558

As a Princess, Mary Tudor accompanied her father on royal progresses.

As Queen, Mary was less ardent about making royal progresses. The unpopularity of her husband and her own ill health led her to remain in her royal residencies near London.

Elizabeth I: 1558–1603

The Elizabethan Royal Progresses played an important role in enabling Elizabeth I to exercise and maintain her royal authority. During each year of her 44 years reign she insisted her court accompanied her on a progress in the spring and summer months.[24]

References

  1. ^ "Royal progresses and their importance - Tudor Tuesdays". Hever Castle. Hever Castle Ltd. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  2. ^ Wheeler, Helen (30 July 2017). "King Henry VII 1485 - 1486 Chronology - Tudor Nation". www.tudornation.com. Tudor Nation. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  3. ^ Pearce, Ken. "History Show - Queen Elizabeth I comes to Harefield". You Tube. Uxbridge FM. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Elizabeth I slept here - a look at the Queen's summer progresses". British Heritage. British Heritage Travel. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  5. ^ Neil Samman, 'The Progresses of Henry VIII, 1509–1529. In: MacCulloch, D. (eds) The Reign of Henry VIII. Problems in Focus Series'(Palgrave London, 1995), p.59
  6. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952), p.68
  7. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952), p.68-70
  8. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952), pp.70-77
  9. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952), pp.108-109
  10. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952), pp.157-158
  11. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952), pp.146-147
  12. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952), pp.167
  13. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952), p.161
  14. ^ Simon Thurley, 'The Royal Palaces of Tudor England – Architecture & Court Life 1460–1547: Architecture and Court Life, 1460-1547'(Yale University Press, 1993)
  15. ^ a b c Neil Samman, 'The Progresses of Henry VIII, 1509–1529. In: MacCulloch, D. (eds) The Reign of Henry VIII. Problems in Focus Series'(Palgrave London, 1995), p.60
  16. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952), pp.279-280
  17. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952), pp.309-310
  18. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952), p.310
  19. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952), p. 311
  20. ^ Historical Manuscripts Commission, 12th Report, Appendix 9: Gloucester (London, 1891), p. 444.
  21. ^ John Cooper & Anthony Musson. "The Royal Progress of 1541". henryontour.uk. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  22. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952), p. 420-422
  23. ^ J.D. Mackie, 'The Earlier Tudors, 1485-1558'(Oxford University Press, 1952)
  24. ^ a b Cole, Mary Hill (1999). The portable queen: Elizabeth I and the politics of ceremony (PDF). Amherst: University of Massachusetts press. ISBN 1-55849-214-3.
  25. ^ Historical Manuscripts Commission, 12th Report, Appendix 9: Gloucester (London, 1891), pp. 442–3.
  26. ^ Melita Thomas, The King's Pearl: Henry VIII and his daughter Mary (Amberley, 2017), pp. 80-83.
  27. ^ C. E. McGee, 'Mysteries, Musters, and Masques', Jayne Elisabeth Archer, Elizabeth Goldring, Sarah Knight, Progresses, Pageants, and Entertainments of Queen Elizabeth (Oxford, 2007), p. 109: David Loades, Mary Tudor (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1989), p. 45.
  28. ^ Siobhan Keenan, 'Spectator and Spectacle: Royal Entertainments at the Universities in the 1560s', Jayne Elisabeth Archer, Elizabeth Goldring, Sarah Knight, Progresses, Pageants, and Entertainments of Queen Elizabeth (Oxford, 2007), p. 87.
  29. ^ Siobhan Keenan, 'Spectator and Spectacle: Royal Entertainments at the Universities in the 1560s', Jayne Elisabeth Archer, Elizabeth Goldring, Sarah Knight, Progresses, Pageants, and Entertainments of Queen Elizabeth (Oxford, 2007), p. 95.
  30. ^ C. E. McGee, 'Mysteries, Musters, and Masques', Jayne Elisabeth Archer, Elizabeth Goldring, Sarah Knight, Progresses, Pageants, and Entertainments of Queen Elizabeth (Oxford, 2007), p. 105.
  31. ^ C. E. McGee, 'Mysteries, Musters, and Masques', Jayne Elisabeth Archer, Elizabeth Goldring, Sarah Knight, Progresses, Pageants, and Entertainments of Queen Elizabeth (Oxford, 2007), p. 115.
  32. ^ Zillah Dovey, An Elizabethan Progress: The Queen's Journey into East Anglia (Stroud: Alan Sutton, 1996).
  33. ^ Peter Davidson & Jane Stevenson, 'Elizabeth's Reception at Bisham', Jayne Elisabeth Archer, Elizabeth Goldring, & Sarah Knight, The Progresses, Pageants, & Entertainments of Queen Elizabeth (Oxford, 2007), p. 207.
  34. ^ Elizabeth Zeman Kolkovich, The Elizabethan Country House Entertainment: Print, Performance and Gender (Cambridge, 2016), pp. 61–72.
  35. ^ Elizabeth Zeman Kolkovich, The Elizabethan Country House Entertainment: Print, Performance and Gender (Cambridge, 2016), pp. 72–78.
  36. ^ Gabriel Heaton, Writing and Reading Royal Entertainments: From George Gascoigne to Ben Jonson (Oxford, 2010), pp. 102-116.