Tudor History with Claire Ridgway

The Secret Promise, The Poet, and the Myths: Anne Boleyn Before Henry VIII

In 1522, Anne Boleyn returned to the English court, and within a few years, she was already at the centre of political tension, whispered promises, and poetic legend.Long before Henry VIII began his pursuit, Anne was linked to two influential men: Henry Percy, heir to the Earl of Northumberland, and Sir Thomas Wyatt, courtier and poet.Did Anne Boleyn and Henry Percy secretly promise to marry?Was there a binding precontract, something that, under Tudor canon law, could have invalidated a later royal marriage?Why did Cardinal Wolsey intervene?And what really lies behind Wyatt’s famous poem “Whoso List to Hunt” and its haunting line: “Noli me tangere, for Caesar’s I am”?In this episode, I explore:
Anne Boleyn’s place in the Tudor marriage market
The political implications of a precontract
The Cavendish account of Percy and Anne
The later denials in 1532 and 1536
The myths surrounding Thomas Wyatt
The Spanish Chronicle story
How Anne’s reputation began forming long before she became queen
Subscribe for more Tudor history deep dives, myth-busting, and documentary-style episodes on Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII, and the Tudor court.
 
 #AnneBoleyn#TudorHistory#HenryPercy#ThomasWyatt#HenryVIII  

Mary I’s Pregnancies Explained: London Celebrated a Prince… But There Was No Baby

In 1555, London celebrated the birth of a prince.Church bells rang. Te Deums were sung. Birth announcements were prepared.Only… there was no baby.Mary I didn’t just believe she was pregnant, she showed physical signs.
 
But there was no baby.In this video, I take a closer look at Mary I’s two mysterious pregnancies - in 1554–55 and again in 1557–58 - and explore what may really have happened.Was it:• A genuine but failed pregnancy?• A phantom pregnancy (pseudocyesis) brought on by immense pressure to produce an heir?• Or something medical - possibly a pituitary tumour, as suggested by Milo Keynes?I examine the historical evidence, contemporary reports, Mary’s long-standing health issues, and the medical theories that may explain her symptoms: missed periods, milk secretion, abdominal swelling, headaches, failing eyesight, depression, and confusion in her final year.If you haven’t yet watched my full Beginner’s Guide to Mary I, I recommend starting there for the wider context of her life and reign - https://youtu.be/P_HVywkSww0If you enjoy thoughtful, evidence-based deep dives into Tudor lives and mysteries, don’t forget to subscribe.#MaryI #BloodyMary #TudorHistory #PhantomPregnancy #Tudors #HenryVIII #ElizabethI #BritishHistory #WomenInHistory #HistoryExplained

The Truth Behind “Bloody Mary” - A Beginner’s Guide

When you hear the name Mary I, you probably hear one phrase: “Bloody Mary”.A queen of fire and fear. A religious fanatic. A failure compared to Elizabeth I.But that version of Mary is a shortcut, and it isn’t good history.Before the burnings, Mary was Henry VIII’s celebrated heir. A princess educated to rule. A woman who endured humiliation, illegitimacy, and political coercion, and survived. In 1553, when Edward VI died and her succession was challenged, England rallied behind her. She became the first woman to rule England in her own right.In this Beginner’s Guide to Mary I, we explore:• Her celebrated birth in 1516• The trauma of her parents’ annulment• Her years of resistance under Henry VIII• Her open defiance under Edward VI• How she won the throne in 1553• What she actually tried to achieve as queen• The context and consequences of the Marian burningsYes, we discuss the burnings. But in context, not isolation.Mary was not a caricature. She was a politically intelligent, legally minded, deeply devout Tudor shaped by fear, faith, and survival.If you think you know Mary I… think again.Recommended reading:Linda Porter - The Myth of "Bloody Mary": The First Queen of EnglandAnna Whitelock - Mary Tudor Princess, Bastard, QueenMelita Thomas - The King's PearlResearch by Johanna Strong & Peter Stiffell - Google them! Or access talks by them, Melita Thomas, Linda Porter and more in my Discovering Mary I course - https://claireridgway.com/history-event-archive/discovering-mary-i-instant-access-replay/I’m Claire Ridgway, historian and author, and this is part of my Beginner’s Guide series exploring Tudor lives and turning points in depth.If you enjoy serious, nuanced Tudor history, don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications, there’s much more to come.#MaryI #BloodyMary #TudorHistory #HistoryExplained #WomenInHistory #HenryVIII #ElizabethI #EnglishReformation

