Tudor History with Claire Ridgway

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.

Episodes

November 18, 2025 6 mins

On this day in history, 19th November 1604, one of the most gifted churchmen of Elizabethan and early Jacobean England died - Richard Edes, Dean of Worcester, royal chaplain, poet, playwright, and one of the scholars appointed to help translate the King James Bible. Edes was only fifty years old when he died, and his death came just months after the great translation project began. He never lived to take part in the work that woul...

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The Ridolfi Plot Explained He wasn’t a soldier, a spy, or a nobleman, but a Florentine banker who nearly toppled a queen.    In 1571, Roberto di Ridolfi masterminded one of the boldest conspiracies of Elizabeth I’s reign, a plan backed by the Pope, Philip II of Spain, and Mary, Queen of Scots. His goal? To invade England, overthrow Elizabeth, and restore Catholic rule, all funded through secret banking channels. But one intercept...
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November 16, 2025 5 mins
How England Celebrated Accession Day Like a National Holiday   Every year on 17th November, England erupted in bells, bonfires, and jousting tournaments, all to celebrate Queen Elizabeth I’s Accession Day. It wasn’t just royal pageantry,  it was faith, theatre, and politics rolled into one. Knights broke lances before the Queen, the people burned effigies of the Pope, and Elizabeth became “England’s Deborah,” the saviour of Protest...
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November 15, 2025 10 mins

A thin, cautious man stepped onto a Welsh beach in August 1485 with fewer soldiers than his enemy, and more to lose than anyone in England. Three weeks later, he had killed a king, married his rival’s niece, and founded a dynasty that still shapes Britain. He was Henry VII - quiet, calculating, and absolutely not boring. In this beginner’s guide, I explore how the first Tudor monarch ended the Wars of the Roses, rebuilt royal aut...

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A jealous husband. A royal favourite. A queen held at gunpoint. On the night of 9 March 1566, David Rizzio, secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots, was dragged from her side and stabbed over fifty times in Holyrood Palace, while the pregnant queen was forced to watch. But what really lay behind this shocking act? Was Rizzio Mary’s lover? Or was her husband, Lord Darnley, jealous for a different reason? Or was Rizzio just a scapegoat? ...

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November 13, 2025 6 mins
The Martyrdom of Hugh Faringdon   On this day in Tudor history, 14 November 1539, a man of God was executed at the gate of his own abbey. His name was Hugh Faringdon, Abbot of Reading, a scholar, royal chaplain, and faithful servant of the Church, condemned as a traitor and hanged like a criminal.   Join me as I tell the powerful and tragic story of Abbot Hugh Faringdon, who tried to balance loyalty to King Henry VIII with faith i...
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    November 12, 2025 4 mins

    On this day in Tudor history, 13 November 1537, England mourned its queen. Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife and the mother of Prince Edward, was laid to rest in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Her death twelve days after childbirth plunged court and kingdom into grief. Join me as I retrace Jane’s final journey from Hampton Court Palace, where she gave birth and died, to Windsor, where her body was borne in a grand proces...

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    November 11, 2025 5 mins

    On this day in Tudor history, 12 November 1555, Queen Mary I turned back the religious clock. Parliament passed the Second Statute of Repeal, restoring papal authority and reuniting England with the Catholic Church after more than twenty years of upheaval. I explore how Mary achieved what had once seemed impossible:

    • Undoing her father Henry VIII’s break with Rome and her brother Edward VI’s Protestant reforms
    • Bringing Englan...
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    Today, 11 November, is Martinmas, the Feast of Saint Martin of Tours. In Tudor England, it was far more than a saint’s day. It marked the great “winter slaughter”, when families across the realm, from manor to cottage, salted and cured their meat to survive the long months ahead. In this video, I explore the man behind the feast, St Martin, the Roman soldier who became a saint after cutting his cloak in half to clothe a beggar, an...
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    November 9, 2025 6 mins
    He was handsome, daring, and utterly reckless, the man who stole the heart of England’s greatest queen in her final years, and then broke it. Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, was born on this day in 1565. He rose from ambitious courtier to Elizabeth I’s beloved favourite - charming, bold, and impossible to ignore. But his pride and defiance would destroy him. I’m historian and author Claire Ridgway, and in this episode we’ll t...

