Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for May 2021

How are we already 1/3 of the way into 2021? Although my notion of time has really been messed up since March 2020 anyway…

Books
Nathen Amin’s Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck, and Warwick that was released last month in the UK is due out in the US on May 15:

And in new Tudor history books out this month, Franny Moyle’s The King’s Painter: The Life and Times of Hans Holbein will be out at the end of the month in the UK and in the fall in the US. I’m always happy to see more work on Holbein the man, in addition to Holbein the artist.

Exhibitions

So great to see that a lot of exhibitions are finally opening up! Some of these have been on my radar for over a year and a half now. And I missed this first one until shortly after I posted last month’s round-up:

The Philip Mould Gallery in London has an exhibition of Elizabethan & Jacobean portraiture called Love’s Labour’s Found that opened on April 21 and will run through May 28.

I think this exhibit was open for a short while before the pandemic set in, but regardless, now it’s back on starting May 17! The Royal Museums Greenwich united the three versions of the Armada Portrait for the first time for the Faces of a Queen exhibition.

And the Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits exhibition that has been around the world (including here in Texas!) will be opening in Greenwich on May 28 and will run through October 31.

The celebrations of the 500th anniversary of The Field of the Cloth of Gold, Gold and Glory: Henry VIII and the French King at Hampton Court Palace were delayed for about a year, but now they are finally due to start on May 20.

And finally, the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the birth of William Cecil, Lord Burghley at Burghley House were also delayed because of the pandemic, but the did begin this year starting back in March and will run throughout the year.

Upcoming Books, Events, and Exhibitions for April 2020

Books

To the best of my knowledge, these release dates are still accurate, but I do know of a few releases that have been delayed due to the coronavirus shutdowns.

The Man Behind the Tudors: Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk by Kirsten Claiden-Yardley came out earlier this year in the UK and will be released on April 21 in the US.

Next up is A Hidden History of the Tower of London by John Paul Davis that came out at the end of February in the UK and will be out at the end of April in the US.

And finally, Elizabeth I: The Making of a Queen by Laura Brennan will be out April 30 in the UK and in the summer in the US.

New Exhibitions

I had two new exhibitions on my tracking sheet that were due to open this month, but of course they are both now closed. But I’m going to post them anyway for planning purposes when they do get a chance to open.

The Tudors to Windsors Exhibition that came here to Texas back in 2018 and then travelled to Australia in 2019 is now at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. It was originally scheduled to open April 3, but it is now delayed until the museum can re-open. In the meantime, enjoy it virtually at this page – Look Inside: Tudors to Windsors.

To celebrate the upcoming 500th anniversary of the Field of Cloth of Gold, Hampton Court Palace was due to open a new exhibition on April 10, but is now delayed until at least May 31. In the meantime, enjoy the information about it on the Palace’s website.

Continuing Exhibitions

This exhibition is currently closed but this is still some interesting information about the portraits on the page!

The Royal Museums Greenwich will be uniting the three versions of the Armada Portrait for the first time for the Faces of a Queen exhibition that opens on February 13 and runs through August 31. I would love to see this but it’s quite unlikely that I’ll be getting back across the pond this year (still saving up to buy a new car…) so I’m going to be jealous of anyone who gets to visit!

Upcoming Books, Events, and Exhibitions for March 2020

Books

I’m pretty sure most people know that the long-awaited third book in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy, The Mirror and the Light will be out in early March! The book will be out March 5 in the UK and March 10 in the US.

Also this month, The Queen’s Sisters: The Lives of the Sisters of Elizabeth Woodville by Sarah J. Hodder will be out March 27 in the UK and April 1 in the US.

Continuing Exhibitions

The Royal Museums Greenwich will be uniting the three versions of the Armada Portrait for the first time for the Faces of a Queen exhibition that opens on February 13 and runs through August 31. I would love to see this but it’s quite unlikely that I’ll be getting back across the pond this year (still saving up to buy a new car…) so I’m going to be jealous of anyone who gets to visit!

