Curated Video
Aethelflaed part 2: Teen Years and Education of an Anglo-Saxon Noblewoman
Aethelflaed's early teen years were spent in Wessex during a time of relative peace. She had the time and luxury of continuing her studies. What was education like for young Anglo-Saxon nobels? Learn what royal women and girls were...
Curated Video
Lady Jane Grey part 12: To Forgive or Condemn the Grey Family?
Frances, Jane's mother was cousins with Princess Mary and they had always been close. Hoping this relationship would work in her favor, Frances pleads for Mary to forgive the Greys, claiming the Duke of Northumberland had poisoned them...
Curated Video
Lady Jane Grey part 2: Ward of Thomas Seymour
At the age of ten, Jane went to live as a ward in Thomas Seymour's home. Not long after her arrival, Thomas' wife and the former Queen, Katherine Parr died. Thomas began plotting to marry Princess Elizabeth and secure a position for...
Curated Video
Lady Mary Grey part 1: the Secret Marriage
Lady Mary Grey was the youngest of the Grey sisters and seemed less of a threat to Elizabeth I's power. Lady Mary was even appointed as a Maid of Honor in Elizabeth's court. However, all of that changed when Mary wed Thomas Keyes,...
Curated Video
Lady Jane Grey part 14: Queen Mary Intends to Pardon Jane
Due to their family connection and Jane's young age, Queen Mary reiterates her intent to pardon Jane as she goes on trial and is sentenced to be burned at the stake. The Grey family chases all leads to help Jane's cause. Henry Grey even...
Curated Video
Lady Mary Grey part 4: Thomas Keyes Dies and Lady Mary Demands Freedom
Lady Mary relocates once again, this time to the house of Sir Thomas Gresham. Though Sir Thomas had the finances to provide for Lady Mary in a way her step grandmother had not, both Sir Thomas and his wife made it clear that Lady Mary...
Curated Video
Lady Jane Grey part 7: Lord Guildford Wants to Be King
Lady Jane and her husband, Lord Guildford have a blazing row after entering the castle. Guildford makes it known that he expects to co-rule as King while Jane does not want to promote him above a Duke. The disagreement causes tension...
Curated Video
Lady Mary Grey part 3: Conditions Worsen for Lady Mary and Thomas Keyes
The birth of Mary Queen of Scots' son, James renewed pressure on Elizabeth I to either marry, or declare Lady Katherine Grey her successor. Meanwhile, Thomas Keyes' condition worsened and Lady Mary was moved house arrest at to her step...
Curated Video
Lady Jane Grey part 9: Jane's Supporters Turn Against Her
Support for Queen Jane was low, even among Protestants. Members of her council slipped quietly out of the castle. Her sister's father-in-law, the Early of Pembroke went so far as to seek an anullment for his son's marriage to distance...
Curated Video
Elizabeth I of England part 5: Search for a Husband and the Cult of Virginity
Politics, religion, and bad publicity complicated Elizabeth I's attempts to find a husband. Robert Dudley, the man she fell in love with was married when they met. He later became single but was thought to have murdered his wife, which...
Curated Video
Lady Jane Grey part 11: Queen Mary Pardons Jane's Supporters
Jane may have only been queen for a few days, but she was about to become a legend amongst the Protestants of England. Jane, her husband, and her mother-in-law languished in prisons around London as they waited for Mary to arrive and...
Curated Video
Lady Jane Grey part 3: Marriage and Path to the Thrown
In 1553, Jane was betrothed to Lord Guildford Dudley, the fourth son of the Duke of Northumberland. This match was not great for Jane as fourth sons stood to inherit little from their family's estate, but was a very advantageous...
Curated Video
Lady Mary Grey part 2: Imprisonment and the Fury Elizabeth I
Already feeling threatened by her cousin Mary Queen of Scots' recent marriage, Elizabeth I unleashed the full power of her anger on the Lady Mary and Thomas Keyes. Lady Mary Grey was condemned to the more favorable sentence of house...
Curated Video
Elizabeth I of England part 2: the Thomas Seymour Scandal
After the death of her father, Elizabeth went to live with her stepmother, Katherine Parr and Katherine's new husband, Thomas Seymour. Thomas' attentiveness to teenage Elizabeth soon drew suspicion from Katherine and started rumors....
Curated Video
Lady Jane Grey part 16: a Protestant Martyr
The young Lady Jane and Lord Guildford are beheaded. Mary attempts to convert Jane to Catholicism before hear death, but Jane refuses. Her deep and outspoken commitment to her protestant faith preserved Jane's legacy as a martyr for...
Curated Video
Elizabeth I of England part 7: the Queen's Legacy
By the time Elizabeth I died in 1603, public opinion of her was mixed. She had quelled religious tensions and defeated the Spanish Armada, however, the brutal and bloody tactics of her military stained her memory and the country was in a...
Curated Video
Elizabeth I of England part 1: Early Life at Hatfield House
Elizabeth I of England, daughter of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII, is a renown and popular leader of the country who ruled through peace and war. When she was just two years old, her father had her mother beheaded and quickly married...
Curated Video
Lady Mary Grey part 6: the Plague Ends the Grey Family's Royal Line
At the age of 33, Lady Mary fell ill with plague and died, ending the legacy of the Grey family. Lady Mary died young, as her sisters had but, unlike her sisters, she was able to live a life of relative freedom in her later years.
Curated Video
Lady Jane Grey part 15: Wyatt's Rebellion
During the mid-1500s, England was caught in a theological battle between Protestants and Catholics. While Jane and the Greys were dependant on the Catholic Queen Mary to spare their lives, they were simultaneously plotting to preserve...
Curated Video
Lady Jane Grey part 6: a Challenge from Princess Mary and Stuggle for Public Support
The possibility of Lady Jane Grey becoming the next Queen of England and Ireland makes many people uneasy. She soon receives a letter from Princess Mary declaring that Mary was the rightful queen and demanding that the Privy Council...
Curated Video
Lady Jane Grey part 10: Queen Jane's Rule Comes to an End
Jane's father, Henry Grey, declares his support for Princess Mary, then informs Jane that her short rule is ending. Jane and her parents hope to cast the blame on only the Duke of Northumberland and his family. This seems increasingly...
Curated Video
Lady Jane Grey part 8: Princess Mary and Lady Jane Prepare for War
Jane condemns Princess Mary's religion, Catholicism, but knows that this alone will not be enough. She sends an army to capture Mary and encourage people to join their cause in towns along the way. They soon find, however, that towns are...
Curated Video
Elizabeth I of England part 4: Religious Tolerance and Choosing a Successor
Calming the tension between Protestants and Catholics was important to Elizabeth I of England. She re-instituted the Church of England as the country's chosen church but repealed strict heresy laws and permitted people to practice...
Curated Video
Lady Jane Grey part 5: Queen of England
On July 8th, 1533, Jane was crowned as Queen of England at the age of 16. She unexpectedly and dramatically threw herself to the floor and sobbed as her parents and in-laws bent the knee to her. Was this the behaviour of a naive young...