The Tudor Society

  • A Groom of the Stool and Tudor Survivor You’ve Never Heard of – Sir Thomas Heneage

    13 hours ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Sir Thomas Heneage's tomb

    On this day in Tudor history, 21st August 1553, Sir Thomas Heneage died a natural death just days after he’d congratulated a victorious Queen Mary I.

    He was quite the survivor. He began his career in the household of Cardinal Wolsey, but then transferred to King Henry VIII’s privy chamber, surviving his former master’s fall and rising to the position of groom of the stool. Then, despite his Catholic faith, he served in Edward VI’s privy chamber, and rode to Ipswich during the succession crisis of 1553 to congratulate Mary when it became clear she was victorious against Queen Jane.

    Survival at the Tudor court wasn’t about luck, it was about timing, tact, and knowing when to step forward… and when to step back…

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  • Thomas Bilney – The Reluctant Martyr

    2 days ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    An illustration of Thomas Bilney from John Foxe's Book of Martyrs

    On this day in Tudor history, 19th August 1531, Norfolk priest and preacher Thomas Bilney was burned at the stake in the Lollards’ Pit, Norwich.

    Bilney had been a passionate reformer, inspiring the likes of fellow martyr, Bishop Hugh Latimer, but under pressure, he broke and recanted, regretted his recantation but then, at the end, recanted once more.

    Find out more about Bolney, his career, religious wavering, and tragic end…

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  • A Royal Wedding and a Massacre

    3 days ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Henry of Navarre and Margaret of Valois

    On this day in history, 18th August in 1572, Henry of Navarre, leader of the Huguenots and the future King Henry IV of France, married Margaret of Valois, daughter of King Henry II and Catherine de’ Medici, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

    This royal wedding was meant to bring peace, to to heal the religious divisions between Protestants and Catholics in France, but, instead, there was an assassination followed by a bloody massacre which not only affected the city of Paris, but towns and cities across France…

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  • The Forgotten Genius Behind The Spanish Tragedy and Hamlet – Thomas Kyd

    6 days ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Thomas Kyd video thumbnail

    Did you know that before Shakespeare’s famous “Hamlet”, there may have been another?

    On this day in Tudor history, 15th August 1594, playwright Thomas Kyd was buried in London, aged just 36.

    He’s not a household name, not like William Shakespeare anyway, but he wrote “The Spanish Tragedy”, one of the biggest theatrical hits of the Elizabethan age, being performed 29 times at the Rose Theatre and published in 11 editions, more than any of Shakespeare’s plays at the time.

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  • Mudlarking, African Women in Tudor England, and More at London Museum Docklands

    1 week ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Mudlark finds a fork

    London Museum Docklands has been in touch with me to share some events they have coming up which may be of interest to some of you.

    From African women in Tudor London to archaeology, alchemy and mudlarking, there’s so much history to enjoy!

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  • The princess who lived in the shadow of kings – Katherine of York

    1 week ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Katherine of York video thumbnail

    On this day in history, 14th August 1479, Katherine of York was born.

    She was the daughter of King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth Woodville, the sister of Queen Elizabeth of York and the Princes in the Tower, and the aunt of Henry VIII. She was at the very heart of Plantagenet and Tudor dynasties — living through regime change, rebellion, and royal funerals, yet she chose to live out her final days on her estates in Devon.

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  • From Cromwell’s Ally to Mary’s Pardon – Sir John Kingsmill

    1 week ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Thumbnail for Sir John Kingsmill video

    On this day in Tudor history, 11th August 1556, in the reign of Queen Mary I, Sir John Kingsmill died a natural death.

    You may not have heard of him, but he worked with Thomas Cromwell, helped dissolve monasteries and chantries, and still managed to earn a pardon from Queen Mary I.

    Kingsmill was:
    – A lawyer and sheriff
    – A commissioner for Edward VI’s Protestant reforms
    – A beneficiary of monastic spoils
    – And the father of seventeen children

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  • A Taste of Loyalty – A New Richard III Film

    1 week ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    A Taste of Loyalty

    Was Richard III really the monster Shakespeare painted him to be? Or have centuries of myth and propaganda hidden the man he truly was?

    Join me as I talk to the creative team behind “A Taste of Loyalty”—a powerful new short film (inspired by Matthew Lewis’s novel “Loyalty”), which explores one of the most pivotal (and misunderstood) moments in Richard III’s life.

    I interview Matt Lewis, historian and novelist; Thomas Dennis, director, screenwriter, and the man portraying Richard III; and Tiffany Lunn, composer and musical visionary for the film.

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  • A Royal Wedding for a 13-year-old Princess

    1 week ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Detail of Margaret Tudor's face from a portrait of her by Daniel Mystens

    On this day in Tudor history, thirteen-year-old Princess Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England, married thirty-year-old King James IV of Scotland.

    It was an important diplomatic match, part of the Treaty of Perpetual Peace negotiated between the two kingdoms.

    In this video, I’ll take you inside:

    The background to the wedding
    grand wedding at Holyroodhouse
    Margaret’s rollercoaster life as queen, widow, regent and power player
    And how her bloodline still sits on the throne today

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  • Lovechild and bigamist – Sir Robert Dudley, son of Elizabeth I’s favourite

    2 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Sir Robert Dudley

    He was born a lovechild, died an exiled nobleman, and, in between, he explored the West Indies, built ships for Italian dukes, and underwent a bigamous marriage.

    This is the story of Sir Robert Dudley, who was born on this day in Tudor history, 7th August 1574, and was the illegitimate son of Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and Lady Douglas Sheffield.

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  • The Baron, the Grudge and the Double Murder – The story of Charles Stourton, 8th Baron Stourton

    2 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Thumbnail for video on Charles Stourton

    In my latest Tudor True Crimes video, I’m telling the dark story of Charles Stourton, 8th Baron Stourton, a nobleman whose pride and rage ended in a cold-blooded double murder and a very public hanging.

    It started out as a bitter land feud, escalated into a siege at a church, and ended with two men having their throats slit and Stourton being hanged…

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  • Sir Reginald Bray – The Man Who Helped Make Henry VII King

    2 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Sir Reginald Bray

    On this day in Tudor history, 5th August 1503, administrator Sir Reginald Bray died.

    Now, you may not have heard of him, he’s not a household name, but this quiet powerhouse of the Tudor court knew Henry VII from boyhood, helped plan the invasion that toppled Richard III, and then served as one of the most powerful men in England.

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  • Interview with Anne Boleyn novelist Natalia Richards

    2 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    The Falcon's Flight

    I’ve just published a video of my chat with novelist Natalia Richards, author of The Falcon’s Rise and The Falcon’s Flight—two beautifully written novels exploring Anne Boleyn’s early life and rise to power.

    In our chat, Natalia shares how she transitioned from the world of music (yes, Kate Bush really did ask her to be a backing singer at 18!) to historical fiction, and why Anne Boleyn has captivated her imagination for so many years.

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  • Still Fighting the Dead: Germain Gardiner’s Scathing Attack on Martyr John Frith

    2 weeks ago Author: Claire Ridgway
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    Martyr John Frith

    On this day in Tudor history, 1st August 1534, in the reign of Henry VIII, Catholic gentleman Germain Gardiner published a scathing posthumous attack on Protestant martyr John Frith.

    Frith was dead though, he’d been burnt at the stake over a year before.

    But who was Frith? And why did Gardiner care enough to write such a fiery rebuttal after his death?

    And how did both men end up executed for their beliefs?

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