Edward VI, son of Henry VIII, became King of England at the age of nine. All around him loomed powerful men who hoped to use him to further their own ends. Edward was the only Tudor monarch who was groomed to reign, and it was assumed he would become as commanding a figure as his father had been.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Stephen Alford, to discover the story of a boy learning to rule and emerge from the shadows of the great aristocrats around him - only to die unexpectedly at the age of 15.  

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Antwerp during the Renaissance was as sensational as nineteenth-century Paris or twentieth-century New York. For half the sixteenth century, it was the place for breaking rules - religious, sexual and intellectual. But when Antwerp rebelled with the Dutch against the Spanish and lost, all of its glory was buried and its true history rewritten. 

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to author Michael Pye, whose detailed research has recovered the splendour that was Antwerp, a city learning how to be a power in its own right in the world after feudalism.

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475 years ago, on 28 January 1547, King Henry VIII died at the age of 55. Just hours before his passing, his last will and testament had been read, stamped, and sealed. Historians have disagreed ever since about its authenticity and validity, and the circumstances of its creation, making Henry's will one of English history's most contested documents, 

In this explainer episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb offers her own illuminating interpretation of the aftermath of Henry VIII's death, the mystery of his will and how misplaced trust can undermine the best-laid plans of a powerful monarch.

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In the world of King Henry VIII, the paramount place to demonstrate physical strength and manly courage was the joust - and Henry excelled at it.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to historian Dr. Emma Levitt to find out more about what jousting was, why Henry liked it so much, how it was scored, what it cost - and the culture of honour, manhood and physical chivalry that it embodied. 

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Kate Mosse is the multimillion-selling author of the Languedoc Trilogy - Labyrinth, Sepulchre and Citadel. With her new novel The City of Tears, the second in her series The Burning Chambers, just out in paperback, she tells the story of a family’s fight to stay together and survive against the backdrop of the French Wars of Religion and the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Kate Mosse about how she goes about writing historical fiction, researching the events of the past, imagining the characters who lived through them and, most particularly, conjuring up the places she finds inspiring - but as they used to be.

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No advisor was more important to King Henry VIII than Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. He captured Henry's attention with his brilliance and became his most trusted confidant. But when the King wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon, not even the eloquent Wolsey could convince the Pope to agree. 

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Wolsey's biographer Professor Glenn Richardson, about the man who was responsible for building Henry VIII's reputation as England's most impressive king but ended up being accused of treason.

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Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots were cousins who never met - but their fates were intertwined. As their nations were engulfed in religious turmoil and civil wars raged on the continent, these two powerful women struggled for control of the British Isles.  

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb goes to the British Library in London to meet curator Andrea Clarke and visit a stunning exhibition on the rival Queens, which uses original documents and extraordinary objects to show how paranoia turned sisterly affection to suspicion.

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2022 marks the 530th anniversary of 1492 - the year in which Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille ended centuries of Muslim rule in Spain, expelled the country's Jews, and signed a contract with one Christopher Columbus who set set sail to find the Indies - and the rest is history.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Isabella's biographer Giles Tremlett about her and Ferdinand's pursuit of piety, purity and power and their role in the momentous events of 1492.

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One of the most famous paintings in London is The Laughing Cavalier of 1624 by Franz Hals, the great portrait artist of the Dutch Golden Age whose fame has been somewhat eclipsed by Vermeer and Rembrandt. In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb heads off to the Wallace Collection in London to see The Laughing Cavalier - alongside an exquisite, small selection of Hals' male portraits - and to discuss them with curator Lelia Packer.  There is also analysis by contemporary artist Grayson Perry, who features in the exhibition's multimedia guide, created in collaboration with Imagineear. The guide, free with every exhibition ticket, brings the individual portraits to life through rich commentary provided by Perry and other experts.

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Happy New Year from Not Just the Tudors! But what, looking back, can we look forward to in 2022? Our first episode of the year anticipates 12 months filled with fascinating historical exhibitions and important anniversaries - from the raising from the seabed of the Mary Rose 40 years ago in 1982 to the 500th anniversary since the first recorded circumnavigation of the globe, with many more world-shaking events in between. Join Professor Suzannah Lipscomb for everything you ever wanted to know about the coming year.

If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit.

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