Six wives - six lives that we think we know everything about.  But beyond their mostly doomed marriages to Henry VIII and, in most cases, tragic ends, here were six women who shaped history in their own unique ways.

In this special six part series, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb brings together the most illuminating interviews about the six wives from the Not Just the Tudors archive.  She also explores some of the latest research and speaks to Dr. Charlotte Bolland - curator of the National Portrait Gallery’s new exhibition Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens - to paint an even fuller portrait of each of the six wives.

First up, Katherine of Aragon, the wife to whom Henry was married for twice as long as all the others put together - a woman much underrated and much maligned.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

From 20 June to 8 September 2024, the National Portrait Gallery in London is hosting an exhibition titled Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens, displaying the images that have shaped our perception of the six wives . Find out more, here >

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Margaret Tudor - daughter of King Henry VII, sister to Henry VIII - was married at 13 to James IV of Scotland, learning the skills of statecraft that would enable her to survive his early death and to construct a powerful position in Scotland. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about Margaret from Dr. Linda Porter. Her new book, The Thistle and the Rose: The Extraordinary Life of Margaret Tudor puts the record straight about a misunderstood and underestimated Tudor monarch, whose determination to fight for the rights of her son James V laid the groundwork for a future British state.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The acclaimed TV series Shogun, now screening on Disney+, is based on true events. Its main character John Blackthorne is modelled on William Adams, the English pilot of a Dutch ship that arrived on Japanese shores in 1600 with a handful of survivors.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors - suggested by listener Lucy Canning - Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more about the real history behind Shogun with Giles Milton, best-selling author of Samurai William: The Adventurer Who Unlocked Japan.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Fans of historical fiction and crime novels have been saddened to learn of the recent death of the award-winning, best-selling author C.J. Sansom, just days before the release of Shardlake - the TV series based on his Tudor barrister detective novels.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb pays tribute to a fine author, and a fine fictional creation with the writer and journalist Antonia Senior. 

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill produced by Rob Weinberg.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here: https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/

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**This episode contains conversation about sexual behaviour**

In early modern Europe, acting upon same-sex desires was forbidden. We only know of many of the cases because of records of criminal trials. But the evidence of the past does not suggest that we can easily find a straightforward match for modern concepts of homosexuality.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Sir Noel Malcolm, whose acclaimed new book Forbidden Desire in Early Modern Europe, demonstrates that the practice of sexuality not only varies across time but, in early modern Europe, it varied across geography. 

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here: https://www.historyhit.com/subscription/

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Sir Walter Raleigh remains one of the most famous men of the Elizabethan era. He was a true Renaissance man - a statesman, soldier, writer, explorer and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I.  In 1594, Raleigh heard about the legendary golden city of El Dorado and, the following year, explored what is now Guyana and eastern Venezuela in search of it.  In his account of the expedition, Raleigh made exaggerated claims as to what had been discovered, contributing to the enduring El Dorado legend, and his own celebrity. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, first released in May 2022, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to writer and historian Mathew Lyons about Raleigh, his dream of finding El Dorado, and the epic scale of his failure.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here.

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In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I died and King James VI of Scotland, became King James I of England.  Elizabeth was a hard act to follow for the Scottish newcomer who faced a host of problems in his first years as king: not only the legacy of his predecessor but also unrest in Ireland, serious questions about his legitimacy on the English throne, and even plots to remove him. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors - recorded in front of a live audience at the Gloucester History Festival - Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Susan Doran, about how, contrary to traditional assumptions, James's accession was by no means a smooth one.

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

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In the 16th and 17th centuries, sailing was a tool of warfare and empire, of conquest and discovery, of trade and travel. But vessels were often lost or wrecked in heavy storms or on unfamiliar routes, through attack and piracy. Many such shipwrecks are still being found. 

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. David Gibbins, maritime archaeologist and author of A History of the World in 12 Shipwrecks. His work as a diver has taken him across the globe, investigating some of history’s most fascinating wrecks.

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill produced by Rob Weinberg.

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The traditional view of the birth of modern science places it firmly in the 17th century with such huge names as Bacon, Descartes, Newton, and Galileo.  But a century earlier there were others - whose names are not so well-known to us - who paved the way for later scientific breakthroughs.  Patrons and particular places in northern Europe developed new technology and encouraged collaborations in an environment where intellectual innovation could occur, laying the foundations for subsequent discoveries.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Violet Moller, whose new book Inside the Stargazer’s Palace tells the untold story of the extraordinary workshops, observatories and libraries of Early Modern Northern Europe.  

This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here >

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In the 16th century, spices drove the world economy, creating riches on an unprecedented scale. Spanish and Portuguese explorers competed to find the elusive source of cloves and nutmeg, and when Portugal reached the spice islands of the Moluccas, it set in motion a fierce competition for control.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Roger Crowley, whose new book Spice: The 16th-Century Contest that Shaped the Modern World chronicles the adventures, shipwrecks, and sieges that formed the first colonial encounters—and remade the world economy for centuries to follow.

This episode was edited by xx and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code TUDORS - sign up here >

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