Not Just the Tudors

The House of Medici ruthlessly wielded control of Florence for nearly 300 years. Through financial and political machinations, they transformed the city into a cultural powerhouse and the epicentre of the Renaissance, spawning popes and royalty along the way.  Across four special episodes, Not Just the Tudors takes a deep dive into this complex and controversial dynasty that left an indelible...

Just over 500 years ago, a small band of sailors completed the first ever circumnavigation of the globe, launched by Ferdinand Magellan. From the armada of five ships and some 270 men that set out, only one ship and 18 men returned. Magellan was not among them, and if he had been, he would hardly have received a hero’s welcome. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, first released in Se...

Henry VII was descended from some of the greatest Welsh princes. When word spread that he had a chance of taking the English throne, Welsh prophecies - which foretold that one day, one of their own would become king of the islands and would be crowned in London - looked to be coming true. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb introduces a special crossover edition with Not Just the Tudors ' sister podcast G...

In early 18th century Venice, the Ospedale della Pietà took in abandoned baby girls through a tiny gap in the wall.  In addition to ensuring the girls’ survival, the orphanage employed one of the world’s greatest ever composers - Antonio Vivaldi - to train the girls in music.  One of his pupils, Anna Maria della Pietà, became his star protegé and went on to a phenomenal career as a violi...

The tempestuous and passionate Barbara Villiers captured the hearts of many in Stuart-era Britain, including King Charles II. But she had a dark side, humiliating her husband for decades, plotting the ruin of her enemies, and gambling away vast sums of money. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors , Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Andrea Zuvich who reveals the true story of Barbara and her in...

At the end of the 17th century, a small clan - the Akan - in West Africa began growing into what would later become the powerful Ashanti Empire.  The state grew rapidly in both wealth and land until it spanned most of modern day Ghana, the Ivory Coast, and Togo.  Luke Pepera joins Professor Suzannah Lipscomb to discuss this incredible Empire, which fiercely resisted British colonialism a...

The 16th and 17th centuries were a crucial time for spycraft, full of political intrigue and diplomatic subterfuge. Walsingham was known as a 'Spy Master', but there were many, all vying for attention from the Crown. But how did they and their spies operate? Professor Suzannah Lipscomb welcomes Pete Langman and Professor Nadine Akkerman to delve into the practices of espionage and reveal how the l...

On 28 January 1547, King Henry VIII died at the age of 55. Just hours before his passing, his last will and testament had been read, stamped, and sealed. Historians have disagreed ever since about its authenticity and validity, and the circumstances of its creation, making Henry's will one of English history's most contested documents. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, first releas...

In November 1588, a 21-year-old Japanese man called Christopher met Queen Elizabeth I. On the way, he had already become the first recorded Japanese person in North America. His story has been almost totally forgotten until now. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors , Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about Christopher from Professor Thomas Lockley, author of A Gentleman from Japan...

Despite Catherine of Braganza's crucial place in British history, she has always been overshadowed by stories of Charles II’s many mistresses and forgotten as his boring, powerless wife. This could not be further from the truth. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors , Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Sophie Shorland about her new book The Lost Queen, which not only tells the full story of...

Robert Cecil, statesman and spymaster, stood at the heart of the Tudor and then Stuart state, a vital figure in managing the succession from Elizabeth I to James I & VI, warding off military and religious threats and steering the decisions of two very different but equally wilful and hard-to-manage monarchs.  In this episode of Not Just the Tudors , Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Profes...

Six wives - six lives that we think we know everything about. But beyond their mostly doomed marriages to Henry VIII and, in most cases, tragic ends, here were six women who shaped history in their own unique ways. In a special six part series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb has been bringing together the most illuminating interviews about the six wives from the Not Just the Tudors archive.&nbsp...

Anne Bonny and Mary Read were pirates who sailed the Caribbean in the early 18th century. For both of them, piracy offered a chance at a freedom otherwise disallowed to women. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors , Professor Suzannah Lipscomb learns more about Bonny and Read from the novelist Francesca de Torres - author of Saltblood , which recreates Mary Read's life - and Dr. Rebecca Simon who...

