Tudor Dynasty
The Ruthless 16th-Century Spy Network That Kept Queen Elizabeth Safe
In late 16th-century England, Queen Elizabeth was a Protestant royal who faced perpetual threats to her life and reign. Real enemies and exaggerated fears led to paranoia—and the royal court responded with a secret war. In what would become England’s first great brush with ...read more
8 Ways the Tudors Shaped Modern Christmas
The history of Christmas is long and complicated, but by the 16th century, when Henry VIII ruled England, it was beginning to resemble the holiday we know today in some important ways. It may surprise you to learn that some of our favorite traditions of the Christmas season date ...read more
The Salacious Letters That Helped Bring Down Mary, Queen of Scots
In 1567, a tempestuous, unhappy queen picked up her pen and wrote a passionate sonnet to her lover. “My love for him is not an empty show,” she wrote, “But purest tenderness and constancy.” Or did she? The sonnet was one of 12. And those documents were part of a larger hoard ...read more
The Wildly Different Childhoods of Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots
Queen Elizabeth I of England and Mary, Queen of Scots were two of the greatest, most legendary rivals in recorded history—although they never even met. In one castle was Elizabeth, the childless “virgin” queen: bawdy, brilliant, tactical and cynical. In the other, Mary: ...read more
How Unflattering Royal Portraits Could Break a Marriage Contract
For much of their courtship, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s romance spanned an ocean. Although they are from different countries and radically different backgrounds—one a British royal, the other an American actress—modern travel and technology made their trans-Atlantic romance ...read more
The Untold Story of How an Escaped Slave Helped Sir Francis Drake Circumnavigate the Globe
Diego ran headlong through the gunfire toward the boats on the beach. “Are you Captain Drake’s?” he cried. He had to get on board. He had heard there were no slaves in England, and if he joined the English they might take him there. He knew some of their countrymen traded in ...read more
The Mysterious Epidemic That Terrified Henry VIII
In 1528, Henry VIII slept in a different bed every night—and not in the way you might think. He did have a mistress, his wife’s lady-in-waiting Anne Boleyn. But it was fear of disease that drove him to move almost daily that summer. The king was terrified of sweating sickness, a ...read more
8 Things You Might Not Know about Mary I
1. She had lots of stepmothers. Born at Greenwich Palace on February 18, 1516 (seven years after the 1509 marriage of her parents, King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon,) Mary was their only child to survive past infancy. In the 1520s, Henry, unhappy his wife hadn’t produced a ...read more