Not Just the Tudors

Latest Episodes:

Habsburg Women: Matriarchs of Power Sep 22, 2025

Show notes

When we think of the Habsburgs, the spotlight usually falls on emperors, kings, and archdukes—powerful men who dominated Europe. But behind the scenes, across five generations, an extraordinary line of Habsburg women quietly wielded immense influence in the Netherlands. Their names are often overlooked, yet their impact was profound.

In this third episode of our special series on the Habsburg dynasty, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and historian Natalie Donnell explore the lives of these remarkable women who governed with skill, diplomacy, and resilience in a world rarely welcoming to female power. From Mary of Burgundy, who defied French aggression, to Margaret of Austria, the formidable regent who raised Charles V, to Mary of Hungary, who steered the Netherlands through decades of turmoil, these women shaped the dynasty’s fate.

MORE:

Habsburg Inbreeding with Dr. Adam Rutherford >

When Women Ruled the Low Countries >

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

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Vanity of Henry VIII with Kate Lister Sep 17, 2025

Show notes

With six wives, Henry VIII must have had something going for him, right? Was he handsome? Charming? Intelligent? Just plain powerful? In this episode, the tables are turned on Professor Suzannah Lipscomb as she becomes the guest of Dr. Kate Lister on our sister podcast, Betwixt the Sheets. Together they discuss the vanity of Henry VIII, his sporting prowess, and his injuries. Listen to discover just how terrible this Tudor king smelt.

MORE:

Sex and the Tudors

Henry VIII's Billionaire Wardrobe

Hear more intimate stories that would make your history teacher blush, on Betwixt the Sheets: the History of Sex, Scandal and Society

Presented by Dr. Kate Lister. Edited by Tim Arstall and Amy Haddow. The producers are Sophie Gee and Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles V, Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

In the second episode of our special Habsburg dynasty series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by renowned historian Professor Geoffrey Parker to uncover the extraordinary life of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor—once hailed as the “Monarch of the World.”

By the time he abdicated in 1556, Charles presided over the first truly global empire, stretching from the Netherlands and Spain to Austria, Naples, and the Americas, including Peru and the New World. As King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, and Lord of the Netherlands, Charles' titles only hinted at the scale of his power.

Yet behind the grandeur lay contradictions: a ruler torn between faith and politics, unity and fragmentation, ambition and exhaustion. Drawing on decades of research and thousands of surviving documents, Professor Parker paints a vivid portrait of Charles V’s reign—one that defined 16th-century Europe and shaped the course of world history.

MORE:

When Women Ruled the Low Countries

Isabel & Ferdinand: Renaissance Power Couple

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shakespeare's Male Muse: A Mystery Solved? Sep 11, 2025

Show notes

Could a long-hidden miniature painting unlock the mystery of Shakespeare’s most intimate poetry? Unearthed after 400 years in a private collection, a portrait depicts a strikingly androgynous youth—jewelled and enigmatic. But this is no ordinary likeness. Concealed within its layers lies a coded message of love, betrayal, and secrecy. Could it depict Henry Wriothesley, the 3rd Earl of Southampton, Shakespeare’s patron and perhaps the true “Mr. W.H.” of his most homo-erotic sonnets? In this thrilling episode, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Elizabeth Goldring and Emma Rutherford to reveal a breathtaking find that could rewrite literary history.

MORE:

A Tudor Mystery: The Girl who Could be Queen

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ah4FWEOjfcDKCK9QVFmVE

Elizabeth I's Favourite Painter: Hilliard

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Ozixx69Vx10DncZhgGYXt

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rise of the Habsburgs Sep 08, 2025

Show notes

In the first of a special four-part series on the Habsburgs, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb traces the unlikely rise of Europe’s most enduring imperial family. Emerging from a modest Swiss noble house in the 10th century, the House of Habsburg would go on to dominate the political, cultural, and religious life of Europe for nearly 400 years. Through strategic marriages, dynastic inheritances, and shrewd political manoeuvring, the Habsburgs expanded their influence to eventually rule a vast empire stretching from the Americas to the Ottoman frontier. Suzannah is joined by Professor Martyn Rady to explore how the Habsburgs built—and nearly broke—an empire without equal.

