The Tudor Day of Feasting, Faith… and the Winter Kill
Today, 11 November, is Martinmas, the Feast of Saint Martin of Tours. In Tudor England, it was far more than a saint’s day. It marked the great “winter slaughter”, when families across the realm, from...
10 Marras 20256min
He Dared to Betray the Queen
He was handsome, daring, and utterly reckless, the man who stole the heart of England’s greatest queen in her final years, and then broke it. Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, was born on this day ...
9 Marras 20256min
A Beginner’s Guide to the Tudors
Power. Passion. Intrigue. Revolution. The Tudors ruled England for just over a century, but they changed it forever. In this Beginner’s Guide to the Tudors, I explore how a Welsh courtier’s secret ma...
8 Marras 202511min
The Queen’s Hidden Child
The Mystery of Arthur Dudley A secret heir to the English throne… or one of the cleverest impostors in Tudor history? In 1587, a young Englishman was captured by Spanish sailors off the coast of Sa...
7 Marras 20258min
From the Tower’s Master to Its Prisoner
On this day in Tudor history, 7th November 1565, Sir Edward Warner, soldier, courtier, Member of Parliament, and twice Lieutenant of the Tower of London, died at his Norfolk home. He was a man who li...
6 Marras 20255min
The Rose and the Lily
On this day in Tudor history, 6th November 1514, the streets of Paris glittered with banners, music, and colour. Eighteen-year-old Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII, had been crowned Queen of Fran...
5 Marras 20255min
The Gunpowder Plot: How Guy Fawkes Nearly Blew Up Parliament and the King
“Remember, remember the Fifth of November…” It’s one of the most famous rhymes in English history, but behind the fireworks and bonfires lies a night of terror, faith, and betrayal that almost change...
4 Marras 20256min
A Tudor Scholar’s Balancing Act
On this day in Tudor history, 4th November 1551, theologian, royal chaplain, and scholar John Redman, the first Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, died of consumption. Redman was one of Tudor Engl...
3 Marras 20254min
