July 20 - Queen Claude of France

On this day in history, 20th July 1524, Queen Claude of France, consort of Francis I, died at the age of just twenty-four at the Royal Chateau of Blois. She was temporarily laid to rest there and then later moved to the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis just outside Paris.

 

Brantôme declared that Claude’s husband, Francis I, gave her “the pox, which shortened her days”, meaning syphilis, but the cause of her death is not known for certain.

 

In today's talk, Claire Ridgway, founder of the Tudor Society, gives an overview of Queen Claude's life, as well as sharing the theories regarding her death. You can see this podcast as a video at the following link:

https://youtu.be/makEt_XfOH8

 

Also on this day in Tudor history, 20th July 1554, John Knox, theologian and a leader of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, published a pamphlet attacking the Catholic Queen Mary I, her religious measures and her persecution of Protestants. Find out what he said in last year’s video - https://youtu.be/K5BsnQ3WTwQ