At the end of 1969, Anne of the Thousand Days was released in cinemas across the world. An epic historical drama based on the life of Queen Anne Boleyn, the film had a little known French-Canadian Actress, Genevieve Bujold in the titular role, her first in the English language, alongside the iconic Hollywood legend, Richard Burton, as King Henry VIII. I am 36 years old, and so whilst the film came along eighteen years before I was born, I am old enough to remember a time before Showtime's four series long The Tudors that was released in the mid noughties. Whilst the show, and Natalie Dormer's ..read more

In the shadow of her infinitely more famous and successful sister Elizabeth I, it's easy to overlook the fact that Queen Mary I was England's first reigning female sovereign. Wedged between the colossal historical figures that were her father and half-sister, Mary like her younger brother King Edward VI, is often viewed as more of a supporting act than central figure in the great Tudor dynasty. She is perhaps most widely known to us by the damning moniker of "bloody Mary", a nickname brought about by the nearly 300 protestants burnt at the stake during her short reign. This dogmatic attempt to ..read more

In 1848, a historian by the name of Lord Thomas Macaulay visited the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula in the grounds of The Tower of London. He recorded his thoughts on the place in the first edition of his book The History of England from the Accession of James the Second. Suffice to say, he was not impressed with what he discovered. He wrote, "I cannot refrain from expressing my disgust at the barbarous stupidity which has transformed this interesting little church in to the likeness of a meeting house in a manufacturing town. In truth, there is no sadder spot on earth than this little cemeter ..read more

Nothing seems to divide historians more than determining how old Anne Boleyn was when she died in 1536. For the most part, historians are split at putting her year of birth down as either 1501 or 1507. It may seem strange that a woman of such notoriety has no confirmed date of birth, but sadly 16th century England placed little to no consequence on writing down such mundane facts as when a child was born, especially if the baby in question was a girl. Even amongst the aristocracy as Anne undoubtedly was, birth's were only really recorded when a first born son came along, and sometimes not even ..read more

I wrote part one of this blog back in March and had planned for part two to follow shortly thereafter, so my apologies that I have only just got around to getting this done! In this blog I will continue to explore some of the key figures from history who were an influence behind many of Game of Thrones most enduring characters. I will also uncover some of the true to life events which were the basis from some of the most explosive storylines in the series - YES, "The Red Wedding" seen below didn't come out of anywhere. On characters, I will start big, and look at the man who was inspired by o ..read more

Game of Thrones, the television drama adapted from George RR Martin's book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" has been called the biggest televisual global phenomenon of all time. A sweeping, majestic and awe inspiring tale that rewrote the rules of what could be achieved on the small screen. Beloved across the world, it's eighth and very divisive final series ended in 2019, but what were the inspirations behind the story, who were the real life counterparts behind many of it's most iconic characters? As much as this post is not a discussion of the plot of the show itself, please be prepared for ..read more

On the 8th February 1587, Mary Stuart, formally Queen of Scotland was led to a scaffold in the Great Hall of Fotheringhay Castle. Shortly thereafter, she was beheaded on charges of treason against Queen Elizabeth I. Her execution was the first of it's kind in British history. Queen consorts such as Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard had met their ends on the scaffold, as had the teenage Lady Jane Grey following her own short reign, but Mary's death was something else entirely. She was not a consort or a would be usurper, she was as royal (if not more so) than Elizabeth I, and was very much an an ..read more

When compared to the countless portrayals of Queen Elizabeth I, her half-sister Mary is often consigned to the fringes of film and television, with mere minutes of screen time allotted to her, despite the extraordinary life that she led. Only in Showtime's "The Tudors" does she actually have a substantial role to play, with significantly more airtime than her two half-siblings. As the series closes with the death of her father however, the years of Mary's life in which she truly comes into her own are not shown. Mary will next been seen on screen in "Becoming Elizabeth", the fourth historical ..read more

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. These six words are as famous as the six women that they reference. I realise that this sounds somewhat trite, but it is easy to forget that these six queens were also Henry's wives. As wives, they should have represented more than being merely his consort or mother to his children. They should have been the people in his life whom he loved the most dearly, and depended on most greatly, and yet "love" as a concept with Henry VIII is very seldom explored or even referenced. Historians tend to divide the six wives of Henry VIII in their tw ..read more

I have always revered Elizabeth I. As the daughter of undoubtedly my favourite character from history, Anne Boleyn, and viewed by many as England's greatest ruler she exerts a fascination over many. She was magical. Of course she was. Elizabeth was a political genius, and in possibly the greatest cosmic FU in history would surpass her father as the Tudor dynasties most successful monarch. Despite this, when one starts to delve deeper, there will always be elements of the stories of our heroes that tarnish their reputation. This is true of Elizabeth, for she had another side, a cruel and petty ..read more