March 2022 marks the 500th anniversary since Anne Boleyn made her debut at the court of King Henry VIII.
Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb investigates the story of Anne’s remarkable upbringing in England, the Netherlands and France before she arrived at the heart of Tudor England. For all Anne Boleyn’s fame, this is a period of her life where the evidence is hard to find and fact needs to be carefully sifted from fiction.
Suzannah explores Anne’s childhood home, beautiful Hever Castle, to discover what made her - what formed her into the extraordinary woman who would change the course of history.
With special access to a remarkable new exhibition at Hever, Suzannah joins the curatorial team to handle and analyse the original evidence relating to Anne’s upbringing and the shaping of her character, including a significant illuminated book of hours complete with Anne’s personal signature and a newly re-examined original painting, reattributed as being of Catherine of Aragon, Henry’s queen when Anne arrived at court.
Up Next in Queens and Kings of History
-
Richard Duke of York: Marcher Lord
Matthew Lewis, an author and historian who specialises in the 15th century, provides a fascinating talk about Richard Duke of York as a Marcher Lord. He explains this powerful noble's close relationship with the Mortimer family and how this further emboldened him to strive for the English Throne.
-
The Princes in the Tower: The Mystery...
Wars of the Roses historian Matt Lewis visits the Tower of London to talk through one of the building’s greatest mysteries: the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower. He talks through the possibility that the two young boys were not murdered on King Richard III's orders, but in fact survived ...
-
Eleanor of Aquitaine: England's Royal...
Eleanor of Aquitaine is at least as responsible for the vast empire of the Plantagenets as her more celebrated husband, Henry II. Sara Cockerill has written a wonderful biography of Eleanor, placing her back at the centre of English medieval history where she belongs. Sara and Dan discuss her lon...
95 Comments