Tudor life

The Tudor era lasted from 1485 – when Henry VII defeated the Yorkist king Richard III at the battle of Bosworth – until the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. So what was life like during Tudor times?

Henry VIII “regarded his wars as the worthy successors of the great martial victories of England’s past”, says Steven Gunn. (Photo by PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)

The LibraryTotal war in Tudor England

Black faces of Tudor England

Black Tudors

A map of London dating from c1572. (Getty Images)

Life in Tudor London

A view of Hampton Court Palace, London. (Getty Images)

Simon Thurley on the architectural history of the Tudors

Through foreign eyes: the forgotten ambassadors to the Tudor court

The reluctant ambassador: the life and times of Tudor diplomat Sir Thomas Chaloner

Shakespeare’s London: playing a dangerous game

Swan Theatre, Bankside, London, interior from drawing by Johannes de Witt. The Shakespearian theatre, erected c1593 on Bankside – could hold 3,000 spectators – typical of the time. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

At the playhouse: watching Shakespeare's plays in Elizabethan England

Mary, Queen of Scots is executed © Getty

Horrible Histories author reveals 10 ways to die in Elizabethan England

Chess, gambling and cards: Tudor games and indoor pastimes

Terror in Elizabethan England

Life as a Tudor gent: the 16th-century diary of Humphrey Newton

The other Elizabethan England

How the Tudors invented breakfast