Tudor History with Claire Ridgway

He was handsome, charming, and one of Henry VIII’s most trusted courtiers, until he fell from grace with Queen Catherine Howard. But whispers survive of a darker story: an accusation of violence, a royal pardon, and a crime that seemed to vanish from the record. Was Thomas Culpeper guilty of a shocking offence, and did Henry VIII himself protect him from justice?   Or was this just dangerous Tudor...

Step back into the sound world of Elizabethan England. In this exclusive interview, I talk to Jane Moulder, musician, researcher, instrument maker, and founding member of PIVA: The Renaissance Collective, about their stunning new album, The Faerie Round: Music from the Time of Elizabeth I. Together, we explore how Renaissance music was performed, what instruments were used, and how PIVA brings aut...

When Jane Seymour gave birth to Henry VIII’s long-awaited son, England rejoiced. Bells rang, bonfires blazed, and Henry finally had his male heir. But just twelve days later, the joy turned to sorrow, Queen Jane Seymour was dead. For centuries, her death has been shrouded in confusion and myth. Some say she died after a Caesarean section. Others, childbed fever. Alison Weir believes food poisoning...

On this day in Tudor history, 23 October 1538, a frightened monk put pen to paper as the world he knew collapsed. Thomas Goldwell, prior of Christ Church, Canterbury, wrote a desperate letter to Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief adviser and the man overseeing the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Goldwell begged to keep his “poor lodging” for life, adding the heartbreaking words: “I would rather d...

On this day in Tudor history, 22 October 1521, Sir Edward Poynings, soldier, administrator, and diplomat,died at his manor of Westenhanger in Kent. He’s not a household name, but if you’ve ever heard of “Poynings’ Law,” you already know his legacy. I’m historian and author Claire Ridgway, and in today’s episode we meet the Kentish gentleman who helped Henry VII restore royal control in Ireland, hu...

On this day in Tudor history, 21 October 1554, John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick, died at Penshurst in Kent, just days after being released from the Tower of London. The son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and brother of Robert Dudley and Guildford Dudley, Warwick was born to power and promise. Knight of the Bath, Master of the Horse, and one of Edward VI’s glittering young courtiers, his r...

Most people know Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and Thomas Cromwell, but not the man who kept their orders moving, their money counted, and their papers straight. John Uvedale (or Woodall) royal service took him from Henry VII to Edward VI, and he even held the title of secretary to Queen Anne Boleyn. He worked the border wars, the Council of the North, and the quiet engine room of Tudor power: the Exch...

When you picture Elizabeth I, you probably imagine the Armada or Ditchley portraits - alabaster skin, red wig, pearls, and poise. But how close were those famous images to the real Elizabeth? In this episode, I trace the evolution of her image, from the poised princess of the 1540s to the ageless Virgin Queen of legend, using eyewitness accounts, surviving portraits, and the propaganda that shaped...

Feeling rushed and over-screened? Author Laura Loney joins me to share Tudor-inspired ways to slow down—from cosy crafts and communal rituals to simple “micro-swaps” you can try this week. We talk about her festive collaboration with illustrator Kathryn Holeman on ’Twas the Night Before Tudor Christmas, and her witty, useful new book In Praise of Tudor (100 ideas to bring Tudor calm to modern chao...

On this day in Tudor history, 17 October 1592, Frances Brooke, Lady Cobham died and was buried at Cobham in Kent. You may already know her face: she appears in the famous Cobham Family Portrait of 1567, that beautiful Elizabethan painting capturing an entire household, from Frances and her husband to six of their children. I’m historian and author Claire Ridgway, and in today’s episode I’ll introd...

On this day in Tudor history, 16 October 1594, Cardinal William Allen died in exile in Rome. To Catholics, he was the shepherd who kept the old faith alive. To Elizabeth I’s government, he was a traitor who conspired with England’s enemies. I’m historian and author Claire Ridgway, and today we’re exploring the life of the man who founded the English colleges at Douai, Reims, and Rome; who helped b...

Before Henry VIII, there was another heir. Prince Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales, married to Katharine of Aragon, and dead at fifteen. In this interview, Gareth Streeter (author of Arthur, Prince of Wales: Henry VIII’s Lost Brother and founder of Royal History Geeks) explores the prince’s real life beyond the footnotes. We discuss: - Why Arthur, not Henry, was central to Henry VII’s vision & pr...