Upcoming Books, Events, and Exhibitions for February 2020

Books

The Man Behind the Tudors: Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk by Kirsten Claiden-Yardley came out at the end of last month in the UK and will be released in early May is the US:

And later this month, John Paul Davis has A Hidden History of the Tower of London: England’s Most Notorious Prisoners coming out in the UK and it will be out in June in the US. While not solely a Tudor history book, you can’t talk about prisoners in the Tower without talking about the Tudors!

New Exhibitions

The Royal Museums Greenwich will be uniting the three versions of the Armada Portrait for the first time for the Faces of a Queen exhibition that opens on February 13 and runs through August 31. I would love to see this but it’s quite unlikely that I’ll be getting back across the pond this year (still saving up to buy a new car…) so I’m going to be jealous of anyone who gets to visit!

Continuing Exhibition

The Bacton Altar Cloth at Hampton Court Palace – See the Bacton Altar Cloth, a rare survival of Elizabethan dress worn by Elizabeth I and the iconic Rainbow Portrait, this autumn at Hampton Court Palace. The cloth will be on display from October 12, 2019 through February 23, 2020.

Upcoming Books, Events, and Exhibitions for October 2019

Books

A few books that have already been released in the UK will be out on October 1 in the US. First up is The Flower of All Cities – The History of London from Earliest Times to the Great Fire by Robert Wynn Jones:

And the second is Lovell our Dogge: The Life of Viscount Lovell, Closest Friend of Richard III and Failed Regicide by Michele Schindler:

And one book I missed earlier this summer was The Culture of Castles in Tudor England and Wales by Audrey M. Thorstad, released back in June in the UK and was released on September 20 in the US:

In new books out this month – Michael Hicks has an upcoming biography Richard III: The Self-Made King that will be released on October 22 in the UK and about a month later in the US:

Upcoming Exhibit

The Bacton Altar Cloth at Hampton Court Palace – See the Bacton Altar Cloth, a rare survival of Elizabethan dress worn by Elizabeth I and the iconic Rainbow Portrait, this autumn at Hampton Court Palace. The cloth will be on display from October 12, 2019 through February 23, 2020.

Continuing Exhibition

The Many Faces of Tudor England opened at The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth (England) on March 18 and will run through the of the year. Admission to the exhibit is including with the admission to the museum.

Upcoming Events

Heather Teysko of The Renaissance English History Podcast is launching Tudorcon2019 and I hope it will be the first of many! (Especially since I can’t make it up there this year.) Click the link above for more information on speakers, events, and how to purchase tickets.

The next BBC History Magazine’s History Weekends will be in Chester on October 25-27 and then in Winchester on November 1-3.

Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for December 2018

Books

Somehow I only have one book for December so, as usual, that probably means I’m missing a lot of stuff!

The one book I have on my tracking sheet is an academic work Michelle L. Beer entitled Queenship at the Renaissance Courts of Britain: Catherine of Aragon and Margaret Tudor, 1503-1533 which comes out on December 20 in both the US and UK.

Event

The Tudor Society Open Weekend 2018

The Tudor Society will have an open weekend for non-members from December 7 to 9 where you can register and explore the site as if you were a member. Click the link above for more information!

Continuing Exhibitions

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is hosting an exhibition organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London entitled Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits from Holbein to Warhol which opened on October 7, 2018 and runs through January 27, 2019.

Royal Sudeley 1000

Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for November 2018

Books

A couple of previously-released books have a US edition coming this month, starting with The Mythology of the ‘Princes in the Tower’ by the late John Ashdown-Hill. It was released over the summer in the UK and is out on November 1 in the US.

Next up, Kate Williams’ The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots: Elizabeth I and Her Greatest Rival (US title) will be released on November 13 after it was released in September in the UK.

And there are a few new releases this out this month as well!

Tracy Borman has a new work out entitled Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him which will be out November 1 in the UK and early in 2019 in the US.

