Tudor History with Claire Ridgway

How William Howard Survived Tudor England

The Tudor court was a treacherous place where even the slightest misstep could cost you your head. For William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham, surviva…

What if printing a book could cost you your life? In Tudor England, it could—and it did. 

On 11th January 1584, William Carter, a Catholic printer, was brutally executed for treason after publishing …

What if Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days Queen, had been born a boy—Lord John Grey?
Would England’s history have been completely rewritten?

In 1553, the Protestant King Edward VI skipped over his Cathol…

In 1513, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk—Henry VIII’s best friend and notorious rogue—caused an international incident by flirting with Margaret of Austria, a duchess and regent of the Habsburg Neth…

In 1493, Christopher Columbus recorded a bizarre sighting in his journal: his crew claimed to have seen three mermaids rise out of the sea! But instead of the beautiful creatures of legend, they desc…

In 1499, King Louis XII of France had his 22-year marriage annulled to marry Anne of Brittany, one of the most powerful women in Europe. But what drove Louis to discard his first wife, Queen Joan (Je…

What do Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, and the Tower of London have in common? Balthasar Guercy, an Italian physician who served both queens—and found himself imprisoned for his controversial beli…

Kidnapping, violence, treason… Not exactly what you'd expect from the man behind one of the most influential literary works of Elizabethan England! But George Puttenham’s life was anything but ordina…

Was Catherine de' Medici truly the sinister puppet master behind a seductive squad of spies, or has history been far too cruel to this powerful queen? Dive into the fascinating—and often misunderstoo…

On this day in Tudor history, 3rd January 1590, Robert Boyd, 5th Lord Boyd, passed away at Kilmarnock. This Scottish nobleman played a key role in the turbulent politics of Mary, Queen of Scots' reig…

On this day in Tudor history, 2nd January 1554, Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger and Sir Peter Carew were summoned to face Queen Mary I's privy council. The reason? Whispers of a bold plot to stop her ma…

On this day in Tudor history, 1st January 1515, King Louis XII of France passed away at just 52 years old, less than three months into his marriage to the young and vibrant Mary Tudor, sister of King…

Think Henry VII was just a penny-pinching miser? Think again! Dive into the hidden world of this Tudor monarch’s extravagant celebrations, complete with castles on wheels, knights, dragons, and pagea…

Who was Henry VII, and how did he change history forever? From his stunning victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field to his clever handling of rebellious pretenders and the economy, this video answers…

Was Henry VIII a bold leader steering England through turbulent times, or a cruel tyrant driven by greed and paranoia? ⚔️ From his six ill-fated marriages to his brutal purges and shocking betrayals,…

Henry VIII: A king of contradictions. Was he a visionary reformer, a ruthless tyrant, or both? 🤔 From his six wives and the break with Rome to his dramatic legacy, I’m tackling the top 10 questions a…

Dive into the drama, controversy, and historical twists of Firebrand, the much-anticipated film starring Jude Law as Henry VIII and Alicia Vikander as Catherine Parr. Based on Elizabeth Fremantle’s T…

Queen Catherine Parr, Henry VIII's sixth and final wife, lived a remarkable life—but her story didn’t end with her death. What followed was a shocking posthumous journey marked by centuries of neglec…