Kings

Johannes Adam Simon Oertel's 1852–53 depiction of the George III's statue toppling features several ahistorical elements, including the presence of Alexander Hamilton and a fictionalized Native American family.

A Toppled Statue of George III Illuminates the Ongoing Debate Over America's Monuments

In July 1776, colonists destroyed a sculpture of the English king. A new exhibit explores this iconoclasm's legacy—and its implications for today

Ancient meets ultramodern in “Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs,” now on view in Houston.

An Immersive Celebration of Ramses II Transports Visitors to Ancient Egypt

Historic artifacts meet 21st-century technology in a blockbuster touring exhibition centered on the 19th-Dynasty pharaoh

The ornate object features likenesses of Saints Leonard and Margaret, patron saints of childbirth.

Cool Finds

Tiny Gold Book Found in English Field May Have Ties to Richard III

Experts say the 15th-century artifact bears striking similarities to the Middleham Jewel, a gold pendant found near the king's childhood home in 1985

Minted in Canterbury between 1493 and 1499, the silver half groat dates to the middle of Henry VII's reign, when a rebellion led by pretender Perkin Warbeck threatened to unseat the nascent Tudor dynasty. 

Cool Finds

How Did a 15th-Century Coin Minted Under Henry VII End Up in Newfoundland?

Dated to between 1493 and 1499, the silver half-groat is the oldest English coin ever found in Canada

An overhead view of the armor-clad effigy on the Black Prince's tomb at Canterbury Cathedral in England.

New Research

Thanks to Medical Technology, the Black Prince's Tomb Reveals Its Secrets

Researchers used advanced technology to discover how the effigy of Edward of Woodstock was crafted more than 600 years ago

A supporter of the doomed Tudor queen may have hidden the falcon following Anne's downfall.

Cool Finds

Wooden Falcon Sold for $101 Originally Belonged to Anne Boleyn

The discovery is striking because Henry VIII removed almost all traces of his second queen following her execution in 1536

Living Like a Tudor draws on the five senses to offer a vivid portrait of Tudor life. Pictured here is a procession overseen by the last Tudor monarch, Elizabeth I.

What Did Tudor England Look, Smell and Sound Like?

A new book by scholar Amy Licence vividly transports readers back to the 16th century

Metal sulfides left behind by anaerobic bacteria and the breakdown of iron artifacts were sopped by the wood while the ship was submerged.

'Bacteria Poop' Is Breaking Down Henry VIII's Favorite Ship

When the ship sunk in 1545, marine bacteria started eating away at the hull

Hans Holbein the Younger, Portrait of Simon George of Cornwall (detail), circa 1535–40

Hans Holbein's Portraits Defined—and Immortalized—Tudor England's Elite

An exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum features some of the painter's most famous portraits of power players in Henry VIII's court

A decent fellow after all? King George III, painted by Sir William Beechey (1753-1839).

In Defense of King George

The author of a new biography shines a humane light on the monarch despised by the colonists

The timbers of a 500-year-old ship rest on the floor of the Baltic Sea. Scholars and divers are studying the legendary wreck.

An Extraordinary 500-Year-Old Shipwreck Is Rewriting the History of the Age of Discovery

In the frigid Baltic Sea, archaeologists probing the surprisingly well-preserved remains of a revolutionary warship are seeing the era in a new way

In Six, Henry VIII's wives (top row, L to R: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour; bottom row, L to R: Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr) reclaim their stories.

Based on a True Story

The True History Behind 'Six,' the Tudor Musical About Henry VIII's Wives

The show's creators, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, reflect on the smash hit ahead of its Broadway premiere

The French queen purchased the pair of diamond bracelets for 250,000 livres in 1776.

Marie Antoinette's Diamond Bracelets Are Going Up for Auction

The jewels carry an estimate of $2 to $4 million but may fetch a far higher price

The pages were disposed of as scrap and pasted into an unrelated book.  

Cool Finds

Rediscovered Medieval Manuscript Offers New Twist on Arthurian Legend

The 13th-century pages, found by chance at a British library, show a different side of Merlin, the magician who advised Camelot's king

Italian artist Girolamo di Tommaso da Treviso created the ceremonial shield around 1535.

Ornate Medieval Shield Looted by the Nazis Will Be Returned to the Czech Republic

Created in the 16th century, the intricately decorated piece of armor was once owned by Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Workers discovered a trove of rare gold coins, pictured here, in the walls of a historic French mansion in 2019. Now, the coins are going up for auction.

Cool Finds

Trove of 239 Rare Gold Coins Discovered in Walls of French Mansion

Renovators discovered a hidden box and pouch stuffed with rare gold coins, minted during the reigns of French Kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV

The excavation site lies next to Holy Trinity Church in the English village of Cookham.

Cool Finds

Lost Monastery Run by Early Medieval Queen Discovered in England

Cynethryth ruled alongside her husband, King Offa of Mercia, during the seventh century C.E.

Mary Boleyn (right) served as Henry VIII's mistress before her sister Anne's (left) ascent to the throne.

The Rise and Fall of Tudor England's Scandalous Boleyn Family

A new documentary offers a more sympathetic view of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, and her inner circle

Experts transported the boat in a shock-absorbing metal container carried by a remote-controlled vehicle imported from Belgium.

Why King Khufu's Solar Boat Is on the Move After 4,600 Years

Officials transported the pharaoh's wooden ship from the Pyramids of Giza to its new home at the Grand Egyptian Museum

Artist's impression of Thomas Cromwell's London estate

See the Palatial London Mansion of Thomas Cromwell, Adviser to Henry VIII

New research reveals what the Tudor statesman's 58-room estate may have looked like

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