Renaissance English History Podcast: A Show About the Tudors

By Heather TeyskoHistory

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Renaissance English History Podcast: A Show About the Tudors episodes

January 31 The Death and Funeral of Henry VIII: Ritual, Power, and a Vanishing Tomb

When Henry VIII died at Whitehall Palace in January 1547, England faced a dangerous moment. His heir was nine years old, power was about to shift, and the death of a king had to be handled with extreme care.
In this video, we follow Henry VIII from his deathbed through one of the most elaborate royal funerals of the sixteenth century.
We look at how his body was prepared, why his burial was delayed, how the funeral procession moved from Whitehall to Windsor, and what those towering candle-filled hearses actually were.
Along the way, we examine one of the most enduring stories associated with Henry’s death - the claim that his coffin burst open at Syon Abbey - and why that story almost certainly isn’t true.
We also explore Henry’s plans for a monumental tomb and a perpetual chantry at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, and why neither was ever completed.
Despite the scale of his funeral, Henry VIII ended up buried without a visible monument, his vault unmarked for centuries.
To celebrate the announcement of Nathen Amin as our Tudorcon keynote, Tudorcon tickets are currently on flash sale - use the code BEAUFORT to save 15 percent (including on payment plans) at https://tudorcon.englandcast.com.

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34 min
January 30 Women Who Anchored Empire: Ireland, Roanoke, and the Jamestown Brides | Tudorcon Talk
What role did women actually play in England’s early colonial experiments?
In this Tudorcon 2025 talk, Colleen Parker explores the overlooked but essential role of women in early English colonization, beginning in Ireland and continuing through Roanoke and Jamestown. Rather than treating women as background figures, this talk shows how they functioned as household managers, negotiators, landholders, cultural intermediaries, and, in many cases, the key to whether a colony survived at all.
Topics include:
• Women in the Irish plantations as a testing ground for colonization
• The role of women in Roanoke and the mystery of Virginia Dare
• The Jamestown Brides and why “mail-order brides” is a misleading label
• Women as property holders and legal actors in early Virginia
• Daily survival, childbirth, labor, and negotiation with Native communities
This is a rich, thoughtful look at how women shaped colonization on both sides of the Atlantic.
📣 Tudorcon 2026 Updates
Speaker proposals for Tudorcon are open until February 15. If you’d like to present at a future Tudorcon, the submission form is linked below.

🎉 Flash Sale
We’ve also announced Nathen Amin as our Tudorcon keynote. A limited-time flash sale is running this week ...save 15% with the coupon code BEAUFORT.
👉 Speaker form and tickets are all here: https://tudorcon.englandcast.com.

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43 min
January 28 The King in the Mill: The Strange Death of James III
In the summer of 1488, a King of Scots lay dying in a flour mill, allegedly murdered by a man disguised as a priest. But how did James III - a man who preferred lutes to longswords and architects to Earls - find himself fleeing for his life from his own son?
This week, we’re venturing just north of the border and slightly back in time to explore the chaotic, culture-clashing reign of James III. From the dramatic "kidnapping" of his childhood to the brutal executions at Lauder Bridge and the mystery of his final moments at Sauchieburn, we look at a monarch who was perhaps too "Renaissance" for his own good.
We’ll also trace the thread that leads directly to the Tudor dynasty, exploring how this medieval tragedy set the stage for the "Union of the Thistle and the Rose" and the eventual rise of the United Kingdom. It’s a story of gold, betrayal, and a lifelong penance worn in the form of an iron belt.

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21 min
January 27 What Was Wolsey Thinking? The Slow, Fatal Unraveling of Henry VIII’s Greatest Minister
At the height of his power, Thomas Wolsey stood at the center of Europe’s grandest spectacle - the Field of Cloth of Gold. Ten years later, he was alone, under arrest, and dying far from court.
In this What Were They Thinking? episode, we trace Wolsey’s downfall step by step - from supreme confidence in 1520 to political isolation in 1530. We follow how he reacted to each loss of power: his removal from office, his enforced move north to York, the dangerous letters he continued to write, and the fatal belief that service, law, and process might still save him.
This is not a story of sudden collapse, but of a man who could not stop thinking like a statesman long after the state had turned against him.