And finally, Devices and Desires: Bess of Hardwick and the Building of Elizabethan England by Kate Hubbard will also be out on November 1 in the UK and will out in February 2019 in the US.

Additional Items

The Anne Boleyn Files 2019 Calendar is now available for purchase! You can order it from the website here and below is a video of the pages for each month.

Continuing Exhibitions

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is hosting an exhibition organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London entitled Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits from Holbein to Warhol which opened on October 7, 2018 and runs through January 27, 2019. (And I’m thrilled that finally something is coming to my neck of the woods – I’m only about 2.5 hours from Houston so I expect to get a chance to go see it over the holidays!)

‘We are Bess’ opened at Hardwick Hall on October 3 and runs through November 4, then will re-open from February 16 to June 2 next year. The exhibition will also be available online – something I always appreciate for those of us who can’t easily visit in person.

Royal Sudeley 1000

Upcoming Books, Events, and Exhibitions for October 2018

Happy October! Now I wish it would start feeling like fall here in central Texas.

Books

A couple of books that have previously had UK released will have US releases this month.

Nicola Clark’s Gender, Family, and Politics: The Howard Women, 1485-1558 was released over the summer in the UK and will be out on October 9 in the US.

And Diarmaid MacCulloch’s Thomas Cromwell: A Revolutionary Life (US title) will be released in the US at the end of October.

And there are some new releases this month too!

Suzannah Lipscomb has written a book on Witchcraft for the Ladybird Expert Series which is out October 4 in the UK and US. Just in time for Halloween!

And if you want to get a head start on Christmas, you can read how to do it Tudor style in this new work by Alison Weir and Siobhan Clarke, also out in early October.

And finally, Sarah-Beth Watkins examines the life of Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII’s Unwanted Wife in a new work due out October 26 in both the UK and US.

Events

The 2018 BBC History Weekends will be in Winchester on October 5-7 and York from October 19-21. Click on either of the banners to go to the page for that event to see the line-up and book tickets. (One of these days I’m going to actually make it over there for one of these events…)

New Exhibitions

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is hosting an exhibition organized by the National Portrait Gallery, London entitled Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits from Holbein to Warhol which opens on October 7, 2018 and runs through January 27, 2019. (And I’m thrilled that finally something is coming to my neck of the woods – I’m only about 2.5 hours from Houston so I expect to get a chance to go see it over the holidays!)

‘We are Bess’ opens at Hardwick Hall on October 3 and runs through November 4, then will re-open from February 16 to June 2 next year. The exhibition will also be available online – something I always appreciate for those of us who can’t easily visit in person.

A bit about the exhibition from the press release:

In the late sixteenth century, Bess became the second richest woman in the country after Elizabeth I. Along the way she experienced great loss and hardship – two children and four husbands died, at times she had massive debts and lawsuits against her, while her last, broken marriage became a national scandal.

Throughout history Bess has been portrayed as greedy, overbearing, and controlling, a view that derives largely from comments made by the disinherited family of her third husband and those of her estranged fourth husband.

Now, for the exhibition,

Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for April 2018

Books

A number of books that have previously been released in the UK are coming out in the US this month, starting with Tudor Monarchs: Lives in Letters by Andrea Clarke, which will be out in the US on April 1.

Also on April 1, Amy Licence’s Anne Boleyn: Adultery, Heresy, Desire will be out in the US:

On April 10, Francis I: The Maker of Modern France will have a US release:

Next up is Helen Castor’s book on Elizabeth I for the Penguin Monarchs series, Elizabeth I: A Study in Insecurity which is due out on April 24 in the US:

And finally, Chris Skidmore’s Richard III: England’s Most Controversial King (the US title) is out April 24 as well:

Exhibitions

The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC is hosting an exhibition on Michel Sittow that opened on January 28, 2018 and runs to May 13, 2018. Sittow is probably most associated for fans of Tudor history with the portrait of what has long been identified as a young Catherine of Aragon. We had a discussion on the Q&A blog about the portrait being re-identified as Mary Tudor (Brandon) and it seems that the exhibition is now using that identification as well (although calling her “Mary Rose Tudor”). You can find out more about the exhibition here.

