Six Queens

After nearly five years apart, Kate and Cally reunited in the UK in March 2024. Hear all about their adventures at the National Portrait Gallery, Hans Holbein exhibition, Ludlow Castle, and Peterborough Cathedral. You'll also get a preview of what's coming up in late Spring 2024.Partially-edited recording of a live broadcast streamed 29 March 2024.

Happy Valentine's Day! Celebrate with a deep-dive into Tudor love poetry, specifically the sonnet "Whoso List to Hunt" written by Sir Thomas Wyatt. Read it and follow along here. Legend says that Wyatt was in love with Anne Boleyn and wrote this poem about his unrequited, unsuccessful love for her. Is there any truth in the legend? Did Anne's flirtations inspire groundbreaking poetry? And what does the poem tell us about love and romance at the Tudor court?

Kate and Cally take to Instagram Live to recap the Motherhood series, share some personal highlights, discuss some topics that weren't addressed in the main episodes, answer audience questions, and preview what's to come in 2024.Partially-edited recording of a live broadcast streamed 26 January 2024. Viewers should be advised that the live show contains references to topics that may be disturbing to some listeners, including miscarriage/pregnancy loss and childbirth.

"Honourable Mentions" is a series that honours the lives of Tudor women who knew, aided, and impacted the lives of our six queens. To end Series 4, "Motherhood," Kate and Cally are discussing the most infamous mother at the Tudor court: Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount, the mother of Henry VIII's only acknowledged illegitimate child.Who was Bessie? How did her relationship with the King begin? How was her fate impacted by the chaotic, confusing politics of the Great Matter? And how did Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn interact with their husband's mistress and the child she bore?

To celebrate the holiday season, Kate and Cally get cozy with a black-and-white classic: The Private Life of Henry VIII, made in 1933. It's the first "talkie" film featuring the Tudor period and our queens, telling the story of Henry VIII's quest to find "the perfect wife."How did the on-screen portrayals of our queens meet expectations? What was surprising? Do all the familiar dramatic tropes apply to such an old film? And what were the small details that really brought the Tudor court to life?

Three of our queens were the mothers of English monarchs, in addition to being married to one. How did they view their children as the legacies of their reigns and ambitions? And how did the children honor their mothers' memories once on the throne?In the final episode of "Motherhood," Kate and Cally explore the ways in which Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I remembered their mothers and, in some cases, vindicated their complicated legacies.

Five of our queens were stepmothers to Henry VIII's children. How did they approach this complicated family dynamic? Did the politics and etiquette of court affect the relationships between stepmother and stepchildren? Kate and Cally discuss the complicated relationships between our queens and their royal stepchildren: Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward.

How did queens embrace the responsibility of educating their children, especially their daughters? How did they assert their own political power through raising and shaping their children?Kate and Cally are devoting two episodes to discussing education, one of the most important components of motherhood for our six queens. On this episode, they celebrate the ways in which Katherine Parr championed the education of her stepchildren, especially Elizabeth.

How did queens embrace the responsibility of educating their children, especially their daughters? How did they assert their own political power through raising and shaping their children?Kate and Cally are devoting two episodes to discussing education, one of the most important components of motherhood for our six queens. On this episode, they'll examine the progressive (for its time) education of Princess Mary, commissioned and championed by her mother, Katharine of Aragon.