Merry Christmas! This holiday season, we’re taking a trip back to one of the most extravagant Christmas celebrations of Shakespeare’s lifetime—the Christmas of 1603, when the newly crowned James I hosted his first royal festivities as King of England. The court was alive with feasting, pageantry, and opulent merrymaking. It was a moment of political transition, and James made sure his first Christmas made a powerful impression. 

The newly renamed King’s Men, Shakespeare’s company, performed for the court, securing their new royal patronage. Alongside these performances were dazzling masques, intricate entertainments, and diplomatic displays designed to cement James’s image as both a unifier and a sovereign of grandeur. 

This week, our guide through the glittering halls of Whitehall Palace in the winter of 1603 is Martin Wiggins, Senior Research Fellow at the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford Upon Avon, author of British Drama 1533–1642: A Catalogue, and President of the Malone Society. Today, Martin joins us to share what made this holiday season so historically important, how theater helped James define his kingship, and what the royal court’s festivities can teach us about Shakespeare’s world. Stay with us—we’re about to unwrap a Christmas filled with drama, diplomacy, and theatrical delight.

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