Sunday Short Takes

Long overdue! Some of these date back over a month, but in my defense, most of February was a blur so it feels like we just went from January straight to March.

* The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries to open on 11th June – A date has been announced for the opening of Westminster Abbey’s new galleries up in the medieval Triforium. I can’t wait to visit this (someday)!

* Blanche Parry’s life at the side of Queen Elizabeth IBlanche Parry is one of history’s most influential Welsh women, yet few know the name and only a handful know her story.

* Victoria Art Gallery

Upcoming Books and Exhibitions for March 2018

Books

Just one book coming out in the US this month that has already been released in the UK – Nicola Tallis’ Elizabeth’s Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester, which will be out on March 6.

And a few new books are due out this month as well, starting with Helen Castor’s Elizabeth I: A Study in Insecurity, part of the Penguin Monarchs series. It will be out in April as a hardcover in the US although you can get the Kindle edition now.

Next up is a look at Henry VIII’s cross-channel rival, Francis I: The Maker of Modern France by Leonie Frieda. It is out March 8 in the UK and in April in the US:

Another work is out in the Queenship and Power series of academic works – Elizabeth I in Writing: Language, Power and Representation in Early Modern England, edited by Donatella Montini and Iolanda Plescia. It is due out on March 21 is both the UK and US.

And finally, Derek Wilson’s most recent Tudor work, The Queen and the Heretic: How two women changed the religion of England about Queen Katherine Parr and Anne Askew will be out later in March is the UK and possibly the US (I found conflicting publication info).

Exhibitions

The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC is hosting an exhibition on Michel Sittow that opened on January 28, 2018 and runs to May 13, 2018. Sittow is probably most associated for fans of Tudor history with the portrait of what has long been identified as a young Catherine of Aragon. We had a discussion on the Q&A blog about the portrait being re-identified as Mary Tudor (Brandon) and it seems that the exhibition is now using that identification as well (although calling her “Mary Rose Tudor”). You can find out more about the exhibition here.

Upcoming Books, Exhibitions, and Events for November 2017

Books

This month we have a few books that were already released in the UK and are out in November in the US.

First up, Nathen Amin’s House of Beaufort: The Bastard Line that Captured the Crown is out on November 1 in the US after a summer release in the UK:

Next is Miranda Kaufmann’s Black Tudors, which was released last month in the UK and will be out on November 7 in the US:

And there are a couple of new releases coming out this month (again, first in the UK and months later in the US… at least in print – I’ve noticed that the Kindle versions are sometimes coming out at the same time as the initial print release overseas).

First is Elizabeth’s Rival: The Tumultuous Tale of Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester by Nicola Tallis which is due out on November 2 in the UK and next March in the US.

And finally, Amy Licence’s latest Tudor work, Anne Boleyn: Adultery, Heresy, Desire is out mid-month in the UK and will be released next April in the US with the title Anne Boleyn: Femme Fatale

Events

The second of 2017’s BBC History Magazine’s History Weekends will be held on November 24 – 26 in York. Details on speakers and tickets are at the link.

Continuing Exhibitions and Displays

Henry VII: The First Royal Portrait opened at the Museum of Somerset on October 17, 2017 and runs through January 6, 2018. The 1505 portrait of Henry VII is on loan to the museum from the National Portrait Gallery. Check the link for more information, including associated events.

Reformation – Shattered World, New Beginnings opened on June 26 and runs through December 15 at the Senate House Library at the University of London. You can download a digital copy of the exhibition catalogue for free at the website.

Sunday Short Takes

Time for a short round-up!