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24 min
January 27 What If Elizabeth I Had Married Early? One Decision That Changes Everything
Elizabeth I’s decision not to marry shaped the entire character of her reign. But what if she had chosen differently, early on, when the pressure was highest and the risks were lowest?
In this Thought Experiment, we explore how an early marriage might have changed the succession, court politics, religion, and England’s place in Europe, and what Elizabeth gained, and gave up, by refusing to say yes.

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23 min
January 26 A Monster Winter Storm, Tudor Style: How People Coped Without Forecasts
As a major winter storm is hitting much of the United States, it’s hard not to think about how dependent we are on forecasts, alerts, and advance warnings. We know when snow will start, how bad it might get, and when it should be over.
The Tudors had none of that.
In this episode, we explore how people in Tudor England understood the weather, what “forecasting” meant in a world without instruments or data, and how households prepared for winter when storms arrived without warning. We’ll look at seasonal preparation, food storage, fuel shortages, and what happened when cold lasted longer than anyone expected.
We’ll also examine real historical examples of severe winters from the Tudor period and just beyond it, including prolonged frosts that froze rivers, stalled trade, and tested the limits of everyday life.
This isn’t a story about cozy snowfalls. It’s about uncertainty, preparation, and what winter meant in a world where no one could say how long the storm would last.

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27 min
January 22 What Was Katharine Parr Thinking? The Conversation That Almost Got Her Arrested
In the final years of Henry VIII’s reign, even conversation could be dangerous.
Katharine Parr was not simply a dutiful queen consort. She was highly educated, deeply interested in theology, and unusually willing to debate religion with the king. At first, Henry encouraged these exchanges. He enjoyed having a companion who could follow his arguments and respond thoughtfully.
By 1546, however, those same conversations were being reported very differently.
An arrest warrant was prepared. Bishops took notice. Courtiers repeated her words. Katharine found herself in the same position that had destroyed others before her.
This video explores:
Why Katharine felt secure enough to debate theology with Henry
How court politics turned her speech into a risk
What she understood about Henry’s need for control at the crucial moment
And how a carefully chosen conversation stopped the arrest from going forward
This is not a story about luck or silence. It is about timing, perception, and knowing when the safest move was to change the way the story was being told.
📌Join my newsletter for exclusive Tudor news and updates: https://www.englandcast.com/newsletter

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24 min
January 21 How to Die in Tudor England
When we think about death in Tudor England, we usually picture executions, plague, or war. But for most people living in 16th-century England, death came much closer to home.
In this episode, we explore accidental deaths recorded in coroners’ inquests: drownings while fetching water, fatal after-work swims, farm accidents, falls, fires, and moments of ordinary life that went catastrophically wrong. Drawing on recent research by historian Steven Gunn, these cases reveal what people were actually doing all day, the risks they lived with, and how unforgiving the physical world of Tudor England could be.
This isn’t a story about kings or court politics. It’s about laborers, women, children, and families navigating daily work, domestic chores, and leisure in a landscape with very little margin for error.
If you’ve ever wondered what Tudor life really looked like beyond the palace walls, this episode offers a stark and fascinating answer.

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23 min
January 15 The Forgotten History of Breakfast (The Tudors Didn’t Eat It Like We Do)
Breakfast feels ancient. It isn’t. In Tudor England, breakfast was optional, lightly eaten, and sometimes frowned upon. No bacon, no eggs, no fixed hour. Just bread, ale, leftovers, and a lot of flexibility depending on class and work.
This video explores when breakfast actually became “breakfast,” and why the Tudors didn’t believe in it the way we do.
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23 min
January 13 Thomas Cromwell in 1540: The Year He Knew He Was Finished
In early 1540, Thomas Cromwell was still powerful, but he knew something had shifted.
Today we look at the final year before Cromwell’s fall, not as a sudden collapse, but as a slow recognition that his influence was draining away. As the court reoriented itself, allies fell silent, old enemies returned, and the systems Cromwell built no longer protected him.

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20 min

About Renaissance English History Podcast: A Show About the Tudors

From the publisher's feed

Renaissance England was a bustling and exciting place...new religion! break with rome! wars with Scotland! And France! And Spain! The birth of the modern world! In this weekly podcast I'll explore one…