Tudor History with Claire Ridgway

What did Mary Boleyn Really Look Like?

Was Mary Boleyn really “the pretty one”, or is that just fiction?I’m Claire Ridgway, historian and author, and today I’m pulling apart the myths to ask what we can actually say about Mary’s appearance.In this podcast you’ll learn:
Where our assumptions on Mary come from.
How a 17th-century portrait type has been re-identified as Mary Boleyn using dendrochronology (tree-ring dating), provenance, and family inscriptions.
Why ermine doesn’t disqualify the sitter (and what William Carey’s status means).
What Mary’s children’s portraits (Catherine & Henry Carey) do, and don’t, tell us.
No line-by-line Tudor description survives. But wood science + Carey/Wharton family links + studio copies by Remigius van Leemput point to a fair/light-complexioned Mary with hazel-to-light-brown eyes and dark-blonde/light-brown/auburn hair, and a softly rounded face.Tell me in the comments: does this portrait type convince you, or is Mary still a mystery?If you enjoyed this deep dive, please like, subscribe, and tap the bell, and check my Mary Boleyn playlist for more - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLepqWJ7TpkrKSxTbgPHf6SjqFnqv_-pQ-
 
Further reading - http://jordaensvandyck.org/mysterious-woman-in-royal-collection-portrait-identified-as-mary-boleyn/
 
#MaryBoleyn #AnneBoleyn #TheOtherBoleynGirl #TudorHistory #History #ArtHistory #RoyalCollection #HeverCastle #BoleynFamily #PortraitResearch #EarlyModern

Trusted Across Three Reigns: Sir William Fitzwilliam’s Tudor Career

On this day in Tudor history, 3 October 1559, Sir William Fitzwilliam, gentleman of Prince Edward’s privy chamber, MP, court insider, and later deputy chancellor in Ireland under Mary I, died and was honoured with burial in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.He was one of those capable, steady figures who moved quietly through the Henrician, Edwardian, and Marian courts, and kept being trusted.Who was he?
Born to a family steeped in royal service.
Gray’s Inn training - legal polish for a life in administration.
Household service to Sir William Fitzwilliam, later Earl of Southampton
MP for Guildford (1542), New Shoreham (1547), Berkshire (1553, 1559).
At court: to Prince Edward’s privy chamber (1544), rising to chief gentleman (1545); trusted by Somerset and Northumberland.
Knighted and made Lieutenant of Windsor Castle & Keeper of Windsor Great Park by 1552.
Under Mary I: dispatched to Ireland, on the council; deputy chancellor (1555); exposed misconduct by Sir Anthony Leger; rewarded with a 21-year lease of Donaghmore.
Quick note: he’s not the later Elizabethan Lord Deputy with the same name.Why he matters: a Dublin-born second son who, through competence, discretion, and flexibility, became a trusted royal servant across three reigns - from household retainer to the prince’s inner circle and high Irish office.If you enjoy meeting the Tudors’ unsung power-brokers, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell for daily “On This Day” history.
 
#OTD #SirWilliamFitzwilliam #EdwardVI #MaryI #StGeorgesChapel #TudorCourt #PrivyChamber #GraysInn #OrderOfTheGarter #IrishHistory #Baggotrath #WindsorGreatPark #Henrician

From Fotheringhay to Bosworth: Richard III Is Born

On this day in 1452, a boy was born at Fotheringhay Castle who would become England’s last Plantagenet king: Richard III.
I’m Claire Ridgway, and in today’s episode we trace Richard’s short, stormy road from noble son to fallen king, and the remarkable afterlife of his story, from Bosworth Field to a Leicester car park and DNA confirmation centuries later.
In this podcast:
Birth & family: the House of York and Cecily Neville, the “Rose of Raby”
1483: the pre-contract claim, Edward V’s disinheritance, and Richard’s coronation
Challenges to the crown: Buckingham’s rebellion & Henry Tudor’s invasion
Battle of Bosworth (22 Aug 1485): tactics, the Stanleys’ decisive move, Richard’s last charge
Burial at Grey Friars, the 2012 discovery & DNA, scoliosis, and reinterment (2015)
Legacy: usurper, reformer, courageous warrior, or a king made by brutal times?
What’s your take on Richard III—pragmatic protector, ruthless usurper, courageous warrior, or a product of his age? Tell me in the comments.
If you enjoyed this On This Day, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell for more daily Tudor and late-medieval history.
#OnThisDay #RichardIII #WarsOfTheRoses #Bosworth #Plantagenet #Fotheringhay #PrincesInTheTower #AnneNeville #Leicester #MedievalHistory #TudorHistory #History #Yorkist #DNA

The Plantagenet Who Became a Queen's Favourite Sleeping Companion

On 1 October 1526, Dorothy Stafford was born, a woman of Plantagenet blood who would spend forty years at the heart of Elizabeth I’s privy chamber.In this episode, I trace Dorothy’s remarkable path:
Family webs: Stafford–Pole lineage (Buckingham & Clarence), and marriage to Sir William Stafford, Mary Boleyn’s widower.
Exile & faith: Under Mary I she fled to Geneva; in 1556 John Calvin stood godfather to her son (then they famously fell out, and she moved to Basel).
Return & rise: With Elizabeth’s accession (1559), Dorothy joined the privy chamber and became one of the queen’s trusted sleeping companions. When she broke her leg in 1576, the court scrambled for a replacement so the queen could sleep peacefully.
Storms weathered: Even the Stafford Plot involving her son didn’t unseat her. Dorothy died in 1604, remembered at St Margaret’s, Westminster, as a “continual remembrancer of the suits of the poor.”
A royal confidante. Mediator. Quiet backbone of a court.
Had you heard of Dorothy Stafford before? Tell me in the comments!If you enjoy daily Tudor stories, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell.#DorothyStafford #ElizabethI #OnThisDay #TudorHistory #AnneBoleyn #PrivyChamber #Plantagenet #JohnCalvin #WomenInHistory #HistoryYouTube #ClaireRidgway