The big art story from a couple of weeks ago was the Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I returning to display after conservation:

* Armada portrait of Elizabeth I returns after ‘spectacular’ restoration

* Armada Portrait returns to Greenwich after conservation

And this week’s big art story was the discovery of a sketch of Mary Queen of Scots below a painting of Sir John Maitland, Lord Chancellor of Scotland:

* Mary, Queen of Scots sketch found under 16th Century painting

* Rare ghostly image of Mary Queen of Scots discovered hidden beneath artwork

And finally, below is a recent talk by Leanda de Lisle on Mary, Katherine and Lady Jane Grey: Heirs to the last Tudor

Mary, Katherine and Lady Jane Grey: Heirs to the last Tudor from byland media on Vimeo.

Upcoming Books, Exhibitions, and Events for October 2017

New Books
New this month is a book I’ve been looking forward to for a while, Miranda Kaufmann’s Black Tudors: The Untold Story. I’m really hoping it comes out in Audible so there’s a good chance I’ll actually get to read (okay, listen) to it soon! It is out on October 5 in the UK and November 14 in the US in hardback.

More Books

One book I missed from last month – Amy Robsart: A Life and Its End by Christine Hartweg came out in September in the US and UK:

Several books that have been out in the UK for a while will be out in the US in October:

Colouring History: The Tudors by Natalie Grueninger and Kathryn Holeman is now officially out in the US, although I got my pre-order from Amazon weeks ago!

And Terry Breverton’s Owen Tudor: Founding Father of the Tudor Dynasty is also now out in hardcover in the US (although the Kindle version was available earlier):

Lauren Johnson’s So Great a Prince: The Accession of Henry VIII: 1509 (US title), which was released last year in the UK is now out in the US. UK link goes to the paperback edition which was released back in February:

Events


The Mary Rose Trust Anniversary Lectures – Celebrating 35 years since the raising of the Mary Rose. Details on how to purchase tickets are available at the link.

Join us to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the raising of the Mary Rose with two days of fascinating talks. We will be welcoming speakers such as Dr Miranda Kaufmann, Dr Fred Hocker who is Head of Research at the Vasa Museum, Professor Jon Adams and noted historian Dr David Starkey.

The talks are taking place over two days (Friday 13th and Saturday 14th October 2017), starting at 10am each day until around 3:30pm, in the Princess Royal Gallery at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, on site at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Refreshments, including a free lunch, will be provided throughout the day and both days will conclude with a visit the Mary Rose Museum.


BBC History Magazine’s History Weekends for 2017 will be held on October 6 – 8 in Winchester and November 24 – 26 in York. Details on speakers and tickets are at the link.

New Display

Henry VII: The First Royal Portrait opens at the Museum of Somerset on October 17, 2017 and runs through January 6, 2018. The 1505 portrait of Henry VII is on loan to the museum from the National Portrait Gallery. Check the link for more information, including associated events.

Continuing Exhibitions and Displays

The first two of these are ending this month:

The Encounter – Drawings from Leonardo to Rembrandt opened at the National Portrait Gallery, London on July 12 and runs through October 22. Tickets can be booked at the gallery’s website linked above. More about the exhibition:

The creative encounter between individual artists and sitters is explored in this major exhibition featuring portrait drawings by some of the outstanding masters of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire is Power & Portraiture: painting at the court of Elizabeth I opened on June 7 and will run through October 29, 2017 at From the website:

A special display exploring how Elizabeth I and her courtiers used portraits to fashion their public image and promote themselves in a glamorous, dangerous world.

Two spectacular panel paintings by Nicholas Hilliard will be accompanied by loans from the Royal Collection and National Portrait Gallery. Visitors will learn about the scientific and scholarly detective work that has led to this important discovery and will be able to compare it with the famous

Upcoming Books, Exhibitions, and Events for September 2017

Yay September! We’re starting into my favorite time of year!

Books

Although I posted about it a couple of months ago, it appears that Elizabeth of York and Her Six Daughters-in-Law: Fashioning Tudor Queenship, 1485-1547 by Retha Warnicke has been delayed until September 26, so I’m posting it again.

