On This Day (01 Oct) 1553, Mary I was crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey; the first coronation of a queen regnant in England.

On This Day (29 Sep) in 1564, Elizabeth I ennobled her 'favourite, Robert Dudley, granting him the Earldom of Leicester.

On This Day [22 Sep] 1560, Amy Robsart, wife of Robert Dudley, was buried at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford.

On This Day 21 Sep 1578, Lettice Knollys, Dowager Countess of Essex married Elizabeth I's 'favourite' Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester.

Thomas Blount of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, was the father of Sir Christopher Blount (c.1555-1601).

On This Day (08 Sep) in 1560, Amy Robsart, wife of Robert Dudley, was found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs, at Cumnor Place, Oxon.

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester had a complex relationship with the Queen of England, Elizabeth I, throughout most of her reign.

On This Day (29 Aug) in 1588, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester wrote to Elizabeth I from Rycote, Oxon, less than a week before his death

On This Day (27 Aug) in 1562, Margaret St John, Lady Russell, Countess of Bedford, died from smallpox at Woburn Abbey.

On This Day (25 Aug) in 1540, Katherine Grey was born at Bradgate House, Leicestershire; the second daughter of Henry Grey.

Jane Grey, eldest daughter of Henry Grey, Marques of Dorset and later Duke of Suffolk and his wife Frances Brandon.

Kenilworth Castle (otherwise known as 'Killingworth' or 'Killinwoorth') in Warwickshire, was a 12th century stone castle.

Amy Robsart was born on 07 Jun 1532 in Norfolk, the only child from the marriage of Sir John Robsart of Syderstone.

Francis Knollys, the eldest son and heir of Sir Robert Knollys and his wife Lettice Penninston, was born c.1512, likely at Rookes Manor...

From 1574, cartographer Christopher Saxton (born c.1540, in Dewsbury, Yorkshire), began a survey of England...

Elizabeth I had reigned as Queen of England for 44 years, when her health started to further decline in February 1603, whilst her court...

Thomas, Lord Seymour, of Sudeley. Unknown Artist. 16thc. ©Sotheby's Thomas Seymour was born in c.1508, a younger brother to Edward...

Sir Christopher Blount, born c.1555, was the second son of Thomas Blount of Kidderminster (c.1525-1568) and his wife Margery Poley.