Renaissance English History Podcast: A Show About the Tudors

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[YouTube Drop] A “Lady Jane Grey” Portrait That Isn’t Jane Grey at All Dec 16, 2025

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For more than three centuries, a restrained Tudor portrait was confidently labeled as Lady Jane Grey. But the woman in the painting is almost certainly not Jane at all.

In this episode, we explore the evidence that the famous Wrest Park portrait actually depicts Mary Neville, Lady Dacre, a young widow navigating disgrace, poverty, and political survival after her husband’s execution. Through costume, symbolism, provenance, and later portraits, a very different story emerges.

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[YouTube Drop] Bad meat, or poison? Dec 15, 2025

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Poison was the rumor that never died in Tudor England. In this episode, we look at the deaths that Tudor contemporaries believed were “too convenient” to be natural: the Scottish commissioners who fell ill during Mary, Queen of Scots’ marriage negotiations in France, the sudden collapse of Ferdinando Stanley, and the suspicions surrounding Darnley and Amy Robsart. Whether these cases were illness, accident, or something darker, the fear of poison shaped Tudor politics in surprising ways.

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Episode 320: Lady Margaret Douglas Dec 10, 2025

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Margaret Douglas, niece of Henry VIII, spent her entire life at the center of Tudor politics. In this episode I look at her childhood in the royal nursery, the scandal that sent her to the Tower, her influential marriage into the Lennox family, and the choices that helped place her grandson James VI on the English throne. A detailed look at the woman who linked the Tudor and Stuart dynasties.

Related episodes:

Margaret Douglas' secret marriage: https://youtu.be/wIFZYwqhc90

Arbella Stuart: https://youtu.be/YJKkrYLRgy8

Tracy Borman on the other contenders: https://youtu.be/Uod4VosDhno

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More Tudor True Crime Dec 09, 2025

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Tudor England loved true crime just as much as we do today. In this episode, we look at a few cases that gripped 16th-century audiences: the 1551 murder of Thomas Arden of Faversham, and the 1592 killing of John Brewen, preserved in a sensational printed pamphlet. These stories reveal how early printers, ballad sellers, and public executions shaped a uniquely Tudor form of crime storytelling.

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[YouTube Drop] The Tudor Advent Fast Dec 08, 2025

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Intermittent fasting might feel like a modern idea, but Tudor England practiced a full winter fast during Advent. People cut out meat and dairy, relied on fish and simple grains, and often waited until evening prayers for their main meal. In this episode we look at what the Advent fast involved, how it shaped daily life in December, and why it ends up sounding a lot like the fasting routines people follow today.

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[YouTube Drop] What did the Privy Council actually do? Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

Today we’re looking at the Privy Council and the work it handled behind the scenes in Tudor England. This small group managed intelligence, arrests, foreign diplomacy, religious enforcement, and the constant flow of problems from every corner of the kingdom. It’s a closer look at how the Tudors actually governed.

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Episode 319: The Vaux Family Dec 03, 2025

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In this episode, we trace the Vaux family from their Lancastrian beginnings in the fifteenth century to their role in the Catholic underground during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I.

We follow the line from Katherine Peniston and her loyalty to Margaret of Anjou, through Nicholas Vaux’s rise under Henry VII and Henry VIII, and into the recusant world shaped by William Vaux. The story leads to Anne Vaux; her safe houses, her connection to Father Henry Garnet, and her brush with the Gunpowder Plot.

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[YouTube Drop] The Story of Mabel Bagenal Dec 02, 2025

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In 1591, Mabel Bagenal defied her powerful English family and secretly married Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone. Their relationship became one of the most controversial matches in Tudor Ireland, fueling tensions that were already pushing the country toward war. In this minicast, we explore who Mabel was, why she chose O’Neill, and how her decision shaped the politics around her.

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[YouTube Drop] Tudor Lady Knights Dec 01, 2025

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Today we’re looking at the Tudor-era women who stepped into roles normally reserved for knights, from Grace O’Malley leading a fleet on the Irish coast to Bess of Hardwick managing the Shrewsbury power base during rebellion, Mary of Guise governing a kingdom at war, Elizabeth I claiming her authority at Tilbury, and more. They were never formally knighted, but their actions came remarkably close.

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[YouTube Drop] True Crime, Tudor-Style Nov 29, 2025

Show notes

Today we’re looking at the closest thing Tudor England had to newspapers: the crime pamphlets that reported real murders, scandals, and witchcraft cases in the sixteenth century. We’ll dig into the 1573 killing of George Saunders, the 1592 murder of John Brewen, and a witchcraft case printed that same year, and explore how these pamphlets shaped public ideas about justice long before regular news existed.

Yuletide with the Tudors is starting on Monday! Don't forget to add some festive history to your season!

https://www.englandcast.com/yuletide-with-the-tudors/

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