In March 1623 Simon Digby noticed two suspicious looking blokes with dodgy beards hanging around outside his uncle’s house in Madrid. He rushed over to find out what they wereRead More

Cranmer’s reputation has run from dishonest, ambitious politician to gentle, moderate Anglican. Prof. Diarmaid MacCulloch shed light on the life and motivations of the man central to the English Reformation.  Read More

I chat with historian Nicola Tallis about the life, times and death of Lady Jane Grey. And also there are prizes and things.        

  After Mary’s victory, Jane Grey was imprisoned comfortably in the Tower, and spent her time studying – and had a reasonable expectation of long, if a little dull,  life. Until in 1554Read More

The game played out, the Mary entered London and the Duke was to die. But Northumberland had one more surprise to spring To find out more about our programme, andRead More

Whether Jane and Guildford understood the commotion in the city outside the Tower we do not know, but it was the duty of her father, the Duke of Suffolk, to breakRead More

Around the 14th July a ship called the Greyhound sailed into Orwell Haven. Its captain was in gaol in Lowestoft, its crew had smashed open the cash box. Meeting withRead More

Northumberland made good speed towards East Anglia and Mary, and his army swelled with troops and artillery. But in London, the mood was ugly, and Mary was having some success too.Read More

Mary’s letter of 10th July brought home an uncomfortable truth that Northumberland had expected to avoid – that Jane must fight for her crown. If an army could be found ToRead More

On the morning of 9th July 1553 the 16 year old Jane was walking in the Grey manor at Chelsea in blissful ignorance. Then the Duke of Northumberland’s daughter, Mary Sidney,Read More

The life of Lady Jane Grey  to 1553, and the fate of Edward VI is settled as the vultures gather. The first in our series on the succession crisis of 1553.Read More

Edward VI’s ‘Devise for the Succession’ would plunge England into turmoil. Was it his own work, or was it the work of a manipulative and power hungry Northumberland? Here’s what happened.Read More

John Dudley, as Duke of Northumberland for a while dominated the King’s Council – and was a man with the imagination to change the rules. And the Edwardian Reformation continued,Read More

Diarmaid MacCulloch brings wonderful scholarship, wit and humanity with a delightfully fresh biography of Thomas Cromwell, shot through with new insights. And I got to meet him! Here is what we talkedRead More

In 1550 Edward’s views on reformation began to harden – and brought him into conflict with his sister. Under pressure from King and Council, Mary decided that she must fleeRead More

Somerset came away from the Commotion Time with a wobbly reputation. Could he survive politically ?   Transcript Let me take you to London. The year is 1548, about aRead More

  1549 was a year of upheaval which led to rebellions which offer a fascinating window into English society. It also  saw the publication of the Book of Common Prayer,Read More

Somerset was an effective soldier, and as uncle to the king he seemed like an ideal choice as Protector. Would he prove an effective political? Good Duke, Bad Duke or justRead More

Within week, Edward Seymour was safely ensconced on the seat of power. But brother Thomas was not impressed, and would involve three women – Catherine Parr, Princess Elizabeth and JaneRead More

Poor Edward’s reign tends to be ignored, sandwiched as it is. This week we pay it proper respect – what has history had to say of the lad, what were theRead More

Posted on 5th August: Results now in! It was very close as the table below shows. But int he end, the History of England listeners declared that while Henry VIIIRead More

In 1545 the struggle between conservative and evangelical, between mumpsimus and sumpsimus grew more intense as Catherine Parr’s household shed an evangelical light over the court. And into this situation cameRead More

In 1544 Henry traveled to France and hauled himself into the saddle for his last chance to emulate Henry V. A little like his predecessor, he was also investing in a royal Read More

It’s time for a naval encounter, marked by the sinking of the Mary Rose, and then we set the scene for the cut-throat politics of the last years with Richard Rich,Read More

The arrival of Catherine Parr (and family) and preparations for war in France. And rather a lot of digressions. Transcript Last week I mentioned that after his despair at CatherineRead More

In 1542, Henry’s sought war with France; but before that, he must make sure his northern borders were safe. So began the Rough Wooing, as Henry sought to bring a Pro-EnglishRead More

In 1543 religious conservatives were in the ascendant, dominated the aristocratic Privy Council and a wave of prosecutions for heresy followed. When some of Archbishop Cranmer’s own parishioners  of Kent soughtRead More

Catherine had made a decent start of being queen. And it was really in no body’s interest to reveal her old life. But dangers and memories were all around –Read More

