The Red Bull of Flodden
On this day in history, 25 November 1467, Thomas Dacre was born; a man who rose from the turbulent Anglo-Scottish border to become one of Tudor England’s most influential northern magnates. Soldier, ...
24 Nov 20253min
The Disaster That Killed a King and Crowned a Baby
On this day in Tudor history, 24 November 1542, England and Scotland met in one of the most chaotic and consequential clashes of the 16th century, the Battle of Solway Moss. I’m historian and author ...
23 Nov 20255min
A Beginner's Guide to Henry VIII - The Charming Prince Who Became a Tyrant
We all think we know Henry VIII. A huge man in cloth of gold, hands on hips, staring down from a Holbein portrait. Six wives. Two beheaded. Monasteries destroyed. Rome defied. But the real Henry is ...
22 Nov 202517min
The St Osyth Skeletons - Tudor Witch Panic, Betrayal… and a Child Witness - Tudor True Crime
In 1921, builders in the quiet Essex village of St Osyth unearthed a chilling sight: Two female skeletons. Buried deliberately. With iron rivets hammered into their knees and elbows - a brutal, centu...
21 Nov 20257min
The Tudor Courtier You’ve Never Heard Of
On this day in Tudor history, 21st November 1558, a devoted servant of both Queen Mary I and her husband, Philip of Spain, died tragically young. His name was James Bassett. I’m historian and author ...
20 Nov 20254min
The Tudor Knight Killed by a Frog?!
The Bizarre Death of Sir Marmaduke Constable On this day in Tudor history, 20th November 1518, a seasoned soldier and loyal servant of four Tudor kings met one of the strangest deaths ever recorded:...
19 Nov 20256min
The Tudor Scholar Who Died Before Making History
On this day in history, 19th November 1604, one of the most gifted churchmen of Elizabethan and early Jacobean England died - Richard Edes, Dean of Worcester, royal chaplain, poet, playwright, and one...
18 Nov 20256min
The Banker Who Tried to Overthrow Queen Elizabeth I
The Ridolfi Plot Explained He wasn’t a soldier, a spy, or a nobleman, but a Florentine banker who nearly toppled a queen. In 1571, Roberto di Ridolfi masterminded one of the boldest conspiracies o...
17 Nov 202512min
