As you know – and if you don’t, where have you been?! – I’ve been doing daily “on this day in Tudor history” talks since 1 January 2019, which is keeping me nice and busy! These daily talks were inspired by my book On This Day in Tudor History, which I published back in 2012, […]

On this day in Tudor history, 24 June 1509, Midsummer’s Day and the Feast of St John the Baptist, England’s new king, seventeen-year-old Henry VIII, and his bride of thirteen days, Catherine of Aragon, were crowned king and queen by William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, in a joint ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London. The […]

No, it’s not me, lol! Although I am speaking at it and my family think I’m fabulous! 😉 My co-leader and organisational whiz, Philippa, has just announced our speaker for next year’s Anne Boleyn Experience Tour, and I must say that I’m thrilled. I’m already excited about the tour – you know that I quite […]

On this day in Tudor history, Saturday 23rd June 1509, seventeen-year-old King Henry VIII and his first wife, twenty-three-year-old Catherine of Aragon, processed from the Tower of London to Westminster in preparation for the coronation at Westminster Abbey. The citizens of London must have been excited about seeing the new king and his bride, and […]

On 22nd June 1528, after eight years of marriage, Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn, was widowed. Her husband, William Carey, died during the sweating sickness epidemic that hit the royal court that summer. Her first husband’s death had a major impact on Mary, who was left with two young children: Catherine, aged four, and […]

Historical novelist Loretta Goldberg has made this wonderful video for the Anne Boleyn Files and Tudor Society YouTube channel about her Elizabethn spy novel The Reversible Mask, which is a wonderful read. In her video, Loretta talks about her book, an Elizabethan spy novel, and then treats us to an excerpt. Here’s the book blurb […]

In today’s instalment of my “Questions about Anne Boleyn” series, I consider the relationship between Anne Boleyn and her stepdaughter, Mary, daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Anne Boleyn is often blamed for the ill-treatment Mary received in the 1530s, being painted as a wicked stepmother, so I look at how Mary […]

On this day in Tudor history, 15th June 1536, Mary (the future Mary I), daughter of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, received an intimidating visit at her home at Hunsdon. The visit was from members of the king’s council, who had been sent by her father, the king, to persuade […]