The formation of the Burgundian Empire by the four Valois Dukes of Burgundy would not have happened without the formidable royal and aristocratic women in…

Pen & Sword is having an autumn sale! You can pre-order my upcoming book, The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court for 30% off. Pre-order your copy today! (UK residents from the Pen & Sword website only until October 31. Book will be released on October 30) The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court You can also purchase Charles II's Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza for 30% off

Pen & Sword is having an autumn sale! You can pre-order my upcoming book, The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court for 30% off. Order your copy today! (UK Residents from the Pen & Sword website only until October 31) The Formidable Women Who Shaped Medieval Europe: Power and Patronage at the Burgundian Court You can also purchase Charles II's Portuguese Queen: The Legacy of Catherine of Braganza for 30% off

Catherine of Braganza has regularly been referred to as ‘the forgotten queen’ and there is much truth in this statement. Following her death in 1705,…

Edward VI as a Child (Hans Holbein the Younger, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1538).Edward VI was born on October 12th, 1537 after Jane Seymour endured an intense two-day labour. Jane had…

By all accounts, Lady Katherine Gordon was a beautiful woman. She was the daughter of a Scottish nobleman with royal connections and married four times, including to the pretender to the English th…

Duke Henry was irritated.  A pious and religious man himself, he could not bear the sight of his beloved wife attending mass and performing all her noble deeds barefoot. She could be a shini…

Alexander III, King of Scots was married to Margaret of England from 1251 until her death in 1275. Alexander did not appear to be in a hurry to marry again. He had two sons and a daughter with Marg…

William Duke of Normandy’s historic victory over the Saxon army of King Harold on 14th October 1066, leading to the conquest of England and the eventual replacement of the Anglo-Saxon dominated…

The ill-fated Edward of Lancaster was the long-awaited only child of King Henry VI of England and his queen, Margaret of Anjou. His birth produced even more disruption during the political power st…

Of all the entities making up the kingdom of France, Brittany was special. The Duchy of Brittany refused to accept French suzerainty. The Bretons had their own language, laws and institutions. Bret…

“A pearl of a woman…goodness without sin” The Chronicler of Anjou There is no love story with the marriage of Claude de Valois and King François I of France. Claude’s parents, Anne of Brittany and …

Woodcut of King James II of Scotland showing the birthmark on his face History repeats itself. This aphorism is especially true for the Scottish monarchy. There was a period during Scottish history…

The same morning as the birth of Prince Edward at Hampton Court Palace, Cromwell’s hastily wrote to Wyatt to tell him of the good news, addressing the letter in French. Cromwell would have been thr…

Back in November 2023, as Storm Ciarán was raging, I drove most of the length of England to visit Crowland Abbey in Lincolnshire, a place wh...

Battle of Tewkesbury marked a turning point in the Wars of the Roses, sealing Yorkist victory and leading to the death of Prince Edward and Margaret’s capture.

Roman Andalusia. Andalusia, the large autonomous community in the Iberian Peninsular has plenty of Roman history. By Alistair Tosh.

On 21 April 1509, Henry VII died aged 52 in his private apartments at Richmond Palace. But officials waited two days to tell the strapping young man that he was now King. Why?

Trials of domestic and wild animals were recorded in the Middle Ages, including an infamous pig trial, which did not end well for the animal.

What were the 1780 Gordon Riots? Discover how a Westminster bill sparked a dangerous anti-Catholic riot that left London in tatters…

Read on to learn all about one of the greatest disasters in London’s history: the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Jacqueline, anonymous painting from the 16th C. In the early fifteenth century, Jacqueline (Dutch: Jacoba) was the heiress of an immense territory in what is now called the Low Countries. In her ow…