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Canterbury Cathedral to host tour, talk and afternoon tea to mark 450 years since Queen Elizabeth I’s birthday visit to Kent

05:00, 28 August 2023

History buffs can mark the birthday of Queen Elizabeth I in the same place Her Majesty celebrated 450 years ago.

It is believed that the Elizabethan queen visited Canterbury Cathedral for her 40th birthday on September 7 in 1573.

Canterbury Cathedral is celebrating 450 years since Queen Elizabeth I’s 40th birthday
Canterbury Cathedral is celebrating 450 years since Queen Elizabeth I’s 40th birthday

The cathedral, which dates back to 597 AD and is the oldest in England, is marking the royal visit with a talk, tour and afternoon tea on Thursday, September 7.

The Canterbury landmark will be putting on a display of historical artefacts from the Cathedral Archives and Library, which features Anglo-Saxon charters, photographs, architectural drawings and more than 16,000 books.

An expert will guide visitors through the display and explain the history behind the collection.

There will then be a talk about Queen Elizabeth I’s birthday festivities at the cathedral, as well her influence on the Tudor period and her infamous parents, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, who once resided at Hever Castle in Edenbridge.

Henry VIII's second wife and mother of Queen Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn, grew up in Kent’s Hever Castle
Henry VIII's second wife and mother of Queen Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn, grew up in Kent’s Hever Castle

The event will finish with a Tudor-inspired afternoon tea.

There will also be an optional Evensong service taking placefrom 5:15pm that visitors can join.

The tour costs £35 per person and can be booked online here.

It begins from 2:15pm at the Cathedral Visitor Centre in Buttermarket.

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