British History: Royals, Rebels, and Romantics

Show Notes: Credits: Host: Carol Ann Lloyd Guest: Cassidy Cash www.carolannlloyd.com Creative Director: Lindsey Lindstrom Music: Historical Documentary licensed through Audio Jungle/Envato Markets Links: www.cassidycash.com https://www.cassidycash.com/macbeth-saved-shakespeare-gunpowder-plot/   Summary: Shakespeare was writing in a time when people believed in witches. So when the witches appear i...

Show Notes: Credits: Host: Carol Ann Lloyd www.carolannlloyd.com Creative Director: Lindsey Lindstrom Music: Historical Documentary licensed through Audio Jungle/Envato Markets Sources Mentioned: Borman, Tracy. Witches: James I and the English Witch Hunts. Davies, Owen. "A Spell-binding History of Witches" (History Extra). Lipscomb, Suzannah (Presenter). Witches: a Century of Murder. Lip...

Show Notes Kate McCaffrey, the Assistant Curator at Hever Castle, has recently uncovered new evidence on the Book of Hours owned and used by Anne Boleyn. Kate shares her findings and some connections to Elizabeth I. Credits: Host: Carol Ann Lloyd www.carolannlloyd.com Guest: Kate McCaffrey kateemccaffrey.wordpress.com Twitter: @kateemccaffrey Instagram: @kateemccaffrey Creative Director: Lindsey L...

SHOW NOTES Forced to abdicate in favor of her baby son, Mary Queen of Scots fled to England in 1568. For 19 years, she and Queen Elizabeth I became increasingly at odds as Mary was the focus of and then willing participant in plots to assassinate Elizabeth and put Mary on the English throne. We know that story. I think it's also important to realize that, although there were forces working ag...

Dr. Tracy Borman is an internationally well-known and well-loved historian, broadcaster, and author. Her books are credited with humanizing the Tudors as she shares such details as Henry VIII’s love of puddings and Elizabeth I’s invention of her own perfume. Her nonfiction recreates and brings to life the famous figures of the Tudor dynasty. And her new non-fiction trilogy is described as “luring...

Dr. Tracy Borman is an internationally well-known and well-loved historian, broadcaster, and author. Her books are credited with humanizing the Tudors as she shares such details as Henry VIII’s love of puddings and Elizabeth I’s invention of her own perfume. Her nonfiction recreates and brings to life the famous figures of the Tudor dynasty. And her new non-fiction trilogy is described as “luring...

We're back for another season featuring the royals, rebels, and romantics of British History! Season Two will bring some new fun to the podcast.  Here's what's ahead: September will be all about Elizabeth I. October will delve into the world of witches and other sorcery. November will give us a chance to remember, remember lots of rebels and rebellions. And December will be a time f...

The Tudor court was always on the move. Basic hygiene required that the court remain in any one palace for just a few weeks before moving out so everything could be cleaned. Think of no indoor plumbing or running water. After a few weeks, it was time to move. During the spring and summer, those moves went beyond London into other parts of the country. This was for practical reasons in some ways—pl...

Tudors spent their summers working hard, playing hard, enjoying season fruits, and sometimes having a great time. Brigitte Webster of Tudor & 17th Century Experience continues to share her expertise on how Tudors enjoyed their summers. Find more about Brigitte and how you can immerse yourself in a real Tudor experience at https://www.tudorexperience.com and be sure to follow her on Instagram (...

From special summer food to the Banqueting House, and from harvest days to feasting, Tudor summers were a time of working hard and celebrating. Brigitte Webster, owner of Tudor and 17th Century Experience, shares the details of Tudor summer fun and feasting. Living at Old Hall, a 16th century home, Brigitte experiences the full Tudor experience.  Brigitte shares the fun of a Tudor summer, which in...

When we think of Jane Austen’s novels, we often think of life in the parlor. Well-dressed Bingley sisters making pointed comments in the grand rooms of Netherfield Hall. Mr. Knightley visiting Emma and Mr. Woodhouse at Hartfield. Lady Catherine deBourgh holding court at Rosings. And Mr. Darcy watching Elizabeth play the piano at Pemberley. Ladies read books and walk around the room. Gentlemen writ...

In 1800, Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, erected the first known Christmas tree at Windsor Castle. She hosted a party for the children of Windsor families. According to Dr. John Watkins, who wrote a biography of Queen Charlotte, the large yew tree stood in a tub in the middle of the drawing room at Queen’s Lodge. The branches were decorated with “bunches of sweetmeats, almonds, and raisins in...

