“Near to Heaven by Sea”: Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s Last Voyage
We are as near to Heaven by sea as by land.” On this day, 9 September 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s tiny ship, the Squirrel, disappeared in an Atlantic storm, and an audacious Elizabethan life ended in...
8 Sep 20257min
The Boleyn Grandson Who Backed Shakespeare
Grandson of Mary Boleyn. Cousin to Elizabeth I. Patron to Shakespeare’s company. On 8 September 1603, George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon, died, leaving a legacy that runs from court politics to the playh...
7 Sep 20254min
Who was Anne Boleyn REALLY?
Who was Anne Boleyn...really? In this fast, source-based overview I cover her debated birth year, French education, rise to queenship, real influence on religion and politics, the 1536 downfall, and t...
6 Sep 202517min
Mary Tudor’s Hidden Influence + How Tudors Learned - Claire Ridgway Interviews Amy McElroy
Join me for a lively deep-dive with historian and author Amy McElroy—whose books include Educating the Tudors and Women’s Lives in the Tudor Era, with Mary Tudor, Queen of France out next and a new pr...
5 Sep 202552min
Could You Really Get Away with Murder at Henry VIII's Court? - Tudor True Crime
In April 1532, Sir William Pennington was cut down on the very edge of Westminster sanctuary—and his killers walked away with a manslaughter verdict, a £1,000 pardon, and glittering careers. In this T...
4 Sep 202511min
From Paston Letters to Power
On this day in Tudor history, 4 September 1550, Sir Thomas Paston, a gentleman of the privy chamber under Henry VIII and Edward VI, died. If the name Paston rings a bell, it should: the Paston Letters...
3 Sep 20255min
From Prison to Power to Poison? The Rise and Fall of Edward Courtenay
On this day in Tudor history, 3rd September 1553, Edward Courtenay was created Earl of Devon by Queen Mary I. It was a stunning reversal of fortune for a man who had spent 15 years imprisoned in the ...
2 Sep 20255min
Priest, Diplomat, Powerbroker: The Life of Archbishop Thomas Savage
On 2nd or 3rd September 1507, Thomas Savage, Archbishop of York, died at Cawood Castle in Yorkshire. Savage wasn’t just a churchman — he was one of Henry VII’s most trusted servants, a skilled diplom...
1 Sep 20254min
