Elizabeth I

The London Fire Brigade responded to a blaze that began on Somerset House's roof.

Firefighters Extinguish Blaze at London's Somerset House

The palatial complex's historic artworks sustained no damage from the fire that broke out on August 17

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

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.

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.

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

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

An illuminated manuscript illustration of Marie de France, a 12th-century poet

How Medieval Women Expressed Their 'Forbidden' Emotions

Upper-class women used letters and embroidery to reflect on their inner lives

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

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

Alice Tate-Harte, a conservator at English Heritage, works on a 17th-century portrait of Diana Cecil.

See a 17th-Century Portrait Restored to Its Original Appearance, Minus Lip Fillers and Other Touch-Ups

Conservators removed cosmetic changes made to a painting of English aristocrat Diana Cecil, likely to match 19th-century beauty standards

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

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

George Herbert’s pictures aren’t just decorative. They reinforce the meanings of his poems.

These 17th-Century Poems Painted Pictures on the Page—and Defied the Church of England's Rejection of Religious Images

George Herbert's shaped poetry subtly pushed back against the iconoclasm of the English Reformation

The project required more than 5,470 hours of conservation stitching, lining and reconstruction.

See Stunning Tudor Tapestries Restored to Their Former Glory

The 13 panels are on view as a set for the first time in 24 years

A lightsheet used to reveal hidden text in a manuscript of William Camden's Annals. New research suggests the author reworked his biography of Elizabeth I to win the favor of her successor, James VI of Scotland and I of England.

Hidden for 400 Years, Censored Pages Reveal New Insights Into Elizabeth I's Reign

Scholars used advanced imaging to read crossed-out, pasted-over passages in the first official account of the Tudor queen's time on the English throne

Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation portrait

A Not-So-Brief History of British Coronations

Ahead of Charles III’s ceremony, here's what you need to know about the origins and evolution of the centuries-old tradition

A rendering of the 2.3-acre site that will house the Museum of Shakespeare

An Interactive Shakespeare Museum Will Immerse Visitors in the Ruins of an Elizabethan Theater

The cultural institution is slated to open in London in spring 2024

All but seven of the letters were previously thought to be lost.

Code Breakers Discover—and Decipher—Long-Lost Letters by Mary, Queen of Scots

The deposed monarch wrote the 57 encrypted messages during her captivity in England

Indigenous people brought to Spain by Hernán Cortés play the game patolli.

The Indigenous Americans Who Visited Europe

A new book reverses the narrative of the Age of Discovery, which has long evoked the ambitions of Europeans looking to the Americas rather than vice versa

L to R: Andrew Carnegie, Elizabeth I, Henry VIII and Henry Ford

The Tudor Roots of Modern Billionaires' Philanthropy

The debate over how to manage the wealthy's fortunes after their deaths traces its roots to Henry VIII and Elizabeth I

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