Six wives - six lives that we think we know everything about.  But beyond their mostly doomed marriages to Henry VIII and, in most cases, tragic ends, here were six women who shaped history in their own unique ways. In a special six part series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb brings together the most illuminating interviews about the six wives from the Not Just the Tudors archive.  She...

Toda Mariko, or Mariko-san, one of the main characters from the new TV series Shogun - adapted from James Clavell's epic novel - is based on a real woman, Hosokawa Gracia. Who was she? Was she the zealous Christian martyr depicted in Jesuit missionary accounts, or a wife duty-bound to protect the honour of her family? Or was she the defiant female warrior of Japanese folklore?  In this e...

Six wives - six lives that we think we know everything about. But beyond their mostly doomed marriages to Henry VIII and, in most cases, tragic ends, here were six women who shaped history in their own unique ways. In a special six part series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb brings together the most illuminating interviews about the six wives from the Not Just the Tudors archive. She a...

Among the male players who performed thousands of new plays in the Elizabethan repertory, the most famous were Richard Burbage and Will Kempe, members of the company known first as the Lord Chamberlain's Men and later the King's Men, the company of William Shakespeare.  In this episode of Not Just the Tudors , Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Siobhan Keenan to find out more abou...

Six wives - six lives that we think we know everything about.  But beyond their mostly doomed marriages to Henry VIII and, in most cases, tragic ends, here were six women who shaped history in their own unique ways. In a special six part series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb brings together the most illuminating interviews about the six wives from the Not Just the Tudors archive.  She...

This episode solves the 400-year old mystery of a previously unknown portrait of a young woman, dressed to look just like Queen Elizabeth herself. When Emma Rutherford - the country's leading expert in portrait miniatures - first saw it, she knew that the painting was recognisably by the celebrated Elizabethan court painter Nicholas Hilliard. But who was the mysterious girl depicted? Together, Emm...

Six wives - six lives that we think we know everything about. But beyond their mostly doomed marriages to Henry VIII and, in most cases, tragic ends, here were six women who shaped history in their own unique ways. In this special six part series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb brings together the most illuminating interviews about the six wives from the Not Just the Tudors archive.  S...

The mid-15th to mid-16th centuries in Europe was an era of political, social, and religious unrest, when the Roman Catholic Church was being questioned by those who sought a more direct connection with God.  In the midst of this turmoil in Germany stood Thomas Müntzer, a preacher, theologian, and reformer. Müntzer's role in the German Peasants War had him labelled variously as a bloodthirsty...

If you think that the female spy is a 20th century phenomenon - be it Mata Hari, Mrs Zigzag or Eve Polastri - think again!  Accounts of numerous 17th century 'she-intelligencers' have lain undiscovered in archives for centuries.  And these remarkable women were much more than the honey-trap accomplices of a Stuart-era George Smiley.  In this edition of Not Just the Tudors , first re...

Six wives - six lives that we think we know everything about.  But beyond their mostly doomed marriages to Henry VIII and, in most cases, tragic ends, here were six women who shaped history in their own unique ways. In this special six part series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb brings together the most illuminating interviews about the six wives from the Not Just the Tudors archive. ...

Margaret Tudor - daughter of King Henry VII, sister to Henry VIII - was married at 13 to James IV of Scotland, learning the skills of statecraft that would enable her to survive his early death and to construct a powerful position in Scotland.  In this episode of Not Just the Tudors , Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about Margaret from Dr. Linda Porter. Her new book, The Thist...

The acclaimed TV series Shogun , now screening on Disney+, is based on true events. Its main character John Blackthorne is modelled on William Adams, the English pilot of a Dutch ship that arrived on Japanese shores in 1600 with a handful of survivors. In this episode of Not Just the Tudors - suggested by listener Lucy Canning - Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about the real history beh...