When you think about Queen Mary I it’s probably Antonis Mor’s famous portrait of her that instantly pops into your head, or maybe its the stunning image of Mary in her 20s on display at the national portrait gallery. The truth however is that Mary is depicted in literally hundreds of different images, from portraits and sketches to legal documents and of course in coinage. To discuss Mary’s imagery I am thrilled to welcome Dr Peter Stiffell onto the podcast. Peter is an expert in the story of Mary I and has catalogued all known images of her, enabling him to gain incredible insight into the life of the very first queen regnant in English history.

If there is one thing about Anne Boleyn that fascinates almost everyone who loves Tudor history, its discussing what on earth she actually looked like. All we have to go on, at least for now, is a series of portraits painted after Anne Boleyn’s death and that damaged medal which was struck in 1534, but, is it just possible that a portrait of Anne Boleyn, painted from life has been hiding in plain sight all along? Today I speak to Elizabeth LaVasse, who has been researching Anne’s many images and has developed what I think could be an incredible theory, which if true, will take the world of Anne Boleyn portraiture by storm.

Brigitte Barnard is a Tudor fictional author and fully qualified midwife who joins me today for a fascinating discussion all about Tudor midwifery. We cover the stories of Tudor women from the very top of society right down to the poorest. From the rules around confinement to bizarre birthing rituals, to the things that remain as prominent in giving birth today as they did for those in the 16th century. We also explore some of the stories told about the ramifications of Henry VIII’s wives pregnancies, from what ultimately killed Jane Seymour to a theory around Henry’s blood type being the root cause for much of his wives pregnancy misfortunes!