Tudor facts

Introduction What if the most powerful monarch of the 16th century turned marriage proposals into weapons of diplomacy? Elizabeth I of England did precisely that, receiving over 40 marriage proposals during her 45-year reign whilst never having the slightest intention of walking down the aisle. From kings and emperors to archdukes and princes, Europe’s most … Read more

Introduction In the summer of 1553, a sixteen-year-old girl found herself proclaimed Queen of England for just nine tumultuous days. Lady Jane Grey’s brief reign represents one of the most dramatic episodes in Tudor history, a period when religious tensions, political machinations, and succession disputes collided with devastating consequences. Yet the legal foundation for Jane’s … Read more

Introduction In the annals of Tudor history, few events capture the brutal absurdity of Henry VIII’s reign quite like the execution of Anne Boleyn on 19th May 1536. What makes this tragic episode particularly striking is not merely the questionable charges of adultery and treason that led to her death, but a legal technicality that … Read more

Introduction In 1533, Henry VIII presented what he believed to be an unassailable biblical argument for annulling his marriage to Catherine of Aragon: Leviticus 20:21, which declares that a man who marries his brother’s widow “shall be childless.” The King’s theologians argued that this divine curse explained why Catherine had suffered multiple miscarriages and failed … Read more

Introduction Among the many scandalous tales of Henry VIII’s matrimonial adventures, none quite matches the extraordinary story of his marriage to Anne of Cleves in 1540. What began as one of the most diplomatically important unions of the Tudor era quickly descended into what the King himself described as an unmitigated disaster, leading him to … Read more

In September 1555, church bells rang across England as Te Deum services celebrated the birth of a royal heir. Foreign ambassadors penned urgent dispatches describing Queen Mary I’s labour pains, whilst courtiers whispered excitedly about the future of the Tudor dynasty. Yet no prince or princess ever emerged from the royal chambers at Hampton Court … Read more

The Greatest Love Affair That Nearly Toppled a Kingdom Picture this: the most powerful woman in 16th-century Europe tells a foreign ambassador she would marry her beloved ‘if she had been a private person.’ Yet the man she adored was forever marked by scandal, his wife’s mysterious death casting a shadow over what might have … Read more

Introduction On a summer’s day in 1487, the clatter of arms and the war cries of German mercenaries echoed across the fields of Nottinghamshire as Henry VII faced what would prove to be his greatest military test. The Battle of Stoke Field on June 16, 1487, was far more than a domestic rebellion – it … Read more

Introduction On a misty September morning in 1547, the thunder of cannons and the crash of naval bombardment forever changed the nature of warfare on British soil. The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, fought on 10th September 1547, represents a pivotal moment when medieval warfare gave way to early modern military tactics, marking the first major … Read more

Introduction Picture this: it’s 1544, and England’s most infamous monarch, Henry VIII, is personally leading over 40,000 troops across the Channel into France. At 53 years old, overweight, and struggling with painful leg ulcers, the aging king still insisted on commanding what would become one of the largest English armies ever assembled during the Tudor … Read more