Another update – Colouring History: The Tudors by Natalie Grueninger and Kathryn Holeman is still listed with an October 1 release date in the US, but I’ve already received my pre-order copy so if you order it now you might get it before October 1.

Next up – Tudor Fashion: Dress at Court by Eleri Lynn was released last month in the UK and is due out on September 12 in the US.

In new books out this month, The King’s Pearl: Henry VIII and His Daughter Mary by Melita Thomas will be out in mid-September in the UK and next year in the US. Assuming I answered my email in time, keep an eye out at this site for a stop on the blog tour for this book!

And Chris Skidmore’s newest work, Richard III: Brother, Protector, King will be out in the UK on September 21 and is due out next year in the US with the title Richard III: England’s Most Controversial King.

Events

Here’s another one that I’m going to post a month earlier in case tickets sell out: The Mary Rose Trust Anniversary Lectures – Celebrating 35 years since the raising of the Mary Rose. More details will be posted at the website and I’ll probably have another separate post about it when the press releases go out.

Continuing Exhibitions and Displays

The Encounter – Drawings from Leonardo to Rembrandt opened at the National Portrait Gallery, London on July 12 and runs through October 22. Tickets can be booked at the gallery’s website linked above. More about the exhibition:

The creative encounter between individual artists and sitters is explored in this major exhibition featuring portrait drawings by some of the outstanding masters of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire is Power & Portraiture: painting at the court of Elizabeth I opened on June 7 and will run through October 29, 2017 at From the website:

A special display exploring how Elizabeth I and her courtiers used portraits to fashion their public image and promote themselves in a glamorous, dangerous world.

Two spectacular panel paintings by Nicholas Hilliard will be accompanied by loans from the Royal Collection and National Portrait Gallery. Visitors will learn about the scientific and scholarly detective work that has led to this important discovery and will be able to compare it with the famous

Upcoming Books, Exhibitions, and Events for August 2017

Books

A nice variety of new books of interest are due out in August!

First up is Amy Licence’s latest work, The Lost Kings: Lancaster, York and Tudor, which is due out August 1 in the UK and in early 2018 in the US.

Next is the latest from On the Tudor Trail’s Natalie Grueninger, Discovering Tudor London: A Journey Back in Time which will be released August 7 in the UK and in December in the US.

Nathen Amin, author of Tudor Wales latest book is House of Beaufort: The Bastard Line that Captured the Crown. It will be released on August 15 in the UK and in early November in the US.

And finally, Tudor Fashion: Dress at Court by Eleri Lynn will be released on August 22 in the UK and will be out in the US on September 12 in the US.

Events

The Bosworth Medieval Festival 2017 is on August 19 and 20 and will feature, among many other things, a talk by Leanda de Lisle on “Tudor: The Family Story”.

Continuing Exhibitions and Displays

Blood Royal: Picturing the Tudor Monarchy opened on July 25 and runs through August 25 at The Society of Antiquaries of London. They now have a virtual version of the exhibition available online.

The Encounter – Drawings from Leonardo to Rembrandt opened at the National Portrait Gallery, London on July 12 and runs through October 22. Tickets can be booked at the gallery’s website linked above. More about the exhibition:

The creative encounter between individual artists and sitters is explored in this major exhibition featuring portrait drawings by some of the outstanding masters of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire is Power & Portraiture: painting at the court of Elizabeth I opened on June 7 and will run through October 29, 2017 at From the website:

A special display exploring how Elizabeth I and her courtiers used portraits to fashion their public image and promote themselves in a glamorous, dangerous world.

Two spectacular panel paintings by Nicholas Hilliard will be accompanied by loans from the Royal Collection and National Portrait Gallery. Visitors will learn about the scientific and scholarly detective work that has led to this important discovery and will be able to compare it with the famous

Upcoming Books, Exhibitions, and Events for July 2017

Books

Elizabeth Norton’s The Hidden Lives of Tudor Women: A Social History (US title) has been out for a while in the UK and will be out at the beginning of July in the US.