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    November 8, 2025 11 mins
    Power. Passion. Intrigue. Revolution. The Tudors ruled England for just over a century, but they changed it forever. In this Beginner’s Guide to the Tudors, I explore how a Welsh courtier’s secret marriage to a queen created one of the most fascinating dynasties in history. From the scandalous rise of Henry VIII and his six wives, to the tragedy of Lady Jane Grey and the genius of Elizabeth I, this is the story of how the Tudors r...
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    November 7, 2025 8 mins
    The Mystery of Arthur Dudley   A secret heir to the English throne… or one of the cleverest impostors in Tudor history? In 1587, a young Englishman was captured by Spanish sailors off the coast of San Sebastián. He called himself Arthur Dudley, and claimed to be the illegitimate son of Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Was he the Virgin Queen’s hidden child, smuggled away in infancy to protect a royal scanda...
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    On this day in Tudor history, 7th November 1565, Sir Edward Warner, soldier, courtier, Member of Parliament, and twice Lieutenant of the Tower of London, died at his Norfolk home. He was a man who lived at the heart of Tudor politics, serving four monarchs, guarding rebels and queens alike, and somehow surviving the shifting loyalties of an age where one wrong step could mean the scaffold. Warner fought in Scotland, helped defend...
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    November 5, 2025 5 mins

    On this day in Tudor history, 6th November 1514, the streets of Paris glittered with banners, music, and colour. Eighteen-year-old Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII, had been crowned Queen of France the day before… and now she was the radiant heart of a lavish royal procession. Imagine it: a fountain flowing with a lily and a rose, pageants of goddesses and virtues, and Mary herself portrayed as the Queen of Sheba — the bringe...

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    “Remember, remember the Fifth of November…” It’s one of the most famous rhymes in English history, but behind the fireworks and bonfires lies a night of terror, faith, and betrayal that almost changed the course of Britain forever. On 5th November 1605, guards discovered Guy Fawkes in the cellars beneath the Palace of Westminster, surrounded by 36 barrels of gunpowder. His mission? To blow up King James I, the royal family, and P...
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    November 3, 2025 4 mins

    On this day in Tudor history, 4th November 1551, theologian, royal chaplain, and scholar John Redman, the first Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, died of consumption. Redman was one of Tudor England’s most brilliant and balanced minds, a man who sought to reconcile faith, scholarship, and conscience in an age of division. Serving both Henry VIII and Edward VI, he defended traditional Catholic ideas while embracing elements of ...

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    On this day in Tudor history, 3rd November 1568, a remarkable mind was lost to the world of learning. Nicholas Carr, physician, classical scholar, and Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge, died after a lifetime devoted to scholarship and teaching. Though his name is rarely remembered today, Carr stood among the generation of Tudor humanists who kept the flame of classical learning burning, following in the footsteps of John Chek...
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    What inspired me to dedicate my life to Anne Boleyn and the Tudors? Why did I move to Spain? And yes — what do my tattoos mean?

    In this special behind-the-scenes interview, my husband Tim takes the interviewer’s seat and asks me questions submitted by our amazing YouTube members. From my early fascination with Tudor history to the unexpected journey that led to The Anne Boleyn Files and The Tudor Society, we chat about how a lifel...

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    When Queen Jane Seymour gave birth to Prince Edward on 12th October 1537, and sadly died on 24th October. From celebrations to tragedy in just 12 days. For centuries, a dark rumour has followed this story: that Henry VIII ordered surgeons to cut Jane open to deliver their son, sacrificing his queen for an heir. It’s a tale that fits Henry’s reputation for ruthlessness perfectly… but did it ever happen? In this episode, I dive int...
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    Forget pumpkins and plastic skeletons, in Tudor England, Halloween was sacred.   On 31st October, All Hallows’ Eve marked the start of Hallowtide, a three-day festival blending pagan Samhain customs with Christian devotion: - All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween) – ringing bells, lighting bonfires, wearing masks to ward off spirits, and “souling” for cakes to pray for the dead. - All Saints’ Day (1 November) – honouring every saint and mart...
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