I’ve been a bit remiss in not mentioning my most recent book, published by Pen and Sword. While writing it, I thought of it as Educating the Tudors. It explores how a handful of trusted families were charged with raising royal children, alongside an assortment of tutors—including a lutenist and a master-at-arms.

Henry VII’s own upbringing was very different from that of his children and grandchildren. Early on, his life followed the path of a typical aristocratic child—until he was forced to flee to Brittany with his uncle, Jasper Tudor.

His children, by contrast, benefited from the close involvement of Lady Margaret Beaufort. She ensured that her grandchildren had access to the best tutors, while maintaining traditions inherited from the Plantagenet court. Conveniently, Edward IV had created household ordinances for his heir at Ludlow, which provided a ready-made model for the new royal household. Lady Margaret also had detailed knowledge of Elizabeth Woodville’s nursery at Eltham, where some of Elizabeth of York’s younger sisters remained, along with experienced nursery staff. In many ways, it was simply a matter of replacing Plantagenet princes and princesses with Tudor ones.

Elizabeth Denton, the nurse at Eltham, cared for the children of Henry VII and later for Princess Mary during Henry VIII’s reign. In 1518, she was succeeded by Lady Margaret Bryan, who went on to care for each of Henry VIII’s legitimate children as well as his acknowledged illegitimate son, Henry FitzRoy. It was Lady Margaret Bryan who conducted the famous correspondence with Thomas Cromwell about the state of Elizabeth’s teeth, apparel and inappropriateness of the food she was being served following Anne Boleyn’s disgrace and subsequent execution.

Many of the women featured in the book owed their positions at court to Lady Margaret Beaufort, and the relationships among them are sometimes surprising. For example, Lady Jane Calthorpe, who cared for Princess Mary when Margaret Pole fell out of favor in 1521, was one of Anne Boleyn’s aunts. Although the information about these women is often fragmentary, it offers rich insight into the networks and connections that shaped the Tudor court—and into the sheer number of people required to raise a prince or princess.

For some, these roles meant lasting fortune. For others, like Lady Shelton (another of Anne Boleyn’s aunts), it proved to be a far more uncomfortable experience.

Preparing Tudor Kings and Princes is available on special offer at the moment at Pen and Sword as well as other sites – e.g. the one associated with a South American river! It’s also going to be available at the Talk Radio Europe bookshop following my interview with Selina Mackenzie this afternoon.

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Preparing-Tudor-Kings-and-Princes-to-Rule-Hardback/p/51762