This is History: The Tudors

He’s the man who schemed, smashed and slashed his way to power. But as it turns out, winning a crown is far easier than keeping one.

This Is History: The Tudors traces the unlikely rise of King Henry VII — the man responsible for creating England’s most iconic royal family.

Their story begins on 22 August 1485, a day that changed English history forever.

At the Battle of Bosworth Field, Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III, ending more than three centuries of Plantagenet rule and claiming the English throne as Henry VII.

He inherits a fractured kingdom, weakened by the Wars of the Roses, while ambitious nobles and foreign powers are ready to rally behind rival claimants.

The results are often extraordinary.

Two pretenders emerge from obscurity: a ten-year-old boy and a Flemish teenager who reinvent themselves as long-lost princes. Both claim to be princes once locked up in the Tower of London and launch audacious bids for the throne. Across the Channel, kings, emperors and a vengeful English princess lend support to their cause, turning political intrigue into an international crisis.

It's a far cry from the story Henry VII hoped to tell.

His marriage to Elizabeth of York was meant to unite the rival houses of Lancaster and York and bring lasting peace to England. Diplomatic alliances strengthen England's position abroad, while explorers push further across the Atlantic than ever before. Yet invasions, rebellions, trade disputes and betrayals threaten everything Henry has built.

It’s a story packed with romance, betrayal, jealousy, revenge — and at least one weird case of a king giving someone a foot-rub.

So who’s afraid of Henry Tudor? Not as many as he’d like.

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As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime with Dan and the rest of the royal court on Patreon, too. Become a royal favourite today: patreon.com/thisishistory

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

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Presented by Dan Jones

Producer - Alan Weedon

Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman

Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock

Executive Producer - Louisa Field

Executive Producer - Dan Jones

Production Manager - Jen Mistri

Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan

Head of Content - Chris Skinner

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The story of disgruntled citizens feeling the need to rise up against a rigged system and distant elites is one that defines our moment. But we’re not unique in that feeling. Mistrust of the elite goes back a long way — like when England’s peasants almost toppled the ancien regime of King Richard II in 1381.

And that’s the focus of Oscar-nominated director Paul Greengrass’s latest film, The Uprising. Starring Andrew Garfield as a disgruntled ploughman, Cosmo Jarvis as Wat Tyler — and with our very own Dan Jones serving as historical consultant — the film takes us into the tumult of 14th-Century London to help explain why ordinary people brought the reign of King Richard II to the brink.

In this very special In Conversation episode, Dan and Paul explore how they told the story of the Peasants Revolt on the silver screen, while Paul peels back the curtain about how historic films actually get made — and why ‘accuracy’ is the wrong question. Plus, they reflect on why the lessons of the Peasants Revolt have incredible relevance to the fractious politics of today.

Catch The Uprising in cinemas from:

September 11, US and Canada (and select US theatres from September 10)

October 9, UK

October 30, Latvia

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Remember to stick around for Paul’s bonus episode with Dan, where Paul gives Dan’s his top five favourite historical films. That’s all for you to discover on our royal court on Patreon: patreon.com/thisishistory

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

Learn more about your ad choices.

Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

–

Presented by Dan Jones

Producer - Alan Weedon

Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman

Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock

Executive Producer - Louisa Field

Executive Producer - Dan Jones

Production Manager - Jen Mistri

Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan

Head of Content - Chris Skinner
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did King Arthur exist? Amy Jeffs isn't fussed. In this episode, the historian and artist behind Arthur: A New Life takes Dan Jones beyond Camelot and the search for a "real" Arthur, into a world of Welsh myth, Breton storytelling, medieval chronicles, haunted landscapes and hyperbolically violent kings.

Together, they try to understand why one of Britain's most compelling legends has endured, and why centuries of writers, artists and dreamers keep remaking him.

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If you want a deeper dive into the medieval world with Dan and Amy, grab their accompanying bonus episode at patreon.com/thisishistory. There, Amy shares her favourite absurd moments from medieval manuscripts, including the time when St Martin granted a woman’s wish to see her husband covered all over in male genitalia.

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

Learn more about your ad choices.

Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

–

Presented by Dan Jones

Producer - Alan Weedon

Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman

Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock

Executive Producer - Louisa Field

Executive Producer - Dan Jones

Production Manager - Jen Mistri

Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan

Head of Content - Chris Skinner

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two men and two hundred years of history…

On this week’s This Is History: In Conversation, Dan Jones meets Mike Livingston — award-winning historian and novelist from across the pond — to discuss the Hundred Years War.

A former Secretary-General for the United States Commission on Military History and professor at The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, Livingston knows a thing or two about battles.

They delve into Livingston’s latest book ‘The Two Hundred Years War’ and discuss : when did the war actually start and end? What did the French really think about it? Is the longbow overrated?

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If you want a deeper dive into the Hundred Years War with Dan and Mike, grab their accompanying bonus episode at patreon.com/thisishistory. There, they dig deeper into the gory, the genius and the gruesome medieval warfare involved in England and France’s most enduring military conflict.

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

Learn more about your ad choices.

Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

–

Presented by Dan Jones

Producer - Alan Weedon

Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman

Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock

Executive Producer - Louisa Field

Executive Producer - Dan Jones

Production Manager - Jen Mistri

Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan

Head of Content - Chris Skinner

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s time for a Dan-off.

To celebrate the return of This Is History: In Conversation, Dan Jones meets the other history podcaster called Dan.

Dan Snow’s an award-winning historian, best-selling author, and host of Dan Snow’s History Hit.

Together, the history Dans have racked up quite a lot of air miles, and in this special episode, they discuss their FAVOURITE destinations teeming with historical intrigue.

From the water meadows that birthed the Magna Carta, to the mysteries of Easter Island, let our Dans take you away…

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If you want MORE of our Dan-off, grab their accompanying bonus episode at patreon.com/thisishistory. There, the Dans field some of naval history’s thorniest questions from Dan Jones’s royal favourites (yes, including a deep cut about Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic ship, The Endurance).

As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime with Dan and the rest of the royal court on Patreon, too. Become a royal favourite today: patreon.com/thisishistory

–

A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

Learn more about your ad choices.

Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

–

Presented by Dan Jones

Producer - Alan Weedon

Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman

Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock

Executive Producer - Louisa Field

Executive Producer - Dan Jones

Production Manager - Jen Mistri

Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan

Head of Content - Chris Skinner

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices