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    History

    Tudor History with Claire Ridgway

    Step back into a world of intrigue, passion, and ruthless ambition — welcome to Tudor England. Join historian and bestselling author Claire Ridgway as she uncovers the riveting stories of the Tudor dynasty. From the scandalous love affairs of King Henry VIII to the tragic fall of Anne Boleyn, the fierce reign of Elizabeth I, and the lesser-known secrets of Tudor court life, this podcast brings history to life in vivid detail.

    Hear dramatic tales of betrayal, execution, forbidden love, and political manoeuvring that shaped England forever. Discover daily Tudor history with fascinating “On This Day” episodes — unique insights you won’t find in typical history books. Get behind-the-scenes stories from Claire’s own research trips to historic sites like the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Hever Castle, and more. Enjoy interviews with top historians and experts in Tudor studies, plus lively Q&A sessions tackling listeners’ burning Tudor questions.

    🖋 Who is Claire Ridgway? Claire is the author of the bestselling On This Day in Tudor History series and numerous other Tudor books loved by readers around the world. She founded The Tudor Society, connecting enthusiasts with experts through live online events, and runs the hugely popular history websites The Anne Boleyn Files and www.ClaireRidgway.com.

    Her mission: to uncover the human stories behind the crown — the hopes, fears, and triumphs of not only kings and queens but also the courtiers, rebels, and ordinary people who lived under the Tudor rose.

    What can you expect?

    • Gripping accounts of famous events like the Field of Cloth of Gold, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, or the Babington Plot.

    • Intimate portraits of Tudor figures: Anne Boleyn’s charm and downfall, Thomas Cromwell’s rise and brutal fall, Elizabeth I’s cunning survival.

    • Dark mysteries and unsolved deaths

    • Who really killed Amy Robsart?

    • Was Katherine Howard truly guilty?

    • Special episodes on Tudor fashion, food, medicine, and the day-to-day lives of Tudor men and women.

    Join thousands of Tudor fans worldwide Never miss an episode — subscribe now and become part of a global community that can’t get enough of Tudor drama. Explore more with Claire’s books, free resources, and live historical events at www.ClaireRidgway.com. Ready to travel back 500 years?

    Press play and let the adventure begin.

    Advertise

    Copyright: Copyright © 2019 All rights reserved.

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    Latest Episodes:
    From Fotheringhay to Bosworth: Richard III Is Born Oct 02, 2025
    Show notes

    On this day in 1452, a boy was born at Fotheringhay Castle who would become England’s last Plantagenet king: Richard III.

    I’m Claire Ridgway, and in today’s episode we trace Richard’s short, stormy road from noble son to fallen king, and the remarkable afterlife of his story, from Bosworth Field to a Leicester car park and DNA confirmation centuries later.

    In this podcast:

    • Birth & family: the House of York and Cecily Neville, the “Rose of Raby”

    • 1483: the pre-contract claim, Edward V’s disinheritance, and Richard’s coronation

    • Challenges to the crown: Buckingham’s rebellion & Henry Tudor’s invasion

    • Battle of Bosworth (22 Aug 1485): tactics, the Stanleys’ decisive move, Richard’s last charge

    • Burial at Grey Friars, the 2012 discovery & DNA, scoliosis, and reinterment (2015)

    • Legacy: usurper, reformer, courageous warrior, or a king made by brutal times?


    What’s your take on Richard III—pragmatic protector, ruthless usurper, courageous warrior, or a product of his age? Tell me in the comments.

    If you enjoyed this On This Day, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell for more daily Tudor and late-medieval history.

    #OnThisDay #RichardIII #WarsOfTheRoses #Bosworth #Plantagenet #Fotheringhay #PrincesInTheTower #AnneNeville #Leicester #MedievalHistory #TudorHistory #History #Yorkist #DNA

    The Plantagenet Who Became a Queen's Favourite Sleeping Companion Oct 01, 2025
    Show notes

    On 1 October 1526, Dorothy Stafford was born, a woman of Plantagenet blood who would spend forty years at the heart of Elizabeth I’s privy chamber.
    In this episode, I trace Dorothy’s remarkable path:

