A Quick Love Letter to Tudor Women...

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It was the Tudors – more specifically Tudor women – who sparked my passion for history.

 I’m half English and my childhoods were spent visiting places associated with the Tudor queens – Anne of Cleves house in Lewes, Hever Castle in Kent, the Tower of London. When I was about 8 I found a children’s book called “The Raven Queen” about Jane Grey, and then read another adult book about her “Innocent Traitor” by Alison Weird (highly recommend them both) and from them on I devoured everything Tudor. When I was 14, I did a talk in my English class about Anne Boleyn and even my teacher mocked me for being a geek! I have no regrets though. To this day, Tudor history is the one period I never get bored of learning about. 

Not only did this period transform the religious and social landscape of Europe, it is remarkable for the fact that it was dominated by strong and powerful women – Henry’s wives and sister, his daughters, Mary Queen of Scots, Jane Grey – all of whom I could happily write a book on my love for individually. 

However, I resent that they are all remembered more for their connection to Henry than their own stories and accomplishments, and it was this that first gave me the idea to write a new “herstory” which celebrated women in their own rights. Rest assured, this page will be dominated by Tudor women at various points but I’m trying to do them sporadically and non-chronologically to further dismantle their association with the life of Henry and their famous restriction to that six word rhyme “Divorced, beheaded, died…”. 

(If anyone hasn’t seen the musical “Six” which is basically a musical attempt to do this very thing filled with amazing costumes, beautiful singing, and some of the catchiest and wittiest songs I’ve ever heard then I highly recommend! I’ve seen it live 3 times and every time I leave feeling more empowered and inspired than ever!) 

Anyway, I believe that each of these powerful Tudor women have something different to teach us 500 years later and thus I can’t wait to tell you more about them and why they’ve inspired me since I was but a little lass.


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