Real Tennis: the sport of kings
Literally the game of kings, real tennis is exactly what it sounds like. Unlike Lawn Tennis and Squash, it’s the genuine article: proper tennis
Henry VIII was into it, wasn’t he?
Like many pastimes, tennis became...
Anne Boleyn’s heraldic badge to be displayed at Hampton Court Palace
To mark 500 years to the day that Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII first met, her carved heraldic badge will go on display at Hampton Court Palace
4 March 2022 marks exactly 500 years...
Curating the Crown: Tracy Borman’s insider’s guide to London
Joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, Tracy Borman shares the highlights of the job and reveals her favourite haunts
Author of biographies on Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Thomas Cromwell, as well as the...
Hotel Indigo, Stratford upon Avon review
While house-hunting in 1597, William Shakespeare would have known the handsome pub opposite his New Place. The Falcon was not a five-minute walk from Shakespeare’s Birthplace and across the road from Shakespeare’s Schoolroom. The world-class theatres built...
Is there more to Katharine of Aragon’s story?
With Tudor Times we profile a different figure every month. Here, Melita Thomas explores King Henry VIII’s first love, Katharine of Aragon.
Four of the best Tudor houses
We tour four Tudor houses impeccably preserved by the National Trust and full of fascinating historical detail
An age of ease and prosperity, the Tudor period saw a frenzy of competitive building: lavish, even ostentatious,...
The life of Sir James Melville
Diplomat, councillor and possible spy Sir James Melville was a fascinating Tudor
Words: Melita Thomas
Sir James Melville came from a Protestant family in Fife, Scotland. His father was executed for treason – for revealing the dispositions...
Tudor of the month: Lord Robert Dudley
Lord Robert Dudley had a passionate affair with Elizabeth I. Melita Thomas of Tudor Times explores why the queen didn't marry him and what happened to their relationship
Lord Robert Dudley was the love of...
The Tudors who shaped modern Britain
The Tudor age was a tumultuous period of history that did much to shape modern Britain as we know it. Here Melita Thomas, of the Tudor Times, selects the 10 most influential men and woman of that era.
Remarkable portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots discovered under 16th-century painting of a man
Unfinished portrait of controversial 16th-century queen Mary Stuart found under painting of Sir John Maitland. The picture may have been painted and then covered up in dangerous times
A rare portrait of Mary, Queen of...
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