In 1540 a new member at court, Catherine Howard, caught the eye of a king struggling with his marriage to Anne. By July Anne was gone and Catherine had embarkedRead More

Anne arrived in England to be greeted by 6 burly disguised middle aged men. 1540 was a year neither Anne of Cleves nor Thomas Cromwell were to remember – with affectionRead More

Henry’s attitude to illness, and possible medical explanations for his character  and events of his realm. And a negotiation starts for a new wife. A royal marriage proposal: Amelia andRead More

The 1530’s saw radical changes in both Ireland and Wales, following Cromwell’s same policy as applied to the northern borders. The outcomes though, were to be very different.   IRead More

Henry wanted a different relationship with his nobility – a service, court based nobility. Royal power meanwhile must be extended and enhanced. Today we look at Tudor lordship and royal power inRead More

At the start of 1538, the end of monasticism was widely predicted, and by 1540 the larger monasteries were all gone. Along with an assault on the veneration of relicsRead More

It is not true to say that Henry died a Catholic without the Pope. The 1530’s were a time of increasing doctrinal confusion which together with the attack on monasticismRead More

With Anne’s death the traditionalists breathed a heavy sign of relief. now all the bad stuff would stop – evangelical reform would be reversed, Mary would be re-instated. They had aRead More

From the mid 1520s, the church authorities began to face a more serious challenge from evangelicals like Thomas Bilney and Hugh Latimer. And in 1526 and 1534, Tyndale’s New Testament in EnglishRead More

Heather Teysko of the Renaissance English history podcast gives a wonderful and musical introduction to the English choral tradition at the time of the Reformation.       Hello HistoryRead More

Some of the arguments about Anne Boleyn’s life and career, to help you make you make your choice and vote on the History of England Facebook page. And while you are hereRead More

On May Day 1536 at Greenwich, Anne and Henry could put their worries aside. Everything was well with the world as they watched the joust. Then Henry left suddenly and wasRead More

We discuss what we know about Anne as Queen consort, and chart the progress of the break with a thousand years of tradition in the declaration of royal supremacy. GoRead More

After Wolsey’s fall was a period of stalemate; but between 1529 and 1532, Henry’s thoughts crystalised, Anne became to be openly at his side – and a new weapon joined theRead More

In 1529 the campaign for the King’s great matter, his divorce came to a climax. Wolsey persuaded the Pope to allow a court to be held in England under Cardinals CampeggioRead More

The king’s Great Matter as it was to be called, outraged and divided Christendom, and has been dividing us ever since. What motivated it? Who was responsible? The debate startsRead More

The traditional story of the English Reformation has been of a rotten, moribund, venal church, just waiting to be toppled by reformers, the pyre ignited by Luther’s teachings. But wasRead More

Henry had shown a hint of the man he would become in 1510 by the execution of Empson and Dudley. In 1521, the Duke of Buckingham was in his sights,Read More

Wolsey had tried war with France, they’d tried war by proxy, they’d tried peace. In 1518 the most remarkable of their plans – the Treaty of Universal peace where 20Read More

Being made a Cardinal in 1515 gave Wolsey the perfect opportunity to give the vainglorious side of his nature full reign. He made full use of it. We have three topicsRead More

The story of a love affair – probably. In 1514 Henry married off his 18 year old sister to the gouty, siphilitic, toothless 50+ year old Louis and sent herRead More

The path of Renaissance diplomacy was both torturous and without scruple; as Henry finds out as he thirsts for glory. Renaissance Italy There’s a bit of a geography lesson this time –Read More

Historians have identified the 16th and 17th centuries as a time of revolutionary change in Europe, driven by military technology. We talk a bit about that, and about the personalitiesRead More

The accession of Henry VIII was greeted with a huge sigh of relief and great enthusiasm. His court was to change immediately, and politics for ever. Although the Book ofRead More

What happened when Henry was gone. And the report card – was Henry an incompetent tyrant, a fun loving  saviour of England’s future – or something in between? Should weRead More

In the early 1500’s Henry VII saw many of his closest confidentes and supporters die. Catherine of Aragon was to be one of those who suffered as a result. He alsoRead More

The appearance of a new pretender – Perkin Warbeck in Ireland was to distort Henry VII’s domestic and foreign policy for the rest of the 1490’s. Some Dramatis Personae CharlesRead More

Henry VII’s ambitions were to rule in the French style – to better control and increase his income. He gathered around him bureaucrats – new men he could trust and whoRead More