What if you could meet King Henry VIII of England? What questions would you be dying to ask him? How do you think you would feel about the encounter? Do you think your feelings towards him might change if you could get behind the mask? Well, on your behalf, I was granted an audience with …
It is a day of seismic importance, 21 June 1529. Many have gathered here alongside you in the Parliament Hall of the Dominican Friary of Blackfriars to witness the very public shaming of a great and dignified queen. It seems that all of London can speak of little else. An expectant murmur ripples through …
You probably won’t know this, but in the sixteenth century, Nottingham Castle was one of THE premier castles in all of England. It was on a par with The Tower of London, Windsor and Dover Castles in terms of size, might and importance. Built just after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Nottingham Castle …
Do you find most of the portraits of Elizabeth I frustratingly aloof? The majestic ‘Virgin Queen’, her face and hair puffed and powdered to within an inch of her life, her body stiff and her gowns brimming with the carefully crafted symbolism of power, purity and wisdom? I do. That was until one lazy afternoon …
Tomorrow marks the day when an English queen was executed on charges that were almost certainly entirely fabricated. She joined her five co-accused in death at the hands of the swordsman from Calais. Her name was Anne Boleyn. In this article, we are honouring her memory in a slightly unusual blog. I invite you to …