MORE:

Habsburg Inbreeding with Dr. Adam Rutherford

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3sQ4jrYtuwAFJUfBgbaAXY

When Women Ruled the Low Countries

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2u4fBHVgNhAMiaLjBv4X8Z

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

English Civil War Pt.2: Cromwell v. Charles I Sep 04, 2025

Show notes

On 30 January 1649, the unthinkable happened: for the first time in history, a reigning monarch was tried and condemned by his own people. But how did a kingdom that once believed in the divine right of kings arrive at this unprecedented moment? In this second special explainer episode, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb guides us through the final and most dramatic years of the English Civil Wars. With contributions from leading historians drawn from the Not Just the Tudors archive, Suzannah traces the pivotal events that shattered the monarchy and gave rise to the emergence of parliamentary government.

MORE:

Prelude to the English Civil War

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0er6EmZ1cfwxTLAMwO2aO1

Oliver Cromwell: Massacres and Manoeuvres

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4n7d4Rm9YXzStJBSL2TVps

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. Audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

English Civil War Pt.1 Sep 01, 2025

Show notes

What sparks a nation to turn against its own king? Professor Suzannah Lipscomb dives into the turbulent and transformative decade that witnessed the English Civil Wars — a bloody clash that claimed nearly 185,000 lives and reshaped the very soul of Britain. From the power struggle between King Charles I and Parliament, to the fiery religious conflicts and political rivalries that engulfed England, Scotland, and Ireland, these two episodes unpack the interconnected wars known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. With insights from brilliant historians drawn from the Not Just the Tudors archive, Suzannah explores the causes, battles, and consequences of a war that toppled the monarchy and forever redefined the balance of power between Crown and Parliament.

MORE:

Succession 1625: James I to Charles I >

Prelude to the English Civil War >

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tudor True Crime: Europe's Most Murderous Dynasty Aug 28, 2025

Show notes

The rich and powerful Guise family was one of the most treacherous and bloodthirsty in sixteenth-century France. They whipped up religious bigotry, overthrowing the king. They ruled Scotland for nearly 20 years through Mary Queen of Scots, plotting to invade England and overthrow Elizabeth I. And they unleashed the bloody Wars of Religion, playing a crucial role in the murder of 4,000 Protestants in the infamous Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

In this final episode for Not Just the Tudors' Tudor True Crime month, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Stuart Carroll - author of Martyrs and Murderers: The Guise Family and the Making of Europe - about this cultivated, charismatic and violent dynasty.

MORE:

Catherine d'Medici: Serpent Queen >

Mary Queen of Scots' Lost Letters Decoded >

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. Edited by Stuart Beckwith and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tudor True Crime: Murder in the Stuart Court Aug 25, 2025

Show notes

The public fascination with true crime is nothing new. Four centuries ago, the sensational story of the death in the Tower of London of Thomas Overbury, a lawyer in the court of King James I, led to a scandal that rocked the monarchy to its core. In this third episode of Not Just The Tudors' Tudor True Crime series, first released in January 2024, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Professor Alastair Bellany, about the death of Overbury and why it threatened the Stuart throne.

MORE:

Private Life of King James VI & I >

Seducing James I: Mary & George >

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tudor True Crime: Murder of Amy Dudley Aug 21, 2025

Show notes

**WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of suicide**

On 6 September 1560, Amy Robsart Dudley died after falling down a staircase at Cumnor Place in Oxfordshire. But did she fall? Was she pushed? Or did she throw herself down the stairs? These questions exercised Tudor courtiers and foreign ambassadors at the time. The truth mattered because Amy was the wife of Queen Elizabeth I’s leading courtier and very close friend, Robert Dudley, and his wife’s death could clear the way for Elizabeth to marry Dudley. But in practice, the circumstances of Amy’s death precluded any possibility of a royal marriage.

In this second episode of our Tudor True Crime Month on Not Just the Tudors, first released in February 2023, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Joanne Paul to discuss what really happened - was it an accident, suicide or murder?

MORE:

The House of Dudley >

Robert Dudley: Elizabeth I's Forbidden Love >

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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