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From royal musicians at the Tudor court to an enslaved African at the Tower of London, Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) explore stories of Black history at our palaces.<\/h3>\nFrom royal musicians at the Tudor court to an enslaved African at the Tower of London, Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) explore stories of Black history at our palaces.<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
HRP writes:<\/p>\n
From royal musicians at the Tudor court to an enslaved African at the Tower of London, explore stories of Black history at our palaces.<\/p>\n
John Blanke was a royal trumpeter in the courts of Henry VII and\u00a0Henry VIII<\/a>. He witnessed some of the great moments in England’s history and contributed to some of the greatest spectacles of the Tudor age.<\/p>\n He would have been present at many important royal ceremonies, including Henry VII’s funeral procession and Henry VIII’s coronation procession from the\u00a0Tower of London<\/a>.<\/p>\n He is pictured twice on the Westminster Tournament Roll of 1511, a scroll commemorating the grand jousting tournament that took place to\u00a0celebrate the birth of Henry VIII’s short-lived first son, also named Henry.<\/p>\n When John got married in 1512, Henry VIII gifted him a new wedding outfit, indicating his important status within the royal household. Although this is the last surviving reference to John Blanke, he remains a significant figure in Tudor and Black British history as the only Black Tudor for whom we have an identifiable image…<\/p>\nEDWARD FRANCIS<\/h2>\n