King George and Son: Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4
Several questions will help us get to know the four King Georges (Kings George?) who ruled Britain from 1714 to 1830. Question 1: How did these guys come to rule England? Answer: Parliament insisted ...
15 Jul 202018min
Team Tudor vs Team Stuart: Power and Personalities
In politics, being neighbors doesn’t mean being friends. The struggles between the Tudors of England and the Stuarts of Scotland shaped the power dynamic of the two countries and affected the politics...
8 Jul 202018min
The Exes and In-Laws of Henry VIII
As Henry made his way through years of various foreign alliances and diplomatic efforts, it was his marital merry-go-round that really shaped his reign. Various family members and wives filled the cou...
1 Jul 202018min
Shakespeare, Richard II, and the Essex Rebellion
Like so many things, playmaking in Elizabethan England was more than it appeared. History plays could promote the message of the Queen’s reign and Tudor dynasty. But Shakespeare was more interested in...
24 Jun 202020min
Queen Victoria's Very Bad Year
Victoria was the youngest Queen England has ever known. It had been more than 100 years since last a Queen had been ruler of the country. There was anticipation and speculation about how this young wo...
17 Jun 202017min
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine lived for 82 years, an extraordinary accomplishment for someone living in the 12th century. She was Queen of France, Queen of England, a great patroness of the arts, and instrumen...
10 Jun 202016min
Band of Brothers: Edward IV, Richard III...and George
The story of the York brothers is part of the story of the English throne. I’m so grateful to Thomas Penn for his wealth of research on the relationships of these brothers. We typically think of the...
10 Jun 202020min
15 Fascinating Facts about Shakespeare's First Folio
During the late 16th and early 17th centuries, while Shakespeare was writing his plays, the English language was undergoing many changes. Words were coming in from Greek and Roman texts, as well as wo...
2 Jun 202017min
