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The stories of the many men and women who, as far back as the 10th century, have been the earls and countesses of Warwick, are among the most infamous, stimulating and shocking figures from across England’s rich history, and so to discuss this fascinating dynasty with me, I am pleased to welcome onto the podcast for the first time, historian Aaron Manning, who’s first book, England’s Bears, The Blood and Glory of the House of Warwick acts as the basis for our conversation.

Few women of fifteenth-century England experienced such a dramatic reversal of fortune as Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester/ Her story is frequently presented as a cautionary tale about the dangers of medieval witchcraft accusations, yet to understand the full significance of Eleanor’s downfall, it is necessary to look beyond the sensational details of the charges brought against her and consider the extraordinary political circumstances in which she lived, so lets dive into it, as I explore the life of the 15th century duchess who was imprisoned on a remote island for witchcraft.

Childbirth in Tudor England was a moment of extraordinary danger, uncertainty, and hope, but what really happened behind the closed doors of a Tudor birthing chamber? Who were the midwives entrusted with delivering babies, and what remedies, rituals, and techniques did they use? To discuss all of this and more, I'm pleased to welcome back historian and midwife Brigitte Barnard to explore the fascinating and often overlooked world of Tudor childbirth and midwifery. Together, we'll uncover the realities of pregnancy and birth, but also unpick some of the facts that have come down the centuries about Tudor royal births that Brigitte is adamant have been presented incorrectly.

Born into extraordinary expectation, orphaned of his mother within twelve days, and raised in a carefully guarded royal household, the young Edward VI spent his earliest years surrounded by nurses, servants, courtiers and tutors. Although he was the most precious child in Henry VIII’s kingdom, his childhood was remarkably separate from that of his father. Yet the surviving letters, household records and contemporary chronicles reveal a lively, affectionate little boy whose daily existence was far more complicated, and considerably more interesting, than the familiar image of a sickly Tudor prince.

The Wars of the Roses produced some of England’s most ruthless and intriguing figures, but few have left behind a darker mystery than Sir James Tyrell. A trusted servant of Richard III, Tyrell rose through the ranks to become a powerful and influential figure at the Yorkist court. Yet his name, thanks to the writings of Sir Thomas More, would become forever associated with one of English history’s greatest unsolved mysteries: the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower. But who was the man behind the legend? Was he a loyal soldier, a political opportunist, or a ruthless killer? And how did a man who survived the downfall of Richard III ultimately find himself on the scaffold under Henry VII? Well to discuss all of this and more, I am pleased to welcome back historian Richard Anderton onto the podcast, whose upcoming book, The Boar and the Peacock, The Rise and Fall of Sir James Tyrell acts as the basis for our conversation.

The extraordinary contrast between Thomas Stafford and Dorothy Stafford offers a compelling way to explore the Tudor world: a world in which family loyalty, religion, dynastic blood and personal affection could pull people in entirely different directions. At the heart of their story is a remarkable historical irony. Mary I, who had loved and revered their grandmother Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, would send Thomas Stafford to the scaffold. Elizabeth I, whose mother Anne Boleyn had been regarded with hostility by Margaret, would welcome Dorothy Stafford into her innermost circle and retain her affection for decades, so let's find out how their stories unfolded!

Governess, confidante and fiercely loyal companion, Kate Ashley was an almost constant presence throughout the life of Queen Elizabeth I, from her early days as a princess, to the most dangerous years, to the very height of her powers but who was the woman behind this extraordinary reign and friendship, who actually was Kate Ashley, who were her court relations, what links did she possess to royalty itself and what can her story tell us about female friendship, loyalty and survival in Tudor England? Well to find out, I am pleased to welcome historian Rosemary Griggs onto the podcast for the first time, for a discussion based on her book, Queen Elizabeth’s Governess, The Real Kate Ashley.

María de Salinas is one of those women whose importance in Tudor history is considerably greater than the surviving evidence might initially suggest. She never occupied a political office, never produced a great body of correspondence, never commanded an army or founded a religious institution, and did not herself become a figure around whom contemporary chroniclers constructed a narrative. Yet her life intersected with some of the most consequential developments of the early Tudor period, so, what was her actual story?

What happens when two of the most powerful women of sixteenth-century Europe meet across the political and religious divides of their age? Elizabeth I of England and Catherine de Medici, Queen Mother of France, never had a simple relationship. Separated by borders, faith, and competing political interests. In this episode, I’m joined by historian Dr Estelle Paranque to explore the fascinating relationship between these two formidable figures. What did Elizabeth and Catherine think of one another and what can their encounters tell us about the ways women could exercise political influence in Renaissance Europe?

William II ruled England for thirteen years, maintained the Norman conquest, fought campaigns in Normandy and Wales, confronted rebellions among his father's former companions, challenged the authority of some of the most powerful churchmen in the kingdom and commissioned one of the greatest secular buildings of medieval Europe, and yet he remains one of the least remembered of all English kings. His father transformed England through conquest and his younger brother Henry acquired a reputation as the great administrator of the Norman monarchy, whereas Rufus has too often been reduced to a few lurid characteristics, so what was his actual story?

Today, I am delighted to be joined by Sarah Gristwood to explore Blood Sisters: the women behind the wars of the roses. Seven women who were fundamental to the successes and losses across this huge period of English civil conflict, and at its core, the relationships between them, and what their interconnected lives can tell us about the late medieval and early Tudor world. We will move chronologically through their stories, from their family backgrounds and early experiences of power, to the unity of the houses of York and Lancaster. This is a story of sisters, rivals, queens, daughters, mothers and political actors — but above all, it is a story of women who lived at the very centre of one of the most turbulent periods in English history.

There are few historical figures whose face has become quite so familiar as that of Henry VIII. When we picture Henry today, we tend instinctively to summon the broad, heavily bearded, magnificently dressed monarch of Hans Holbein the Younger, standing almost squarely before us in a posture that seems to leave little doubt about his authority. Yet Henry was already a man in his forties, a king who had ruled for almost three decades, broken with Rome, married repeatedly, fathered three surviving legitimate children, executed opponents and transformed the constitutional and religious landscape of England. The young man who succeeded Henry VII would have looked surprisingly different.

Across nearly five centuries, Richard Rich has acquired a reputation as the consummate opportunist: a man who appeared to possess few genuine principles beyond his own advancement, who accumulated immense wealth through the destruction of the monasteries, and who played pivotal roles in sending two of England's most revered martyrs—Bishop John Fisher and Sir Thomas More—to the scaffold. To many historians, Rich epitomises the darker side of Tudor government, where ambition eclipsed conscience and political expediency routinely trumped morality, so, what was his actual story?

Mary Boleyn is one of the most intriguing women of the Tudor age, not least because her life intersected with the royal court at a moment when personal relationships, dynastic ambition and religious change were transforming the English monarchy. Yet, for all the fascination surrounding her alleged relationship with Henry VIII, the two men she married have often been reduced to little more than footnotes in her story, so who exactly were William Carey and William Stafford?

What was life really like for women in the Middle Ages? From princesses and queens, to noblewomen all the way down to peasants, their lives were shaped by work, family, faith, law and the communities around them. But how much do we actually know about their experiences, and what can medieval sources tell us about the choices, challenges and opportunities they faced? Well to discuss just that, I am thrilled to welcome back Dr Catherine Hanley, onto the podcast, for a discussion based around her book, The Family Lives of Medieval Women. Together, we’ll look beyond the stereotypes of the “medieval woman” and discover the remarkable variety of women’s lives during this period.