On this day in Tudor history, 15 October 1542, William Fitzwilliam, Earl of Southampton, died on campaign at Newcastle, serving Henry VIII one last time. He’d been by the king’s side since childhood; a boyhood companion who became a soldier, sailor, ambassador, and royal enforcer. From the naval battles of 1512, to the splendour of the Field of Cloth of Gold, and even the downfall of Wolsey, Anne...

On this day in Tudor history, 14th October 1593, Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey of Wilton, died at his Buckinghamshire home. He’d served Elizabeth I as a soldier, statesman, and staunch Protestant, but his career left a stain that history has never quite erased. In this episode,I explore the life of the man behind one of the most brutal episodes of Elizabeth’s rule, the Smerwick massacre, and ask ho...

On 13 October 1549, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, the man who had ruled England as Lord Protector for young Edward VI, lost it all. By the next day, he was in the Tower. How did the most powerful man in Tudor England fall so fast? In this episode, I uncover the character flaws, bad decisions, and political missteps that doomed Somerset’s rule. He was a soldier, reformer, and visionary, but als...

Did England’s boy-king really tear his pet falcon to pieces? In 1551, a foreign ambassador claimed that thirteen-year-old Edward VI, Henry VIII’s only son, plucked and ripped apart his own falcon, saying he was that bird “whom everyone plucked.” Some at court swore it happened. Others called it lies. Was this a violent outburst, a misunderstood symbol of royal power, or pure Tudor gossip? Join me,...

On this day in Tudor history, 10 October 1530, Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, died. Soldier, jouster, courtier, and grandfather of Lady Jane Grey, he lived a life that perfectly captured the dangers and rewards of Tudor ambition. Born into royalty - grandson of Elizabeth Woodville and Katherine Neville, sister of the Kingmaker - Thomas grew up in the shadow of shifting alliances and rebellio...

On this day in Tudor history, 9 October 1536, anger in Lincolnshire burst into open revolt. At Horncastle, a crowd raised their hands in agreement: “We like them very well!”, and sent a blunt list of grievances to King Henry VIII. That petition marked the birth of the Pilgrimage of Grace, the largest uprising of his reign. But how did it start? In the first week of October 1536, fear and fury spre...

How Edward Seymour Went from Power to the Scaffold   On this day in Tudor history, 8 October 1549, England’s most powerful man became its newest traitor. Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and uncle to the boy-king Edward VI, had ruled England as Lord Protector since 1547.    He pushed bold reforms (the Act of Uniformity and the Book of Common Prayer) but rebellion, rivalry, and ambition brought him...

On this day in Tudor history, 7 October 1589, the bells of Deptford tolled for William Hawkins: merchant, sea captain, three-time mayor of Plymouth, and the steadier, quieter elder of the famous Hawkins brothers. Buried at St Nicholas’s, his monument is lost, but his impact isn’t. In this episode, I trace how Hawkins turned Plymouth into a launchpad for Elizabethan sea power: From Brazil voyages w...

On 6 October 1557, John Capon, also known as John Salcot, died, probably of influenza.    His career charts the shifting winds of Tudor religion: Benedictine monk, abbot, court preacher, reformer under Henry VIII and Edward VI, and Catholic persecutor under Mary I.    Was he a survivor, an opportunist, or both?    In today’s “On This Day” we explore how one bishop’s career became a case study in T...

A spring morning in 1573. A respected London merchant leaves a friend’s house near Woolwich… and ends up dead by Shooter’s Hill. The killer, Captain George Brown, is caught within days. But the real shock wasn’t the killer's identity, it was the letter that told him exactly where to strike… and who wanted George Saunders gone. I’m Claire Ridgway, historian and author. In this Tudor true-crime deep...

Historian Elizabeth Norton joins me to talk about her new book Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy—from ancient queens to early modern powerhouses. We cover how she chose her rulers, the thorny language of “queen” vs “female king,” why so many societies accepted women only in crises, and the single pattern she kept seeing across five millennia. We also chat process: research v...

Was Mary Boleyn really “the pretty one”, or is that just fiction? I’m Claire Ridgway, historian and author, and today I’m pulling apart the myths to ask what we can actually say about Mary’s appearance. In this podcast you’ll learn: Where our assumptions on Mary come from. How a 17th-century portrait type has been re-identified as Mary Boleyn using dendrochronology (tree-ring dating), provenance,...

On this day in Tudor history, 3 October 1559, Sir William Fitzwilliam, gentleman of Prince Edward’s privy chamber, MP, court insider, and later deputy chancellor in Ireland under Mary I, died and was honoured with burial in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. He was one of those capable, steady figures who moved quietly through the Henrician, Edwardian, and Marian courts, and kept being trusted. W...