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PODCAST

Not Just the Tudors

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks about everything from the Aztecs to witches, Velázquez to Shakespeare, Mughal India to the Mayflower. Not, in other words, just the Tudors, but most definitely also the Tudors.Each episode Suzannah is joined by historians and experts to reveal incredible stories about one of the most fascinating periods in history, new releases every Wednesday and Sunday.A podcast by History Hit, the world"s best history channel and creators of award-winning podcasts Dan Snow"s

history

All Episodes

47:38

Royal Favourites: Queen Anne & Sarah, Duchess of...

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/05/18

How did Sarah Churchill become the most powerful woman in Queen Anne’s court? What happens when a royal friendship turns into a political battlefield? How did one absent set of jewels signal the beginning of the end?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb continues her series on royal favourites with the extraordinary story of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough — the intimate friend, political operator and fierce chronicler whose influence shaped Queen Anne’s reign and who refused to go quietly.MORE:Queen

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47:22

Louis XIV: Sun King and Propagandist

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/05/14

How did Louis XIV use his day-to-day life, especially his marriage, to help create the mythology of the Sun King as semi-divine, radiant and unrivalled?In 17th-century France, monarchy was performed, witnessed, and widely circulated. Using portraits, medals, sculptures and official pamphlets, Louis XIV meticulously constructed his own image, appearing as Apollo, Jupiter, Hercules, Neptune, a Roman emperor, and even as the sun itself. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Dr. Abby Zanger explore the Sun

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1:03:24

Royal Favourites: James I and George Villiers

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/05/11

How did a relatively humble gentleman become the most powerful man in Stuart England?Few figures embodied the glamour and instability of the Jacobean court more completely than George Villiers, who rose to become one of the most influential men in England. To some he was charismatic, brilliant, and irresistible; to others, he was reckless, arrogant, and dangerously powerful.In the second episode of our series on Royal Favourites, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explores the extraordinary rise and

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56:23

Hoaxes and Lies in the Enlightenment

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/05/07

How did a ghost story bring London to a standstill? Was it a haunting, a fraud, or something even more revealing about Georgian society? Why did rational, educated people fall for elaborate hoaxes?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr.Madeleine Pelling, co-host of History Hit’s After Dark podcast, to uncover the darker side of the Age of Enlightenment. Why was this period remembered for science, reason, and progress, also fascinated by hoaxes, imposters, fake identities, ghost stories,

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43:04

Royal Favourites: Robert Dudley, Elizabeth I's...

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/05/04

Passion, scandal, and power collided in the tumultuous relationship between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley. Rumours of secret trysts between them set the court ablaze, but their love was doomed from the start.In the first of four episodes looking at royal favourites in the Tudor and Stuart courts, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Dr. Joanne Paul unravel the complex tapestry of Robert Dudley's life, Elizabeth's devotion and the decades of political intrigue and personal heartbreak.MORE:Tudor True

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46:16

Anne of Cleves: New Discoveries

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/04/30

What if Henry VIII’s “discarded bride” actually showed real promise as queen?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr James Taffe to discuss new discoveries about Anne of Cleves’ surviving account book, a rare 200-page record of every pound, shilling and penny that reveals Anne’s queenship through spending, patronage and household life.They discuss the “shadow” household retained after Jane Seymour, what the accounts do (and don’t) show about roles and wages, and the striking discovery that many

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48:27

Francisco de Cuéllar: Spanish Armada Captain

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/04/27

How did a condemned Spanish Armada captain survive shipwreck, betrayal, and war to leave behind one of the most extraordinary first-person accounts of the 16th century?Francisco de Cuéllar was a career officer shaped by the harsh realities of early modern warfare, surviving looting, imprisonment, betrayal, and a brutal overland escape through a hostile landscape. Cuéllar's journey became one of the most gripping survival stories to emerge from the Spanish Armada shipwrecks.Professor Suzannah

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53:45

Anne Boleyn at Hever Castle

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/04/23

What was Anne Boleyn like before she became the most controversial queen in English history? Can the rooms and gardens at her childhood home reveal more about the world that shaped her?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Dr. Owen Emmerson to find out more about the magical place where Anne Boleyn grew up, how Hever shaped her early life, education, language skills, and future role at the courts of Europe and England.MORECromwell, Boleyn & Aragon: A New DiscoveryListen on AppleListen on

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50:07

Maria Theresa, Habsburg Empress

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/04/20

How did a woman rise to power, and keep it, in the fiercely male-dominated Habsburg Empire?From her distrust of the Enlightenment to her religious intolerance, and from family strategy to imperial power, Maria Theresa was a remarkable ruler driven by discipline, faith, dynastic ambition, and political will.Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger to discover how Maria Theresa held together a fractured empire, confronted war and court politics, and reshaped

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55:13

Elizabethans in India

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/04/16

How did England’s earliest travellers to India try to win favour in a Mughal golden age that scarcely noticed them?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb speaks with Dr Lubaaba Al-Azami about Tudor and early Stuart England’s turn to global trade after Elizabeth I’s break with Catholic Europe, and why Mughal India—vast, wealthy, and pragmatically governed—had little need for English wool or broadcloth.They trace the first arrivals: from a Catholic refugee to an Englishman's Mughal courtly success and marriage,