Mary Boleyn’s Lost Years (1513–1522): What the Sources Actually Say

What really happened during Mary Boleyn’s lost years?Between 1513 and 1522, Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn, slips in and out of the historical record, leaving behind one of the most debated gaps in Tudor history. Over time, that silence has been filled with confident claims: that she served Queen Catherine of Aragon, that she was present at court throughout the period, and most famously, that she was the mistress of King Francis I of France.But how much of this is supported by actual evidence, and how much is repeated assumption?In this video,I take a careful, source-led look at Mary Boleyn’s so-called “lost years,” separating what can be proven, what can be reasonably inferred, and what needs to stop being stated as fact.You’ll discover:• What we really know about Mary Boleyn’s time in France• Where the claim that she slept with Francis I comes from, and why it’s problematic• Why later hostile sources shaped Mary’s reputation• The evidence for Mary’s relationship with Henry VIII• Why 1522 is a convenient but misleading turning point• How Mary Boleyn’s life highlights the gaps in how women appear in Tudor records#MaryBoleyn#TudorHistory#AnneBoleyn#HenryVIII#TudorCourt#RoyalMistress#HistoryDebunked#TudorMyths#WomenInHistory#BritishHistory #EarlyModernHistory  

Anne Boleyn’s Lost Future: The Marriage She Almost Had

When Anne Boleyn returned to England from France in late 1521, she wasn’t coming back for love, ambition, or a crown.She was being recalled for politics.Her return was prompted not by royal interest, but by a proposed marriage, a diplomatic solution to a dangerous inheritance dispute in Ireland.If that plan had gone ahead, Anne might have become Countess of Ormond, living at Kilkenny Castle.No queenship.No religious revolution.No execution at the Tower of London.In this episode of my Anne Boleyn series, I explore:
Why Anne was recalled from France
The Ormond inheritance dispute and Tudor Ireland
The political marriage planned between Anne and James Butler
How marriage functioned as a tool of Tudor diplomacy
Anne’s return to court and her first public appearance at Château Vert
Why this moment is not the start of a royal love story with Henry VIII
Subscribe and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss the next episode in this series.For printable resources, a monthly Tudor magazine, and members-only Zoom discussions, check out my YouTube channel memberships.#AnneBoleyn#TudorHistory#HenryVIII#TudorCourt#WomensHistory#HistoryDocumentary#BritishHistory#TudorEngland#HiddenHistory#AnneBoleynSeries

The Strangest Tudor Cures (And the Ones That Actually Worked) - A Beginner’s Guide to Tudor Medicine

Hare brains.Hedgehog testicles.Mouse skin.Live pigeons.Tudor remedies are famous for sounding grotesque, and ridiculous. But were they really nonsense?In this second part of A Beginner’s Guide to Tudor Medicine, we explore the strangest cures of the sixteenth century, and uncover the surprising truth: some of them actually worked.You’ll learn:– Why remedies were designed to move “imbalances” through the body– Which Tudor treatments are still used today– How honey, wine, moss, leeches, and maggots became modern medicine– The extraordinary 9th century eye remedy that kills MRSATudor healers did not have microscopes or germ theory. But they observed, tested, and remembered. And in doing so, they laid foundations we are still building on today.#TudorHistory #WeirdHistory #MedicalHistory #StrangeButTrue #HistoryFacts#TudorMedicine #OldCures #Leeches #MedievalMedicine #DidYouKnow #HistoryEducation

Tudor Medicine Wasn’t Stupid, It Was a System

Imagine waking in Tudor England with a fever and no paracetamol, no antibiotics, and no doctor to call.In this first part of A Beginner’s Guide to Tudor Medicine, we step inside the Tudor worldview,  a world where illness was not an enemy to be fought, but a sign of imbalance within the body.You’ll discover:– The theory of the Four Humours– How personality, seasons, and health were linked– Why bloodletting made sense– How astrology shaped medical treatment– What it really meant to “heal” in the sixteenth centuryTudor medicine was not random superstition. It was a coherent system, built on centuries of observation and experience.In Part 2, we’ll explore the strangest Tudor cures, and the ones that actually worked.
 
#TudorHistory #TudorMedicine #HistoryExplained #HistoryTok #LearnHistory #MedicalHistory #EarlyModern #SixteenthCentury #FourHumours #HistoryEducation #WomensHistory #LifeInThePast #TudorLife

Was Anne Boleyn Really “Corrupted” in France?

The idea that Anne Boleyn was "corrupted in France has been repeated in popular histories and documentaries, often stated as fact, sometimes even placed in quotation marks, as if it were securely sourced. But is it?In this video, I trace where that idea comes from and what the evidence actually says. We’ll look at:
Anne’s seven formative years at the French court
The oft-quoted remarks attributed to Francis I
The claim that Henry VIII told the Imperial ambassador that Anne had been “corrupted” in France
How later writers inflated ambiguous phrases into supposed proof
And how a chain of interpretation, historical “Chinese whispers”, turned rumour into “fact”
When you follow the sources back to their origins, the picture changes. 
What emerges is not a story of sexual scandal, but one of education, cultural formation, and Renaissance courtly polish.If you haven’t already, watch my full episode on Anne Boleyn’s years abroad to see the wider context - https://youtu.be/TozlLK97oJw#AnneBoleyn #TudorHistory #HenryVIII #TheAnneBoleynFiles #HistoryMyths #WomenInHistory #Renaissance #TudorEngland #MythBusting #SixWives #EarlyModernHistory #HistoricalSources #FrancisI #Chapuys