One book I missed a couple of months ago was Houses of Power: The Places that Shaped the Tudor World by Simon Thurley, which was released in the UK in April. I haven’t found any US publishing info yet, but I’ll add it if I do.

In new releases, Owen Tudor: Founding Father of the Tudor Dynasty by Terry Breverton will be out in mid-July in the UK and in October in the US.

Events

Queen of Bradgate celebrations at Bradgate Park – Bradgate Park, which holds the remains of the childhood home of Lady Jane Grey, will be honoring the Nine Days Queen from July 8 to July 16. An overview is available at the link above and at the official website for Bradgate Park.

Tudor Joust is returning to Hampton Court Palace on July 15 and 16. Events will be going on all day on both days and no extra ticketing is required (it is included in the palace admission).

New Exhibitions

Reformation – Shattered World, New Beginnings opened on June 26 (I missed this one last month!) and runs through December 15 at the Senate House Library at the University of London. A video introduction by Dr. Suzannah Lipscomb is embedded above and you can download a digital copy of the exhibition catalogue for free at the website (something I like to see more of for those of us who can’t make it to a lot of these events and don’t want to pay for the expensive shipping to the US!).

The Encounter – Drawings from Leonardo to Rembrandt opens at the National Portrait Gallery, London on July 12 and runs through October 22. Tickets can be booked at the gallery’s website linked above. More about the exhibition:

The creative encounter between individual artists and sitters is explored in this major exhibition featuring portrait drawings by some of the outstanding masters of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Blood Royal: Picturing the Tudor Monarchy opens on July 25 and runs through August 25 at The Society of Antiquaries of London. They don’t have a dedicated page for the exhibition yet, but I’ll update the link when they do.

Continuing Exhibitions and Displays

In conjunction with London Art Week, the Weiss Gallery will run a special exhibition Courting Favour: From Elizabeth I to James I from June 26 through July 14, 2017. You can see the catalogue here. A little more about the exhibition:

The centerpiece of the show will be a beautiful portrayal of the youthful Queen Elizabeth I, a bust-length version of the magnificent ‘Hampden’ fulllength, currently on loan to Tate Britain. Displayed either side of the Queen will be portraits of her two great favourites Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex.

Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire is Power & Portraiture: painting at the court of Elizabeth I opened on June 7 and will run through October 29, 2017 at From the website:

A special display exploring how Elizabeth I and her courtiers used portraits to fashion their public image and promote themselves in a glamorous, dangerous world.

Two spectacular panel paintings by Nicholas Hilliard will be accompanied by loans from the Royal Collection and National Portrait Gallery. Visitors will learn about the scientific and scholarly detective work that has led to this important discovery and will be able to compare it with the famous

Sunday Short Takes

Yes, finally, another long-overdue news round-up! I thought that I would be able to stay on top of things a lot better after the four major things at work were done, but of course everything that got put off during that time had to be dealt with after. But now I’m in the middle of a two-week stay-at-home vacation to start making a dent in the comp time and vacation hours I have to use before the end of August and I have finally recovered some of my energy.

On to the news!

* ‘Incredibly rare’ William Caxton print discoveredPages printed more than 500 years ago by William Caxton, who brought printing to England, have been discovered by the University of Reading.

* Did Thomas Seymour sexually abuse the teenage Princess Elizabeth? – In a new series for Channel Five, Suzannah Lipscomb and Dan Jones examine the allegation that the teenage Princess Elizabeth was sexually abused by her stepfather, Thomas Seymour. Here, Suzannah Lipscomb considers the evidence

Sunday Short Takes

More buildings to save your pence for!

* Thornbury Castle, Honeymoon Spot of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, On Sale for $10.3 million – Although since this one is also a hotel, I think I would settle for just staying there instead of buying the whole thing. I know several readers of this site have been there, but it’s still on my ‘to do’ list!

* Barsham Manor House on rightmove – This property in Norfolk intrigues me. Henry VIII apparently stayed there several times and it’s in an area that some of my ancestors are from!

* Knole House has