Talking Tudors

Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Kate McCaffrey of Hever Castle about Anne Boleyn’s books of hours, the hidden inscriptions they contain, and the Kentish women who preserved Anne’s memory after her fall.

The episode explores female networks, the material life of devotional books, and how these discoveries challenge the lonely, male-focused myth of Anne Boleyn, plus a preview of Hever Castle’s upcoming exhibition "Capturing a Que...

Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Professor Stephen Gunn about his research using 16th-century coroner's inquests to reveal how accidental deaths illuminate everyday Tudor life—covering hazards like animals, open water, mills, house collapses, seasonal work, and risky pastimes such as early football.

They discuss patterns by age, gender and social status, surprising and bizarre cases, research challenges, and resources for furthe...

Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Dr Christina Faraday about her new book, 'The Story of Tudor Art', a first-of-its-kind survey of 16th-century English art.

They explore how Tudor art functioned as communication and status—covering portraits, miniatures, tapestries, household objects, royal effigies, patrons from kings to middling professionals, and artists such as Holbein, Hilliard, and lesser-known women makers.

The episode als...

Host Natalie Grueninger interviews Dr Stephen Campbell about Leonardo da Vinci’s life, work, and the myths that surround him. They explore his early years in Florence, his Milanese network, anatomical studies, and his later years in France.

The conversation examines common misconceptions, highlights key works such as 'The Last Supper' and the 'Sala delle Asse', and considers why Leonardo’s fragmented biography continues to captivat...

Host Natalie Grueninger welcomes Dr Alanna Skuse to Talking Tudors to explore medicine in Renaissance England. They discuss humoral theory, the medical hierarchy of physicians, surgeons, apothecaries and midwives, and the lively marketplace of practitioners including itinerant bone-setters and domestic healers.

The episode highlights women’s roles in care, real patient cases, early regulation of medical practice, and Alanna’s book ...

In this episode of Talking Tudors, host Natalie Grueninger is joined by Professor Anne Larson and Professor Steve Maiullo to explore the life, works, and legacy of Anna Maria van Schurman — a multilingual scholar, poet, and theological thinker famed across 17th‑century Europe.

The conversation covers her exceptional education, advocacy for women’s learning, influential correspondence with leading intellectuals, and her later spirit...

Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Emma Rutherford and Dr Elizabeth Goldring about the freshly authenticated Nicholas Hilliard portrait miniature, likely depicting Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. The episode covers stylistic and technical evidence, costume comparisons, family provenance, and the discovery of a defaced playing card on the reverse.

Guests discuss the miniature’s emotional context, its possible ties to Sh...

Host Natalie Grueninger interviews Dr Erica Canela about her new book, 'Zealous: A Darker Side of the Early Quakers'. They explore how the English Civil Wars and the rise of print culture spawned a radical, disruptive Quaker movement led by George Fox, its beliefs in direct revelation and social equality, and the often violent reactions it provoked.

The episode traces the movement’s early urgency—marketplace preaching, unlawful mee...

Join Natalie Grueninger and expert guide Sarah Slater for a tour of Hampton Court Palace: its Tudor history, the spectacular Great Hall stained glass, and the spine-tingling ghost stories tied to Jane Seymour, Catherine Howard, Anne Boleyn and the Grey Lady, Dame Sybil Penn.

They discuss eyewitness accounts, a mysterious CCTV figure, EMF readings in the Haunted Gallery, and the palace’s long social and architectural past—plus book ...

Host Natalie Greninger speaks with historian Sophie Bacchus-Waterman about her new biography, exploring Elizabeth Boleyn’s early life, marriage to Thomas Boleyn, and her long court career within the Howard and Boleyn networks.

The episode highlights Elizabeth’s political astuteness, her close relationship with Anne Boleyn, fresh archival finds (including pay-books and household records), and how the book reshapes our understanding ...

In this episode Natalie Grueninger interviews Dr Elizabeth Goldring about her new biography 'Holbein: Renaissance Master'. They trace Hans Holbein’s journey from Augsburg and Basel to Tudor England, his key patrons including Erasmus and Thomas More, his role at Henry VIII’s court, and his lasting impact on portraiture and Tudor culture.

The conversation also highlights archival discoveries, Holbein’s workshop practices, the Greenwi...

In this episode of Talking Tudors, Natalie Grueninger talks with Leigh Wakefield about the infamous Pendle Witch Trials of 1612 and their legacy. They explore the rival families at the centre of the accusations, the role of witness testimony—especially that of children—the trial records by Thomas Potts, and the later 1634 case that questioned earlier verdicts.

The conversation also considers how sources were shaped by contemporary ...

Host Natalie Grueninger interviews Dr Tabitha Stanmore about cunning folk in Tudor and early modern England — the everyday practitioners of practical magic who offered healing, fortune-telling, love spells and buried-treasure rituals.

They discuss how cunning folk differed from accused witches, the rituals and sources used to study them, surprising historical cases, and the Seven-County Witch Hunt Project that uncovers the lives be...

Host Natalie Grueninger interviews Dr James Freeman about the Curious Cures exhibition at Cambridge University Library, exploring medieval and early Tudor medical manuscripts, household remedies and charms, and how knowledge moved from ancient texts to everyday practice.

Highlights include the digitisation project, the role of physicians, surgeons and domestic healers, manuscripts linked to Elizabeth of York and Henry VII, and how ...

Host Natalie Grueninger welcomes Ellie Webster to Talking Tudors to explore the life of Mary Shelton: her noble family ties, role at Anne Boleyn’s court, and a brief affair with Henry VIII. The episode focuses on Shelton’s poems and annotations in the Devonshire Manuscript and what they reveal about love, reputation, and women’s voices in the Tudor court.

The conversation also examines Shelton’s links with Mary Howard, Margaret Dou...

Host Natalie Grueninger welcomes historian Dr Elizabeth Norton to discuss her new book, 'Women Who Ruled the World', a global history of reigning queens and female heads of state across 5,000 years.

The episode explains the difference between queens consort and reigning queens, highlights 15th–16th century examples (including Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, and Isabel of Castile), and explores common challenges female rulers face...

Join Natalie Grueninger and Professor Tracy Borman as they explore the dramatic final days of Elizabeth I, the discovery that William Camden’s account was altered to favour James I, and the many rival claimants who might have inherited the Tudor crown.

This episode examines the political manoeuvring behind James’s accession, the implications of the altered historical record, and how that shift shaped the early Stuart era.

Visit Dr ...

Architectural Historian Roberto Prieto-Labrador joins Natalie Grueninger to explore the domestic world of the Tudor middling sort — tradespeople, merchants, and prosperous farmers. They trace architectural changes from medieval open-hall houses to floored, chimneyed homes during the Great Rebuilding, discuss materials, reuse and regional differences, and reveal household practices and apotropaic marks used to ward off harm.

The epi...

In this episode of Talking Tudors, host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Kate McCaffrey of Hever Castle about a newly unveiled portrait of William Carey, his role at Henry VIII’s court, and his marriage to Mary Boleyn.

They discuss the portrait’s provenance and artistic origins, Tudor corridor portraits and genealogy displays, Hever’s wider Tudor collection (including Anne Boleyn’s books of hours), and upcoming exhibitions and events...