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49:40

Lady Jane Grey

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/04/13

What if becoming queen was the worst thing that could happen to you? What if the crown became your death sentence?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb explores the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey, the brilliant, devout teenager, who was proclaimed queen of England against her will, reigned for less than two weeks, and was executed before her 17th birthday.Drawing on insights from her new two-part History Hit documentary series, Suzannah is joined by Professor Anna Whitelock, Dr Joanne Paul, Verity Babbs, and

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46:30

Grace O'Malley, Ireland's Pirate Queen

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/04/09

She cut off her hair to sail the seas. She divorced her husband by locking him out of his own castle. And when her son was killed by the occupying English, she sailed straight up the Thames to plead for help from Elizabeth I. Or did she?Gráinne Ní Mháille, or Grace O'Malley, the legendary "Pirate Queen" of Ireland, was the head of a seafaring dynasty, while the Tudors tightened their grip, she commanded fleets, forged alliances, waged war, survived imprisonment, and outwitted some of the most

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50:04

Elizabethan Boy Actresses

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/04/06

Why were Shakespeare’s greatest heroines played by teenage boys? How did they learn their craft? On the Elizabethan stage, highly trained young men progressed from minor parts to play some of the Bard's most famous heroines, including Juliet and Cleopatra.Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Roberta Barker to uncover how these cross-dressing apprentices brought some of the Renaissance theatre's most memorable characters to life.MOREShakespeare's First PlayhouseListen on AppleListen on

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50:24

When the Spanish Armada Reached Ireland

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/04/02

What happens when a fleeing armada meets an unforgiving coast? Shipwreck, slaughter and survival collide as Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Michael B. Barry uncover the untold Irish chapter of the Spanish Armada. From shattered galleons and mass executions to lost princes and lingering myths on wild Atlantic shores, this is a storm‑lashed saga where the real battle begins after the guns fall silent.MORE:The Spanish ArmadaListen on AppleListen on SpotifyMary Rose and the Battle of The SolentListen on

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52:35

Henry Wotton: Outlaw and Royal Spy

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/03/30

Assassination plots, Venetian stand‑offs and a diplomat in disguise: how did one maverick change the course of history?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Professor Carol Chillington Rutter uncovers the spy‑thriller life of Henry Wotton, the “honest man sent to lie abroad” for his country. From foiling an attempt on King James VI’s life to pulling Europe back from the brink of war during a showdown between Venice and the papacy, they discover how this scoundrel‑ambassador helped invent modern

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43:50

The Rise and Fall of Pirate Captain Kidd

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/03/26

Was Captain William Kidd a ruthless pirate or a pawn in a royal gamble gone wrong? Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Debbie Kilroy trace his meteoric rise from privateer to pariah, backed by a secret syndicate of powerful men, including the king. Mutiny, murder, and betrayal follow as power and politics turn Kidd’s royal commission into one of history’s most dramatic downfalls.MORE:Women Pirates of the CaribbeanListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPirates of the Pacific & the Spanish EmpireListen on

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58:37

Plantagenet vs. Tudor: Who was the Rightful King?

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/03/23

Who had a stronger claim to the English throne than Henry VII? When Henry Tudor took the crown on the battlefield at Bosworth, his hereditary claim was fragile. Eighteen Plantagenet descendants had a more legitimate right to rule, while pretenders Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck kept the Tudor court under constant threat. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Gone Medieval host Matt Lewis to unravel one of the great mysteries of history: if not Henry VII, then who was the rightful king of

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36:15

Tudor True Crime: The First Female Serial Killer?

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/03/19

Was there really a 17th century Italian woman who helped hundreds of wives murder their husbands, or is her story a myth born of fear and gossip?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb investigates the legend of Giulia Tofana, the so-called criminal mastermind behind a secret poison network. With historical novelist Cathryn Kemp, she uncovers the blurred line between truth and terror, reveals how the Pope hunted down a group of women who were not only independent businesswomen but who were striking back at

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41:56

Plots against Elizabeth I

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/03/16

Who wanted Elizabeth I dead, and how close did they come to removing her? Who were the conspirators and rebels who plotted to put Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne?Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Professor Jonathan McGovern to unravel the Northern Rebellion, the Ridolfi and Throckmorton conspiracies, the chilling Babington Plot, and the shadowy intrigues of spies, traitors, and foreign powers who tried to topple the Tudor queen.MORE:Tudor True Crime: Who Murdered Lord Darnley?Listen on

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37:15

Colonial Women of the Americas

Not Just the Tudors ·

2026/03/12

Warning: This episode contains references to sexual abuseWhat became of the women whose worlds collapsed when the Spanish arrived in Mesoamerica? Professor Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Mexican author Sofia Robleda to uncover the lives of the women who navigated conquest, faith, and colonial law with resilience and strategy.MORE:The Caribbean, Colonisers & ChristianityListen on AppleListen on SpotifyCortés and the AztecsListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The

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