Margaret Tudor’s Flight: The 1515 Escape that Led to a United Crown

On 30 September 1515, Margaret Tudor, Henry VIII’s elder sister and widow of James IV, slipped across the Scottish border into England: heavily pregnant, newly remarried, and out of power. Her dash to Harbottle Castle set up a birth with huge consequences: Lady Margaret Douglas, whose line would help unite the Tudor and Stuart claims.In this episode I set the scene:
The glittering 1503 marriage to James IV and the Flodden aftermath
How Margaret lost the regency by marrying for love: Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus
Duke of Albany takes control, and the royal children
The 1515 flight to Harbottle and the birth (8 Oct) of Lady Margaret Douglas
Why Henry VIII offered hospitality, not armies
Margaret’s return in 1517, and how her daughter’s marriage to Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox produced Lord Darnley, and, in the next generation, James VI & I, uniting the crowns in 1603
Question: Was Margaret’s remarriage brave or reckless, or both? Tell me in the comments.If you enjoy these “On This Day” podcasts, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell for daily Tudor history.#MargaretTudor #OnThisDay #TudorHistory #LadyMargaretDouglas #JamesVIandI #HarbottleCastle #HenryVIII #Douglas #DukeOfAlbany #UnionOfTheCrowns #HistoryYouTube #ClaireRidgway

Dragon-Slayer & Dinner: How the Tudors Marked Michaelmas

I’m Claire Ridgway, historian and author. On 29 September, the Tudors celebrated Michaelmas, the feast of St Michael the Archangel, heaven’s champion and defender of the Church. Beyond the bells and processions, Michaelmas was one of the four quarter days, the moment the Tudor year turned.In this video:
What Michaelmas meant in scripture & worship (Michael vs. the dragon)
Quarter day basics: new agricultural year, rents & accounts due, hiring/statute fairs
The menu: why Tudors roasted “stubble-goose” (and the saying that it kept you in money)
Folklore: don’t pick blackberries after Michaelmas—the devil’s said to spoil them!
Echoes today: why Oxford, Cambridge and the law courts still call it Michaelmas term
What would be on your table: goose, apples, or a blackberry tart (picked before today, of course)? Tell me in the comments!If you enjoyed this slice of seasonal Tudor life, please like, subscribe, and ring the bell for more daily “On This Day” history.#Michaelmas #OnThisDay #TudorFeastDays #TudorHistory #StMichael #EarlyModernLife #TudorFood #SeasonalHistory #HistoryYouTube #QuarterDays #BritishFolklore

From Exile to Baron: Robert Willoughby, Henry VII's Loyal Supporter

Imagine standing shoulder to shoulder with Henry Tudor in exile, then riding back to win a crown at Bosworth. Today we meet Robert Willoughby, 1st Baron Willoughby de Broke: sheriff, soldier, royal fixer and one of Henry VII’s most loyal supporters, who died on 28 September 1502 at Callington, Cornwall.In this episode of On This Day in Tudor History, I, Claire Ridgway (historian & author), trace Willoughby’s journey from West Country administrator to exile in Brittany, his role at Bosworth (22 Aug 1485), and the rewards that followed: Knight of the Body, Lord Steward of the Household, Order of the Garter, and more. It’s a story of risk, resilience, and how loyalty shaped the early Tudor court.What you’ll learn:
Willoughby’s early service in Cornwall & Devon
Backing Buckingham’s 1483 rebellion and fleeing to Brittany
Fighting with Henry Tudor at Bosworth
High offices and lands granted by Henry VII
Why Willoughby mattered to the new Tudor regime
If you enjoy daily Tudor deep-dives, like, subscribe, and tap the bell.Want bonus content, my digital magazine The Privy Chronicle, and members-only Q&As? Join my channel membership!#TudorHistory #OnThisDay #HenryVII #Bosworth #WarsOfTheRoses #RobertWilloughby #ClaireRidgway #TudorDynasty #HistoryYouTube #MedievalHistory

Helene Harrison on The Many Faces of Anne Boleyn

Who’s the “real” Anne Boleyn—the medal, the portraits, or the version we’ve imagined? In this interview, Helene Harrison joins me to discuss her book The Many Faces of Anne Boleyn: Interpreting Image and Perception—not a biography, but a study of how Anne has been seen across centuries.We explore:
What readers should unlearn about Anne’s image
Beyond the 1534 medal: which likeness may come closest—and which is most misleading
Foreign observers (ambassadors, visitors): who reads Anne well, and who writes with an agenda?
Evidence vs. imagination: where the record ends and interpretation begins
Stage/film/TV: what one portrayal gets right—and what most get wrong
I’m Claire Ridgway, historian, author, and host of the Anne Boleyn Files & Tudor Society. If you enjoy deep dives into Tudor history, please like, subscribe, and share your thoughts below.Get Helene’s book & follow her work:Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Many-Faces-Anne-Boleyn-Interpreting/dp/1036105024/Amazon.com - https://www.amazon.com/Many-Faces-Anne-Boleyn-Interpreting/dp/1036105024/Website - https://tudorblogger.com/