In this bonus special episode, I talk to Tudor queenship expert Dr Valerie Schutte about that most underrated of Henry VIII’s wives – Anne of Cleves and a book of hours she gifted Henry VIII in 1533 (now in the Folger Shakespeare Library). Listen in to hear more about how Anne actually had a quite powerful status in England post-divorce, her relationship with Henry and his children, and about monk who really wanted Henry to take her back.
Christmas 2021 special episode – interview with Lucy Jago – Past Matters
Lucy Jago, author of 'A Net for Small Fishes', explains how a painting of Frances Howard, Countess of Somerset, resonated particularly with her as she was writing her novel, which follows Frances' involvement in the Overbury murder scandal that rocked the Stuart court.
Inscription in the Book of Hours from Anne of Cleves to Henry the VIII:
I besiche your grace hu[m]b[ly]
when ye loke on this
remember me.
yo[u]r grace’s assured anne
the dowgher off cleues
Copyright: Provenance Online Project
Ploy Radford 