    • Family webs: Stafford–Pole lineage (Buckingham & Clarence), and marriage to Sir William Stafford, Mary Boleyn’s widower.
    • Exile & faith: Under Mary I she fled to Geneva; in 1556 John Calvin stood godfather to her son (then they famously fell out, and she moved to Basel).
    • Return & rise: With Elizabeth’s accession (1559), Dorothy joined the privy chamber and became one of the queen’s trusted sleeping companions. When she broke her leg in 1576, the court scrambled for a replacement so the queen could sleep peacefully.
    • Storms weathered: Even the Stafford Plot involving her son didn’t unseat her. Dorothy died in 1604, remembered at St Margaret’s, Westminster, as a “continual remembrancer of the suits of the poor.”
    • A royal confidante. Mediator. Quiet backbone of a court.

    Had you heard of Dorothy Stafford before? Tell me in the comments!
    If you enjoy daily Tudor stories, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell.
    #DorothyStafford #ElizabethI #OnThisDay #TudorHistory #AnneBoleyn #PrivyChamber #Plantagenet #JohnCalvin #WomenInHistory #HistoryYouTube #ClaireRidgway

    Margaret Tudor’s Flight: The 1515 Escape that Led to a United Crown Sep 30, 2025
    Show notes

    On 30 September 1515, Margaret Tudor, Henry VIII’s elder sister and widow of James IV, slipped across the Scottish border into England: heavily pregnant, newly remarried, and out of power. Her dash to Harbottle Castle set up a birth with huge consequences: Lady Margaret Douglas, whose line would help unite the Tudor and Stuart claims.
    In this episode I set the scene:

    • The glittering 1503 marriage to James IV and the Flodden aftermath
    • How Margaret lost the regency by marrying for love: Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus
    • Duke of Albany takes control, and the royal children
    • The 1515 flight to Harbottle and the birth (8 Oct) of Lady Margaret Douglas
    • Why Henry VIII offered hospitality, not armies
    • Margaret’s return in 1517, and how her daughter’s marriage to Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox produced Lord Darnley, and, in the next generation, James VI & I, uniting the crowns in 1603

    Question: Was Margaret’s remarriage brave or reckless, or both? Tell me in the comments.
    If you enjoy these “On This Day” podcasts, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell for daily Tudor history.
    #MargaretTudor #OnThisDay #TudorHistory #LadyMargaretDouglas #JamesVIandI #HarbottleCastle #HenryVIII #Douglas #DukeOfAlbany #UnionOfTheCrowns #HistoryYouTube #ClaireRidgway
    Dragon-Slayer & Dinner: How the Tudors Marked Michaelmas Sep 29, 2025
    Show notes

    I’m Claire Ridgway, historian and author. On 29 September, the Tudors celebrated Michaelmas, the feast of St Michael the Archangel, heaven’s champion and defender of the Church. Beyond the bells and processions, Michaelmas was one of the four quarter days, the moment the Tudor year turned.
    In this video:

    • What Michaelmas meant in scripture & worship (Michael vs. the dragon)
    • Quarter day basics: new agricultural year, rents & accounts due, hiring/statute fairs
    • The menu: why Tudors roasted “stubble-goose” (and the saying that it kept you in money)
    • Folklore: don’t pick blackberries after Michaelmas—the devil’s said to spoil them!
    • Echoes today: why Oxford, Cambridge and the law courts still call it Michaelmas term


    What would be on your table: goose, apples, or a blackberry tart (picked before today, of course)? Tell me in the comments!
    If you enjoyed this slice of seasonal Tudor life, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell for more daily “On This Day” history.
    #Michaelmas #OnThisDay #TudorFeastDays #TudorHistory #StMichael #EarlyModernLife #TudorFood #SeasonalHistory #HistoryYouTube #QuarterDays #BritishFolklore

    From Exile to Baron: Robert Willoughby, Henry VII's Loyal Supporter Sep 28, 2025
    Show notes

