Henry VIII died 475 years ago, on 28 January, 1547. To mark the occasion, we asked the author Carol McGrath to draw upon her new book, Sex and Sexuality in Tudor England, to examine the king’s notoriously turbulent sex life. She focusses on the driving force behind his many marriages: his obsession with fathering a […]
Did Henry VIII really want Katheryn Howard to be executed?
Was Katheryn Howard’s execution avoidable? It may be that in death, as in much of her life, she was a pawn manipulated by some of the most powerful men in England. As historian and novelist Alison Weir tells Historia, evidence suggests that it was Henry VIII’s advisors, rather than the grief-stricken King himself, who wanted […]
All at sea in Tudor England
The Tudor navy and its complications were an inspiration for award-winning historian and novelist JD Davies. He tells Historia about researching his new novel, Destiny’s Tide.
Historia interviews: Alison Weir
Historia interviews author Alison Weir about her novel Anna of Kleve
Henry VIII and the Men who Made Him by Tracy Borman
Henry VIII is well known for his tumultuous relationships with women, and he is often defined by his many marriages. But what do we see if we take a different look? When we see Henry through the men in his life, a new perspective on this famous king emerges. Henry’s relationships with the men who […]
The Reformation: The John Rylands Library
Historia editor Katherine Clements visits the new exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of The Reformation at The John Rylands Library, Manchester. “So, what exactly is the Reformation?” asks one of my fellow journalists at the press preview of John Rylands Library’s new exhibition. There’s a pause from our guide that suggests this is not a new question. Then […]
Tardiness and Tempest: Henry VIII’s Courtship of Anne Boleyn
Did Anne Boleyn really fend off Henry VIII’s advances for seven years? Our guest this month, Alison Weir, dishes the dirt. It was novel for a King like Henry VIII to have to beg for sexual favours. When he asked Anne Boleyn to become his mistress, around 1525-6, she refused. She would not even agree to […]
The Countess and the Crown
Our guest this month, Morgan Ring, on the extraordinary life of Lady Margaret Douglas and her crucial role in the Tudor succession. In July 1536, Henry VIII found himself — for the first time in twenty years — with neither a legitimate child nor a pregnant wife. In the absence of a boy born in […]