Mary Tudor and the Will to Fight
Mary Tudor is often remembered through a single, brutal label: “Bloody Mary.” But in the summer of 1553, she revealed a very different side of herself. In this second part of my series on the two tou...
17 Jan 9min
Lady Jane Grey and the Will to Rule
Lady Jane Grey is usually remembered as a tragic pawn, a frightened girl forced onto the throne by ambitious men. But that story simply doesn’t hold up. When Jane was told she was queen, she wept an...
15 Jan 9min
The 1553 Succession Crisis: A Beginner's Guide
Three Monarchs - 13 Days - One Crown In July 1553, England experienced one of the most volatile succession crises of the Tudor period. In just thirteen days, the crown passed from a dying teenage ki...
13 Jan 30min
The Homes That Shaped Anne Boleyn
Before Anne Boleyn left England for the European courts, before Henry VIII, before scandal, drama, queenship, and tragedy... there were two places that shaped her earliest world, places that were home...
10 Jan 8min
When was Anne Boleyn born? 1501 vs 1507 and Why It Matters
Was Anne Boleyn thirty-five when she died… or just twenty-eight? Because the answer completely changes how we read her downfall in 1536. I’m historian and author Claire Ridgway, and in this companion...
8 Jan 18min
The Making of Anne Boleyn: Her Family, Upbringing and Early Life
Anne Boleyn is so often remembered at the height of drama, standing at the centre of Henry VIII’s court, caught in politics, passion, and tragedy. But Anne did not appear from nowhere. Before the sca...
6 Jan 30min
When Christmas Really Ended: Twelfth Night & Epiphany in Tudor England
Christmas in Tudor England wasn’t a single day, it was a season. And Twelfth Night was its final, glittering crescendo. In this final episode of my Tudor Advent and Christmas series, I explore how Tu...
5 Jan 5min
Christmas Eve in Tudor England: Fasting, Firelight, and Midnight Mass - And a message from Claire!
Christmas Eve in Tudor England was a day of preparation, restraint, and anticipation, not feasting. It marked the final day of Advent. In this short Christmas Eve episode, I’m sharing quick reminders...
23 Dec 20252min