When Victoria and Albert married in 1840, they consciously set about improving the image of the monarchy. Creating a family Christmas, with children gathered around the tree, was an essential part of this. With their Christmas tree as a centerpiece, the royal family was ready to create a picture-perfect Christmas. In 1848, the Illustrated London News featured a drawing of the royal family celebrat...

For the Tudors, Christmas was a highlight of the year. It was a time of feasting on especially grand dishes, of dancing and singing, of enjoying the antics of the Lord of Misrule and special holiday revels and entertainments, and of showing off. Oh, and of course going to church.  The Tudors certainly made the most of these traditions. Families in Tudor times carried on decorating their homes with...

We're celebrating Christmas in July! Unlike today, Medieval Christmas decorations did not start going up mid-October! In fact, because of Advent, the 40 days before Christmas were pretty bleak. Once noon passed on December 24, decorating homes and churches could begin. Family members wrapped up warmly and headed outside to gather the holly bows, ivy, red berries, pine branches and cones, and...

She was surrounded by men: daughter of a Duke, sister of an Earl, and wife of the King's illegitimate son! But Mary Howard, daughter-in-law of Henry VIII, was not about to be pushed around. She stood up for what was hers, refused to be married off, and ended up with an income and a chance to make a life of her own. No wonder her father described her as "too wise for a woman." Join R...

The whole idea of the royal succession was for the throne to pass from the King to his adult, prepared, son. That’s the pattern that makes the “The King is dead, long live the King” thing work. But in English and Scottish and British history, that didn’t always happen. Sometimes there wasn’t an adult son ready to take the throne. Sometimes (gasp!) the throne went to a woman! And sometimes (double...

For much of royal history, Kings literally ruled. And a King’s primary job description was to ensure peace and prosperity at home, protect against enemies abroad, and secure the succession. Be a judge, be a soldier, be a dad. A King’s success was typically judged against these criteria, at least through the Middle Ages and into the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Then Queens took the throne, wh...

Born in 1662 and 1665, Stuart Princesses Mary and Anne came into a turbulent world—especially turbulent for the royal family. Their grandfather, King Charles I, had been executed by Parliament in 1649. Their uncle, Charles II, had been invited to come back to England and restore the monarchy in 1660. Then there was the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666. In 1671, when Mary was 9 and A...

The four generations of Stuart reign—James I, his son Charles I, his sons Charles II and James II, and James’s daughters Mary and Anne—represented a manifestation of chaos and conflict. Particularly in the reigns of the male Stuarts, the battles between Catholic and Protestant, King and Parliament, and England and the continent rocked the country, weakened the peace and prosperity, and threatened...

Making secret marriages, creating the right image, navigating court politics, and escaping in disguise—just another Tudor family story! From her birth in 1575, Arbella had a claim to the throne. As Queen Elizabeth was in her 40s with no plans to marry, the chances of her giving birth were rapidly diminishing. That represented the end of Henry VIII’s descendants. Then there were the descendants of...

I’m one of those people who, when the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their wedding date, immediately thought: “Why would you want to get married on the anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s execution?” That’s what May 19 means to us in Anne Boleyn fandom. That and one more thing, at least to me: 19 May is also the date Anne’s daughter Elizabeth was released from the Tower.  So how did the two wom...

As the first Tudor King, we recognize Henry VII as the patriarch, so his wife Elizabeth of York could be seen as the natural matriarch. Elizabeth represented the Yorkist claim to the throne, so she was an essential part of the story of the Tudors representing the union of York and Lancaster. She bore the King four children who survived infancy and early childhood, providing two sons—an heir and a...

This week, we’ll be looking at six of the women who came to England and became game-changers: Emma of Normandy, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Henrietta Maria of France, Mary of Modena, and Mary of Teck. In her own way, each of these women had an extraordinary and lasting impact on her son (or, in some cases, sons) and his rule. Emma’s political alliances and influence helped shaped the...

Rogue scholar Dennis McCarthy has relied on plagiarism software, travels through Europe, and an obsession to find the truth to continue his quest for a new source of Shakespeare's plays. He concludes that Tudor courtier and author Thomas North, whose family was at the center of political intrigue for years, wrote plays that Shakespeare used as source material. Award-winning journalist and aut...