Tudors
The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown
Elizabeth I’s refusal to name an heir resulted in many claimants to the English throne in 1603 – with the son of the Queen of Scots finally prevailing
Ignoble ambitions
This is the gripping story of the ever-fluctuating fortunes of three generations of the Dudley dynasty, servants to — and…
Things that go bump
Pregnancy has always been a public spectacle – and as the Foundling Museum’s new exhibition shows, a dangerous one
Lessons from Utopia
Thomas More’s 1516 classic is a textbook for our troubled times, says William Cook
The long goodbye
In January 1958, the British government began working on the significantly titled Operation Hope Not: its plans for what to…
Decades of grievances
Historians have generally not been kind in their assessment of Britain’s first two Stuart kings. Their political skills are regarded…
Lords and protectors
There are still some sizeable holes in early modern English history and one of them is what we know —…
Anne Boleyn’s last secret
Why was the queen executed with a sword, rather than an axe?
History’s great success story
The Tudors, England’s most glamorous ruling dynasty, were self-invented parvenus, with ‘vile and barbarous’ origins, Anne Somerset reminds us
Behind the masque
Music has always been integral to the image and power of monarchy. Our present Royal family should take note, says Jonathan Keate
