Tudors

That Mary consigned some 280 Protestants to the flames is both indisputable and indefensible. But as historians have increasingly argued, this number is just one element of a much larger story that warrants contextualization.

The Myth of 'Bloody Mary,' England's First Queen

History remembers Mary I as a murderous monster who burned hundreds of her subjects at the stake, but the real story of the Tudor monarch is far more nuanced

Alicia Vikander as Catherine Parr in Firebrand, an upcoming film from director Karim Aïnouz

Watch the Trailer for 'Firebrand,' a New Drama About Henry VIII's Sixth Wife, Catherine Parr

Karim Aïnouz’s film features Alicia Vikander and Jude Law as the Tudor queen and king

Julianne Moore as Mary Villiers and Nicholas Galitzine as her son George Villiers in "Mary & George"

The Real Story Behind 'Mary & George'

The new mini-series dramatizes the Villiers family’s scandalous rise to power at the court of England's James I

Hans Holbein the Younger's 1539 portrait of Anne of Cleves before (left) and after (right) conservation

See the Portrait That Made Henry VIII Fall in Love With Anne of Cleves, Newly Restored to Its Former Glory

The Louvre cleaned and conserved Hans Holbein's 1539 likeness of the Tudor queen, revealing its vibrant colors and previously hidden details

Found by workers during recent restorations, the wall paintings feature three crowned motifs.

Forgotten Tudor Wall Paintings Discovered in a Cambridge University Loft Space

Unseen for nearly 300 years, the art resurfaced during restorations at Christ's College

Fascinating finds unveiled in 2023 ranged from a 12-sided object that may have been used for sorcery to a lost Rembrandt portrait.

117 Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2023

The year's most exciting discoveries included a stolen Vincent van Gogh painting, a hidden medieval crypt and a gold-covered mummy

Smithsonian's picks for the best history books of 2023 include King: A Life, The Sisterhood and The Wager.

The Ten Best History Books of 2023

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and illuminate how the United States ended up where it is today

Performers at the 1963 Renaissance Pleasure Faire. Ron Patterson, a co-founder of the event, appears in orange at the far right.

The Surprisingly Radical Roots of the Renaissance Fair

The first of these festivals debuted in the early 1960s, serving as a prime example of the United States' burgeoning counterculture

A psalter owned by Henry VIII offers something that fans of the Tudors have craved for centuries: a window into the mind of the tyrannical English ruler.

Henry VIII’s Book of Psalms Reflects His Quest for Legitimacy—and His Fear of Death

Handwritten annotations in the Tudor king's psalter show how he looked to scripture to justify his break from Rome and the annulment of his first marriage

George Herbert’s pictures aren’t just decorative. They reinforce the meanings of his poems.

These 17th-Century Poems Painted Pictures on the Page—and Defied the Church of England's Rejection of Religious Images

George Herbert's shaped poetry subtly pushed back against the iconoclasm of the English Reformation

The project required more than 5,470 hours of conservation stitching, lining and reconstruction.

See Stunning Tudor Tapestries Restored to Their Former Glory

The 13 panels are on view as a set for the first time in 24 years

A lightsheet used to reveal hidden text in a manuscript of William Camden's Annals. New research suggests the author reworked his biography of Elizabeth I to win the favor of her successor, James VI of Scotland and I of England.

Hidden for 400 Years, Censored Pages Reveal New Insights Into Elizabeth I's Reign

Scholars used advanced imaging to read crossed-out, pasted-over passages in the first official account of the Tudor queen's time on the English throne

Thomas Cromwell, Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon all owned a copy of the same Book of Hours.

Prayer Book Owned by Thomas Cromwell, Adviser to Henry VIII, Was Hidden in Plain Sight for Centuries

The Book of Hours appears in a famous painting of the Tudor statesman

Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation portrait

A Not-So-Brief History of British Coronations

Ahead of Charles III’s ceremony, here's what you need to know about the origins and evolution of the centuries-old tradition

A rendering of the 2.3-acre site that will house the Museum of Shakespeare

An Interactive Shakespeare Museum Will Immerse Visitors in the Ruins of an Elizabethan Theater

The cultural institution is slated to open in London in spring 2024

Of the roughly 750 First Folios printed, at least 235 known copies survive today.

Without the First Folio, Half of Shakespeare's Plays Would Have Been Lost to History

The 400-year-old text presented the Bard's plays as serious literature, muddling the boundaries between popular culture and high art

Richard’s life has long sparked debate, with two competing views of the last Yorkist king emerging in the centuries after his reign ended in 1485.

'The Lost King' Dramatizes the Search for Richard III's Remains. The Monarch's Life Was Even More Sensational

A new film offers a sympathetic portrait of the 15th-century ruler, who seized the crown from his nephew before dying on the battlefield

All but seven of the letters were previously thought to be lost.

Code Breakers Discover—and Decipher—Long-Lost Letters by Mary, Queen of Scots

The deposed monarch wrote the 57 encrypted messages during her captivity in England

The gold pendant likely dates to around 1521.

Metal Detectorist Discovers Rare Gold Pendant Celebrating Henry VIII's First Marriage

The heart-shaped accessory features the entwined initials of the Tudor king and Catherine of Aragon

L to R: Andrew Carnegie, Elizabeth I, Henry VIII and Henry Ford

The Tudor Roots of Modern Billionaires' Philanthropy

The debate over how to manage the wealthy's fortunes after their deaths traces its roots to Henry VIII and Elizabeth I

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