I have a Tudor bucket list. Things imbued with Tudor history that I would simply love to do or see. For example, I would love to explore the perfect Tudor Manor at Compton Wynyates; leaf through the pages of Anne Boleyn’s prayer book, and I would be fascinated to glimpse into the Tudor vaults at …
Elizabeth I was known for her virtue as England’s ‘Virgin Queen’. This most iconic of monarchs would likely have been mortified to find her image captured in a painting that cast aspersions on her well-manicured reputation. In the scene, we encounter Queen Elizabeth I dancing La Volta in an ungainly display of intimacy with her …
During the second half of the sixteenth century, food and cookery underwent significant changes. Under Henry VIII, English cookery had barely changed since the late medieval age, but during Elizabeth’s reign new, exotic food arrived at the dinner tables of the wealthy as tastes started to change, influenced by new fashions imported from the continent. …
When Dudley stood back and admired the two new, full-length paintings hanging on the walls of his Warwickshire home at Kenilworth Castle, he knew he was treading on delicate ground. The queen was soon to arrive as part of her summer progress – and Dudley had spent millions (in modern-day money) in preparation for the …
In Tudor England, July and August were the months of plenty, with fresh fruit ripe for harvest. So it comes as no surprise that the Tudors were the masters of fruity desserts! People have always enjoyed eating outside, but it was during the sixteenth century that eating in the garden, or the Banqueting House, became …