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© Unknown Artist – The National Portrait Gallery In 1499, Margaret Beaufort, the mother of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, made the bold and unusual decision to take a vow of chastity while still married to her fourth husband, Thomas Stanley. After years of dependence on marriage for security during the tumultuous years of the Wars of the Roses, this decision can be interpreted as Margaret’s assertion of her personal autonomy and independence. Margaret’s life as a vowess als

Mary Tudor © Master John, 1544 (National Portrait Gallery) When we think about historical fashion icons, someone that probably doesn't come to mind immediately is Mary I; particularly not when you compare her to her sister Elizabeth I and her characteristic giant ruffs and elaborate headdresses. But Mary had both a personal love of fashion and finery, and a significant role in the developing fashion trends of the mid-to-late 16th century, and the way she dressed not only show

© Unknown Artist – The National Portrait Gallery Mary Tudor was the fifth child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, born in their Tudor residence in London. But only at the age of eighteen, due to the negotiated peace treaty between England and France, Mary, accompanied by English maids of honour which included the famous Anne Boleyn, became a bride to King Louis XII, who then was fifty-two – thirty-four years her senior. The marriage is not said to have been a happy one, but

The Rainbow Portrait, c.1600 © Hatfield House Mary’s cheeks used to be reddish and full of life. In other worlds, eons ago, she was called the pearl of the kingdom by her parents, King Henry VIII and Queen Katherine of Aragon, and at court. Her beauty and grace were praised and from an early age she has been engaged to many important personas all throughout Europe. She became the first woman to rule England by her own right but she has also lost Calais and that monumental l

Written by Emma Holbrook and Amber Rose The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul Delaroche, 1833 in the National Portrait Gallery. Family...

Fantasy portrait of Amy Robsart © William Frederick Yeames (1870) On Sunday, the eighth of September in 1560, during the bustle of a...

The Rainbow Portrait, c.1600 © Hatfield House It is 1533. Summer’s hot breath caresses a brunette’s face while she writes, serious but...

A portrait of a sitter believed to be that of Ursula Pole, Baroness Stafford In recent years, the lives and times of lesser-known figures...

Queen Elizabeth I at Tilbury, 1588 © Alfred Kingsley Lawrence (1893–1975), Essex County Council Art Collection; Essex Record Office “I...

Possible portrait of Lady Jane Grey In March 2025, groundbreaking evidence was revealed in the realm of Tudor history. A portrait was...

Mary and Elizabeth Tudor © BBC History Magazine Nothing was more important to a British monarch than ensuring the royal line of...

Marie de Guise © Corneille de Lyon On this day, 11th June 1560 at Edinburgh Castle, one of history’s undervalued and influential women of...

A stained glass memorial of Queen Anne Neville at Cardiff Castle Anne Neville was born June 11th, 1456 at Warwick Castle to Richard...

The Queen’s Casket surrounded by her ancestors’ heraldic banners (artist unknown – public domain via Wikimedia Commons and the National...

A stained glass memorial of the Duchess of Clarence at Cardiff Castle Isabel Neville was born on September 5th, 1451 at Warwick Castle to...

A posthumous engraving of Elizabeth Barton is probably by Thomas Holloway based on a painting by Henry Tresham , and comes from David...

The Rainbow Portrait, c.1600 © Hatfield House On this day, the 24th March 1603, the last monarch of the Tudor line sadly passed away....

(Cover image – © Unknown Artist – Pinterest) Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, faced an array of religious and...

Portrait study of Cecily Heron at 20-years-old, pregnant with her first child, drawn by Hans Holbein the Younger, c.1527 Thomas More is a...

Elizabeth Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury, 'Bess of Hardwick' (1520-1608) – © Hans Eworth Nestled amongst the idyllic Derbyshire...