    Imagine standing shoulder to shoulder with Henry Tudor in exile, then riding back to win a crown at Bosworth. Today we meet Robert Willoughby, 1st Baron Willoughby de Broke: sheriff, soldier, royal fixer and one of Henry VII’s most loyal supporters, who died on 28 September 1502 at Callington, Cornwall.
    In this episode of On This Day in Tudor History, I, Claire Ridgway (historian & author), trace Willoughby’s journey from West Country administrator to exile in Brittany, his role at Bosworth (22 Aug 1485), and the rewards that followed: Knight of the Body, Lord Steward of the Household, Order of the Garter, and more. It’s a story of risk, resilience, and how loyalty shaped the early Tudor court.
    What you’ll learn:

    • Willoughby’s early service in Cornwall & Devon
    • Backing Buckingham’s 1483 rebellion and fleeing to Brittany
    • Fighting with Henry Tudor at Bosworth
    • High offices and lands granted by Henry VII
    • Why Willoughby mattered to the new Tudor regime

    If you enjoy daily Tudor deep-dives, like, subscribe, and tap the bell.
    Want bonus content, my digital magazine The Privy Chronicle, and members-only Q&As? Join my channel membership!
    #TudorHistory #OnThisDay #HenryVII #Bosworth #WarsOfTheRoses #RobertWilloughby #ClaireRidgway #TudorDynasty #HistoryYouTube #MedievalHistory

    Spies, Sonnets & a Sword Sep 26, 2025
    Show notes

    The Short, Daring Life of Thomas Watson
    On this day in Tudor history, 26 September 1592, poet and translator Thomas Watson was buried at St Bartholomew-the-Less.
    You may not know his name, but in Elizabethan circles he was the rule-bender who wrote 18-line “sonnets”, carried letters for Sir Francis Walsingham, supplied lyrics for William Byrd, and once landed in prison after stepping between Christopher Marlowe and a blade.
    I’m Claire Ridgway, historian and author. In this episode you’ll discover:

    • Hekatompathia (1582): the 100-poem love sequence with 18-line “sonnets”
    • Watson the Latinist: Petrarch, Sophocles’ Antigone, Amyntas & Amintae gaudia
    • Music & verse: his words for Byrd and Englishings of Italian madrigals
    • The 1589 brawl with Marlowe & William Bradley: wound, death, and a self-defence pardon
    • Final years, plague-time death, and The Tears of Fancie (1593)

    Where to start reading: dip into Hekatompathia for the form-breaking love poems, then try The Tears of Fancie to hear his later English voice.
    Question for you: Had you heard of Watson before? Which Elizabethan poet deserves more attention?
    If you enjoyed this “On This Day,” please like, subscribe, and ring the bell for daily Tudor & Elizabethan deep dives. #OnThisDay #TudorHistory #Elizabethan #ThomasWatson #ChristopherMarlowe #Walsingham #WilliamByrd #RenaissancePoetry #Sonnets #LondonHistory #EarlyModern #EnglishLiterature
    Fotheringhay Bound: Mary, Queen of Scots Sep 25, 2025
    Show notes

    The Day Mary, Queen of Scots’ Fate Was Sealed
    On this day in Tudor history, 25 September 1586, Mary, Queen of Scots was escorted to Fotheringhay Castle. She would never leave.
    That same week, Elizabeth I agreed to appoint 36 commissioners to try her cousin. The road from captive to condemned began here.
    I’m Claire Ridgway, historian and author. In this episode, I set the scene and trace the chain:

    • From captivity (1568) and Pius V’s excommunication (1570) to a climate ripe for plots
    • Ridolfi, Throckmorton, and the fatal Babington Plot (Mary’s “set the six gentlemen to work”)
    • Walsingham’s cipher trap and the arrests
    • Transfer to Fotheringhay; the commissioners named
    • Trial (14 Oct) to guilty (25 Oct) to Parliament’s petition to warrant signed (1 Feb 1587) to execution (8 Feb)

    Question for you: Was Elizabeth defending her realm, or crossing a line no monarch should? Tell me in the comments.
    If this “On This Day” was useful, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell for daily Tudor history.
    #OnThisDay #TudorHistory #MaryQueenOfScots #ElizabethI #Fotheringhay #BabingtonPlot #Walsingham #EnglishHistory #EarlyModern #16thCentury

