Tudor

Anne of Cleves became known to posterity as the ‘Flanders Mare’ and Henry VIII’s ‘ugly wife’, thanks to disparaging descriptions by ambassadors and diplomats. What motivated them?

How an English navigator became one of the shogun’s most trusted advisers.

Once maligned as a record ‘of the dullest kind’, a 1535 audit of Church wealth – the Valor ecclesiasticus – offers a unique view of England’s religious, social and cultural life just months after the break with Rome.

There is an enduring obsession with understanding the body and mind of Henry VIII, but how sound are diagnoses past and present – and do we need them?

Hunting the Falcon: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and the Marriage That Shook Europe by John Guy and Julia Fox is a well-told account that shies away from debate.

Fool: In Search of Henry VIII’s Closest Man by Peter K. Andersson is the first full length study of William Somer’s life and posthumous mythos.

Art reveals the past – if you know how to look.

Christopher Hatton rose to great power as a favourite of Elizabeth I. Born in obscurity, why has he returned to it?

Son of a queen and uncle to the king who founded a dynasty, history almost forgot Edward Tudor. Why?

Christmas in Tudor England was a time for fasting, feasting and poking fun at the status quo.