One of the wall paintings discovered at the Ashes, a Tudor-era guest house in northeastern England, depicts a dog's head.

Cool Finds

See the ‘Fantastical Beasts and Foliage’ Featured in These Rare, Newly Discovered Tudor Wall Paintings

Created in the Grotesque style, the 16th-century images—revealed by renovations at a lodge in England—mimic historic textile designs

Jason Sandy mudlarking along the River Thames in London

Cool Finds

History-Hunting Mudlarks Scour London’s Shores to Uncover the City’s Rich Archaeological Treasures

A new exhibition at the London Museum Docklands spotlights hundreds of mudlarking finds, from Bronze Age tools to Viking daggers to medieval spectacles

Mark Rylance (left) and Damian Lewis (right) as Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII in "Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light"

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind ‘Wolf Hall’ and the Fall of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s Most Controversial Adviser

Based on Hilary Mantel’s novel “The Mirror & the Light,” the last installment in the acclaimed television series chronicles the last four years of the statesman’s life

The portrait recently went on display at England's Wrest Park.

Does This Mysterious Portrait Depict Lady Jane Grey, the Doomed Queen Who Ruled England for Nine Days in 1553?

After conducting a new analysis, some researchers think it may be the only portrait of Grey created during her lifetime—a conclusion that has generated controversy

Stained-glass windows depicting George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, and his wife, Isabel Neville

On This Day in History

Why an English King’s Traitorous Brother Was (Allegedly) Drowned in a Barrel of Wine

George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, spent his life engaged in a power struggle that pitted cousins and siblings against each other. He was executed for treason on this day in 1478

Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England on February 8, 1587.

On This Day in History

This Tragic European Monarch Was Executed for Treason on Her Cousin’s Orders

Elizabeth I ordered the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic claimant to the English throne, on this day in 1587

Fascinating finds unveiled in 2024 ranged from a jade Maya funerary mask to a Roman dodecahedron.

Cool Finds

Seventy-Seven Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2024, From a Mysterious ‘Anomaly’ Near the Great Pyramid of Giza to a Missing Portrait of Henry VIII

The year’s most exciting discoveries included musket balls fired in the early days of the American Revolution, a lost composition by Mozart and a medieval chess piece

A portrait of Henry VIII, based on an original by Hans Holbein the Younger

On This Day in History

How Henry VIII’s Armies Defeated a Much Larger Scottish Force, Humiliating His Nephew, the King of Scotland

On this day in 1542, the Battle of Solway Moss left James V enfeebled and ill, clearing the way for his young daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, to claim the throne weeks later

This portrait of Henry VIII was one of 22 in a set commissioned by Ralph Sheldon in the late 16th century.

Cool Finds

Art Historian Discovers Long-Lost Portrait of Henry VIII in Background of Social Media Post

Commissioned by a wealthy tapestry maker in the 1590s, the Tudor king’s likeness features a distinctive frame with a rounded top

The Wentworth brothers campaigned ceaselessly for the liberty of free speech in the House of Commons. They were driven by the ongoing succession crisis, which they felt Elizabeth was ignoring, placing England in danger of civil war or foreign invasion.

The Brothers Who Asserted Their Right to Free Speech in Tudor England

Peter and Paul Wentworth called on Elizabeth I to name an heir to the throne, wielding Parliament’s free speech privileges to urge the queen to take action

Last May, the team uncovered a telltale sign of the long-lost palace: the base of a centuries-old wall and a foundation.

Cool Finds

Amateur Historians Unearth a Long-Lost Tudor Palace Visited by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I

Locals had long shared stories of Collyweston Palace. Then, excavations in England’s Midlands revealed traces of the fabled estate

Alicia Vikander portrays Henry VIII's sixth wife, Catherine Parr, in the new film Firebrand.

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind ‘Firebrand’ and Henry VIII’s Tumultuous Relationship With His Sixth Wife, Catherine Parr

A new film dramatizes how the Tudor queen narrowly avoided execution on charges of heresy

That Mary consigned some 280 Protestants to the flames is both indisputable and indefensible. But as historians have increasingly argued, this number is just one element of a much larger story that warrants contextualization.

The Myth of ‘Bloody Mary,’ England’s First Queen

History remembers Mary I as a murderous monster who burned hundreds of her subjects at the stake, but the real story of the Tudor monarch is far more nuanced

Alicia Vikander as Catherine Parr in Firebrand, an upcoming film from director Karim Aïnouz

Based on a True Story

Watch the Trailer for ‘Firebrand,’ a New Drama About Henry VIII’s Sixth Wife, Catherine Parr

Karim Aïnouz’s film features Alicia Vikander and Jude Law as the Tudor queen and king

Julianne Moore as Mary Villiers and Nicholas Galitzine as her son George Villiers in "Mary & George"

The Real Story Behind ‘Mary & George’

The new mini-series dramatizes the Villiers family’s scandalous rise to power at the court of England’s James I

Hans Holbein the Younger's 1539 portrait of Anne of Cleves before (left) and after (right) conservation

See the Portrait That Made Henry VIII Fall in Love With Anne of Cleves, Newly Restored to Its Former Glory

The Louvre cleaned and conserved Hans Holbein’s 1539 likeness of the Tudor queen, revealing its vibrant colors and previously hidden details

Found by workers during recent restorations, the wall paintings feature three crowned motifs.

Cool Finds

Forgotten Tudor Wall Paintings Discovered in a Cambridge University Loft Space

Unseen for nearly 300 years, the art resurfaced during restorations at Christ’s College

Fascinating finds unveiled in 2023 ranged from a 12-sided object that may have been used for sorcery to a lost Rembrandt portrait.

Cool Finds

117 Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2023

The year’s most exciting discoveries included a stolen Vincent van Gogh painting, a hidden medieval crypt and a gold-covered mummy

Smithsonian's picks for the best history books of 2023 include King: A Life, The Sisterhood and The Wager.

The Best Books of 2023

The Ten Best History Books of 2023

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and illuminate how the United States ended up where it is today

Performers at the 1963 Renaissance Pleasure Faire. Ron Patterson, a co-founder of the event, appears in orange at the far right.

The Surprisingly Radical Roots of the Renaissance Fair

The first of these festivals debuted in the early 1960s, serving as a prime example of the United States’ burgeoning counterculture

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