Show Notes
We think we know a lot about Anne Boleyn, but even the familiar portrait of her has been challenged as a good likeness – and it’s not certain what year she was born in. Her enemies delighted in stories about her being a witch who’d used unfair means to entrance poor King Henry VIII. To the supporters of Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, she bewitched Henry VIII away from his true wife and the true religion of Catholicism. To her supporters, she was an intelligent, cultured and graceful lady with great drive and ambition.
More from Stories of the Tudors & Stuarts
Entangled in a web of intrigue, from the glittering Palace of Whitehall to the cells of the Tower of London, Bess Raleigh endures tragedy and injustice, becoming a resilient, determined woman, who takes nothing for granted.
Frances Walsingham is the only surviving child of Queen Elizabeth’s ‘spymaster’ Sir Francis Walsingham. Better educated than most men, her father arranges her marriage to warrior poet Sir Philip Sidney.After Philip Sidney is killed in battle, Frances becomes Countess of Essex, and is banished from court after her husband Sir Robert Devereaux’s rebellion against the queen.
A Woman Ahead of Her Time Born Penelope Devereux, she was the daughter of the queen’s nemesis, Lettice Knollys, and elder sister of the ill-fated Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. Her father died in Ireland and her mother was often absent, so Penelope had to grow up fast and look after her younger brothers and sister. Her mother’s secret marriage to the queen’s favourite, Robert Dudley, did nothing to help Penelope. In this podcast, I’ll explore some lesser-known insights into the character of Lady Penelope.
This podcast continues my Elizabethan series looking at a new perspective on the history of Sir Walter Raleigh, the subject of my book Raleigh – Tudor Adventurer. I’d been planning an Elizabethan series for some time, as my aim was to tell the stories of the Tudors from Owen Tudor’s first meeting with Queen Catherine of Valois through to the death of Queen Elizabeth. I decided to show the fascinating world of the Elizabethan court through the eyes of the queen’s favourite courtiers, and chose Raleigh as he had a special relationship as Captain of the queen’s guard. In this podcast, we’re exploring the man behind the myths, the man Queen Elizabeth trusted… then betrayed? Explorer, soldier, poet—Sir Walter Raleigh lived a life of danger and ambition. Uncover his remarkable story in Raleigh – Tudor Adventurer https://mybook.to/Raleigh
Sir Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, is a favourite of Queen Elizabeth, so why does he lead a rebellion? This podcast set out some of the historical research behind the book, and includes a short excerpt from the audiobook, narrated by Nigel Peever.