Elizabeth I's Uncrowned Heirs

The lives of the Duleep Singh sisters were deeply impacted by Queen Victoria's Empire in India, and their father's displacement as the last Maharaja of the Punjab, yet they lived a life of privilege as aristocrats in Victorian Britain.   Join Curators Dr Mishka Sinha and Polly Putnam, alongside Dr Priya Atwal, to explore the early lives of Princesses Sophia, Catherine and Bamba. How did Empire impact their childhoods, and who were the women who shaped them, from Queen Victoria to their Grandmother Maharani Jind Kaur.   Read about Queen Victoria role in the British Empire. Find out more about The Last Princesses of Punjab and book tickets to our exhibition at Kensington Palace.  

Hampton Court is a palace of two halves and countless stories. But which side is best? The Tudor half displays all the court intrigue of the dynasty it's named for, and yet the Baroque side is no less dramatic, holding the stories of the Restoration, Glorious Revolution, and Georgians within its decorative walls.    Join Tracy Borman and Gareth Russell on a private tour of this palace of two halves, as they each make their case for which side is best. The Tudor, or the Baroque? Find out more about the story of Hampton Court Palace. 

Mary of Modena and Mary II are two Queens whose lives have been lost in the story of the 'Glorious Revolution'. Yet they were fundamental to the machinations of the turbulent late 1600s, where heightened religious tension made for dangerous politics at the Stuart court.  So for today's episode, we're bringing them back into the centre of the story. Chief Historian Tracy Borman is joined by Assistant Research Curator Holly Marsden and Dr Breeze Barrington to reveal the women behind the 'Glorious Revolution.' 

Margaret Beaufort was a leading figure in the tumultuous Wars of the Roses and would go on to become the matriarch of the Tudor Dynasty.  Mother to Henry VII and a key player in bringing the Tudors to the throne, was Margaret a manipulative schemer as she has sometimes been portrayed, or instead a resilient survivor of trauma and decades of civil conflict?   To better understand Margaret in the context of her time, Curator Charles Farris is joined by historians Dr Joanna Laynesmith and Lauren Johnson, as they explore the power and perception of this 15th century matriarch.

On the 1st of Janurary, 1604, Hampton Court Palace hosted a performance by William Shakespeare's acting troupe, The King's Men. They were booked to perform for the new King of England, James VI of Scotland, and one of the plays that they chose was 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.  What did it mean to be part of 'The King's Men'? How did Shakespeare's relationship with James VI and I shape his life and his plays? In this episode, Curator Brett Dolman welcomes Dr Will Tosh to the Great Hall at Hampton Court, one of few surviving places where we can tread in Shakespeare's footsteps, to discuss the nature and impact of royal patronage on Jacobean theatre.  Read more about Shakespeare at Hampton Court Palace on our website.  Dive into the history of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with blogs from The Globe.  Buy Will Tosh's book 'Straight Acting: The Many Queer Lives of William Shakespeare' here.     

Empress Matilda wielded an extraordinary amount of power during the period known as the Anarchy in the 12th century, yet she just missed out on being crowned the first queen regnant in England.   Originally chosen as heir for her abilities as a ruler, Matilda was determined to fight her cause when her throne was usurped by her cousin Stephen. But how was she viewed by contemporaries, and what is the legacy she left behind?   Join Curator Charles Farris, alongside Professors Louise Wilkinson and Elisabeth Van Houts, for an in depth look into how Matilda pushed the limits and possibilities of female power. Who was her counter-part – Queen Matilda, and how did these women conform to, or disrupt medieval expectations of Queenship? 

Archaeology can offer us new discoveries into the Tower of London's medieval past, as well as insights into the lives of the community that lived and worked there. In 2019, and in the summer of 2025, we undertook one of the most important excavations at the Tower for a generation, just outside the Chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula.   Now for the first time ever, we have detailed information about the ordinary people who lived, worshipped, and died at the Tower, but what more can we learn from these excavations? To find out more, we join Alfred Hawkins, Curator of Historic Buildings.  Read about the recent archaeological digs at the Tower of London in our blog posts:     Life, death and worship in the Tower of London, Part I | Historic Royal Palaces  Life, death and worship in the Tower of London, Part II | Historic Royal Palaces 

What was on the table for a Tudor Christmas dinner? From the lavish feasts of Henry VIII to the sugar delicacies gifted to Elizabeth I, Christmas at court was a spectacle to behold and to taste! But for ordinary people, the preservation of meats, cheese, fruit and vegetables was essential to even last the winter.   In this episode, Hampton Court Palace's Historic Kitchens Team discuss the culture and festivities of the Christmas period in 16th Century England, and share their experimental approaches to researching Tudor life through food.   Watch the team recreate the traditional Boar's Head as a desert on our YouTube channel!

The lie that started the Stuart Dynasty in England, also shaped the end of the Tudor era. But how can we better understand how this fiction was created, and ultimately who it benefitted? In this final episode of our Stolen Tudor Crown series with Chef Historian Tracy Borman, we delve into the end of Elizabeth I's reign, and the manuscripts written by William Camden that document it. What is truth and what is fiction, and how would the consequences of it all turn into a bitter civil war within decades? For a signed copy of Tracy Borman's new book The Stolen Crown, visit our online shop. Read about the reign of James VI & I. Watch our YouTube video about the death of Charles I.

Today Arbella Stuart is Elizabeth I's forgotten heir, yet during her lifetime she was raised in the belief that she might one day be Queen.  Her life can be viewed as tragically romantic, but is there much more to her story then that? What agency did Arbella wield, or was she completely controlled by the forces around her? In this episode, Chief Historian Tracy Borman is joined by historian Sarah Gristwood to explore the forgotten story of Arbella Stuart.  Learn more about the life of Arbella Stuart.