14th September 1607: ‘Flight of the Earls’ sees Gaelic nobility, led by Hugh O’Neill and Rory O’Donnell, leave Ulster in Ireland for mainland Europe

In the wake of the flight of the Earls, the lands and titles left behind were confiscated by the English crown, which accelerated the process of English colonisation over the next century.

17th November 1558: Elizabeth I succeeds her half-sister Mary to become Queen of England

Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and, despite being declared illegitimate following the annulment of her parents’ marriage, came to the throne as the next in line behind her Catholic half-sister under the terms of the Third Act of Succession.

5th November 1605: Guy Fawkes discovered during Gunpowder Plot

On the 5th November 1605, the Gunpowder Plot was foiled when Guy or Guido Fawkes was discovered guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder that had been placed in an undercroft below the House of Lords in London.