We take a pause in our narrative to go back a few years to look at the childhoods, and backgrounds of two men from London- both called Thomas, both growing up in and around London (even if their experiences were very different) and both would go onto have huge impacts into the story of the city and the politics of Henry VIII.

This then is the story of Thomas More, and Thomas Cromwell, whose stories were to illuminate life in the city; its passions, its shadows, the smallness of it all, and also how experiencing it could shape a young mans life. This then is the tale of the two Toms…

Cover shows ‘A laughing boy’, by Guido Mazzoni, c.1498.

The opening years of the reign of Henry VIII were quite paradoxical; for a king who would become known as a radical, a man who changed the nation so completely as he did, the first years of his reign represented something else- a return to more traditional ways of doing things. This week we examine why London would have felt that especially so, while also covering the first major policy decision of the young kings long reign- why he suddenly decided to marry Catherine of Aragon, when by all accounts he was under no obligation to do so.

Cover includes detail from ‘Portrait of Lady Margaret Beaufort’

Henry VII was dying… but as the first Tudor monarch slowly drifted towards death, in London the city was stilled gripped by the terrible regime of his loyal lapdog, Edmund Dudley. As the kings health began to decline, the arrests continued, the terror remained, but around him, various figures, from the desperate Catherine of Aragon, to the kings elderly but wise mother, began to sense the growing anger towards the regime, and made careful moves to make sure the correct scapegoats were prepared.

This week we follow the incredible transformation of young prince Henry, the intricate politics of the court, London surviving oppression and epidemic, and the final retribution inflicted upon those chosen to take the fall for the late King’s folly’s.

Cover shows the terracotta portrait bust of Henry VII by Pietro Torrigiano.

In the second part of ‘The Spanish Gambit’ we start to draw together the diverse threads of this story- Henry VII’s changing foreign policy ambitions, the ambitions of the Hapsburgs, the desperation of Catherine of Aragon, the Pope’s fury at the Alum smuggling network, the power of the Italians in the capital and above all… Edmund Dudley’s onslaught against London itself. With elections being nullified, innocent men and women being locked up for no good reason, with a cohort of some of the seediest criminals now seemingly dominating everyone from the mayor down, the city was plunged into an era of darkness it had not seen for hundreds of years. The Spanish Gambit had dark implications for London…

Cover art includes detail from “Portrait of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor”

Towards the end of his reign, Henry VII really came into his own; he stood as a giant on the European stage, a player in THE most dynamic and profound change in European politics in decades, poised to strike down his enemies and ensure his dynasty was cemented into the high seat of European politics… but how did he do it?

What follows is the opening part of a story involving corrupt popes, holy cartels, dodgy Italians living in London, dubious Spaniards, an eager but devout heir to the throne, and one of the most lucrative smuggling operations of the era, all of which has Henry VII right in the heart of it. Welcome to the first part… of The Spanish Gambit.

Cover features portrait of Pope Julius II by Raphael.

In the dying years of the reign of Henry VII, some big changes happened, which London witnessed and had to cope with. This weeks chapter covers quite a lot- what happened to Catherine of Aragon when she was staying in London after her first husband died? How the city witnessed the growing power (and occasional ineptitude) of Henry VII’s spy networks? Why Catherine of Aragon and Prince Henry ended up getting engaged down on Fleet Street? What caused the King to briefly shut down the sex trade in the city? And how a London based lawyer, living near the London Stone, unleashed a new wave of terror in the name of the King?

Cover contains a detail of a picture of Henry VII, Edmund Dudley and Richard Epsom.

The five years at the start of the 16th century are often overlooked, but contain elements in the city’s story that cannot be ignored- new rituals that last to this very day, new buildings and palaces that still stand, an epoch defining shift in the politics of London, and two royal deaths… an period defined by a river of light on a dark February afternoon.

Welcome as the story completes the tale of a small man we first met seven chapters ago, and how unexpectedly the very future of the Tudor dynasty was briefly in the balance…

Cover includes a detail from the portrait of Elizabeth of York, in the Royal Collection.

We return to the Story of London was a telling of the marriage celebrations of Catherine of Aragon and Arthur, Prince of Wales. The most glorious, elaborate, and expensive ever held during the reign of King Henry VII… and the most majestic celebration London had ever seen. An episode filled with pageantry, pomp, ornate theatrical street shows, wild jousts, and a man made mountain on wheels! Welcome to the explosion of the Volcano of love…

Cover features an adjusted portrait of Catherine of Aragon by Michiel Sittow.

The Story of London takes a brief break from the usual narrative, to examine the sudden spate of cross-dressing women who appeared in the records of the early Tudor London courts. Who were these women who dressed as men? Why did they do this? What insights does it give us into the mindset (and the sex lives) of London and Londoners?

A fascinating slice of Tudor London’s life…

Cover art includes a section of ‘Portrait of a boy’ by Piero di Cosimo, painted sometime in the 1490’s.

In 1497 a veritable army of about 15,000 men from Cornwall turned up in south London, intent on bringing violence to the City. What follows is a grand tale of the queen deliberately remaining in the city, the Aldermen arming themselves to the teeth, and the campaign that followed.

Along with this we examine three years where the King’s health took a sudden turn, the career of Perkin Warbeck came to a bloody end, trade CONTINUED to be a complicated mess for London’s merchants, and much more. From decaying public landmarks, to royal palaces burning to the ground, to the ritual of bloody executions, welcome to London here at the final years of the 15th Century.