    Born in the Tower Sep 24, 2025
    Show notes

    On this day in Tudor history, 24 September 1561, a baby with a claim and a cloud was born inside the Tower of London.
    Meet Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp, son of Lady Katherine Grey (Jane Grey’s sister) and Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, a couple who secretly married without Elizabeth I’s permission. The queen refused to recognise the union, branding their Tower-born child illegitimate… yet his pedigree ran straight through Mary Tudor, Queen of France, per Henry VIII’s will.
    In this episode:

    • The secret marriage, Tower imprisonment, and Beauchamp’s contested status
    • Why his birth sat at the centre of England’s succession web
    • His own secret match to Honora Rogers (and the family row it sparked)
    • How his son William Seymour later eloped with Arbella Stuart
    • What James I did, and didn’t, undo, and how Beauchamp’s story ends

    Question for you: Should Elizabeth have recognised Katherine Grey’s marriage, or was she right to keep rival claims on a tight leash?
    If you enjoy these daily Tudor dives, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell.
    #OnThisDay #TudorHistory #ElizabethI #KatherineGrey #ViscountBeauchamp #Seymour #SuccessionHistory #TowerOfLondon
    “Truce”… then Cannon Fire: San Juan de Ulúa (1568) - The Road to the Armada Sep 23, 2025
    Show notes

    On this day in Tudor history, 23 September 1568, a tense “harbour truce” at San Juan de Ulúa (Veracruz) exploded into close-quarters battle.
    Spanish warships surged in; cannon roared; John Hawkins and his young kinsman Francis Drake barely escaped with the Minion and Judith as the flagship Jesus of Lübeck was wrecked. Many English sailors were captured, some facing the Inquisition.
    I’m Claire Ridgway. In this episode, I unpack the ambush that hardened English attitudes, reshaped the navy, and helped set the course toward the Spanish Armada, including the uncomfortable truth that Hawkins’s ventures were tied to the transatlantic slave trade, central to both profit and Spanish fury.
    What you’ll learn:
    Why Hawkins sought shelter at San Juan de Ulúa, and the “safe-conduct” deal that failed

    The battle itself: ship list, tactics, and how Drake cut free

    Two empires, two narratives: “treachery” vs “piracy”

    Long consequences: Hawkins’s navy reforms and the rise of race-built galleons

    How Ulúa forged the mindset behind later Elizabethan raids and 1588

    If this “On This Day” deep dive gripped you, please like, subscribe, and tell me in the comments: Treachery or piracy, how do you read Ulúa?
    #OnThisDay #TudorHistory #SanJuanDeUlua #JohnHawkins #FrancisDrake #SpanishArmada #NavalHistory #EarlyEmpire

    A Duchess’s Cry for Help Sep 21, 2025
    Show notes

    Content note: This video discusses historical allegations of domestic abuse.
    Imagine being one of the highest-ranking women in England, then writing that you were locked away, stripped of your jewels, pinned until you spat blood, and dragged from bed by your hair.
    Those are the claims of Elizabeth Howard, Duchess of Norfolk, set down in letters to Thomas Cromwell, and answered by her husband, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk.
    I’m Claire Ridgway. Today we examine Elizabeth’s marriage, her letters, Norfolk’s rebuttal, and what this case shows about coercive control and power at the Tudor court.
    In this episode:

    • Elizabeth Howard’s background & marriage to Thomas Howard
    • Bess Holland, household tensions, and banishment from court
    • The letters to Cromwell: isolation at Redbourne, financial control, intimidation, and alleged assaults
    • Norfolk’s defence—and why children and kin sided against Elizabeth
    • How historians read these sources today: myth, motive, and patterns of abuse

    Read the letters (primary sources):
    - Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies of Great Britain, Vol. II, pp. 218–225; p. 358 onwards:
    https://archive.org/details/lettersroyaland00greegoog/page/n242/mode/2up
    - Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies, Vol. VI, pp. 96–100:
    https://archive.org/details/lettersroyaland06greegoog/page/n116/mode/2up
    If this topic interests you, please like, subscribe, and share your thoughts: Do you find Elizabeth’s testimony or Norfolk’s defence more convincing, and why?

    #TudorHistory #TrueCrime #ElizabethHoward #DukeOfNorfolk #ThomasCromwell #DomesticAbuseHistory #AnneBoleyn #HistoryDocumentary
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