Sir Thomas Wyatt was more than a courtier with a gift for words. He was a man whose life unfolded against the turbulent backdrop of Henry VIII’s reign — a world of shifting alliances, dangerous intrigue, and sudden reversals of fortune. Though best remembered today for introducing the sonnet into English literature, Wyatt was also a diplomat, a one time prisoner of the Tower of London, and a figure whose personal story has long been entangled with that of Anne Boleyn. Thomas’s life shows us a vivid window into the volatile world of Tudor England, so lets explore his story!

Queen Mary I is England’s first true queen regnant, and yet her reign is invariably considered a mere blip in the wider Tudor story, a short lived window in which an intolerant zealot went around burning people alive with undiluted pleasure. The truth is, of course, far more complex. Many misconceptions surround Queen Mary I, and so to unpack them I am pleased to welcome back Dr Peter Stiffell onto the podcast. From his annoyance at the term Mary Tudor, to Mary’s own commitment to the good treatment of her household, to one of the most controversial topics, Mary’s pregnancies, in this episode we will uproot much of what people think they know of Mary’s reign, and so prepare to hopefully have some of your opinions altered!

Given the brevity of her time as queen of England, we often overlook the fact that Anne of Cleves was indeed that, a queen, and thus her tenure came with all of the benefits, mores and facets of queenship just as much as it did for the many other queens of Henry VIII. We seldom explore what kind of queen she was, how did she spend her money, was she a good landlady, was she a good queen?! Well to discuss all of this and more, I am pleased to welcome back James Taffe onto the podcast for a discussion based on his latest book, Accounting for Anne, The Tudor Queen who could have been, so, settle in to find out precisely what kind of queen she was!