Tudors
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 in…
Mary Queen of Scots: martyr or murderess?
There have been few monarchs in British history quite as tragic or beautiful as Mary Queen of Scots. We sift the fact from the fiction On 8 February 1587, Mary Stuart came to a sticky end….
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
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…
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
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
Why Mary, Queen of Scots lived one of the most dramatic lives in British history
The life of Mary, Queen of Scots was dramatic. From the day her father died, when she was a week old, to her death at the hands of an English executioner 45 years later, drama,…
Tudor of the Month: Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke
Mary Sidney was one of the most significant female literary figures of the Renaissance, say Tudor Times