Portrait of King Henry VIII, Jane Seymour and Prince Edward. (Photo by Getty Images)

Tudor

A portrait of Henry VII in 1505. His claim to the throne was tenuous and he had to see off a posse of pretenders, yet he proved a canny and competent ruler, modernising the justice system and filling the crown’s coffers. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Henry VII: the survivor and stabiliser. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryThe conquest of Wales and Mary I. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibrarySummer holidays and Edward VI. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryThe career of one of England's most well-known kings. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The origins of the Tudors. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

In 1830 a keeper at the Tower of London menagerie accidentally removed the barrier between a lion and two tigers. The animals were eventually prised apart, by which point the lion had been fatally wounded. (Photo by Guildhall Library & Art Gallery/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Life with the lions: the Tower of London menagerie. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Lyveden New Bield, Northamptonshire

St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury

The A to Z of royal weddings with Tracy Borman. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A woodcut showing the Globe Theatre, one of London's most famous landmarks and the venue most closely associated with Shakespeare's plays. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Where history happened: Elizabethan drama. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryThe Elizabethan big society. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Elizabethan adventurer, courtier, navigator and historian Sir Walter Ralegh – "a gorgeous, larger than life figure". Unfortunately, many of his peers weren't impressed by his good looks, and saw instead an arrogant man, blind to his own weaknesses. (Time Life Pictures/Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

The LibraryWalter Ralegh: the heroic traitor. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Finger painting. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Henry VIII: Three films

A secret war against the Tudors. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Visit historic Lichfield

Did Henry VIII love his last wife Katherine Parr?

Lady Jane Grey's execution, as imagined by painter Paul Delaroche in 1833. (Photo by VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images)

Lady Jane Grey: why do we want to believe the myth?

The LibraryThe private lives of the British and the cruelty of Henry V. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

9 reasons to visit Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The truth behind ‘The Tudors’ TV show. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

'The Fountain of Youth', 1546. Artist: Lucas Cranach the Elder

Everard Digby: the man who taught Tudors to swim. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryThomas Becket and 16th-century swimming. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A Nazi serial killer and a Tudor gentleman. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hampton Court and the Amritsar massacre. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Henry VIII, Princess Mary and William Somers

Playing the fool: Tudor jesters. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.