The Tudor Prince

12/12/2025

A photo I took seven years ago this month as day gave way to night.

This was taken inside Hever Castle, childhood home of Anne Boleyn, looking out towards the famous moat.

Imagine the people that passed through this entrance, for whom this setting would still be instantly recognisable, even all these centuries on.

Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, Mary Boleyn... all left their marks and imprints in this very spot - real people living real lives, as we do today.

Sometimes, all that separates us from the past - and those who lived through it - is time itself.

21/10/2025

Hello all - long time no speak! Hope everyone is doing well.

I've been thinking about this page a bit recently. If I was to start posting regular content again, would you be interested?

Please reply with a 'Like' if so.

As well as testing whether there's still interest, I want to get an idea as to how many see this post, as I don't know whether the algorithms will penalise it as I haven't posted for so long.

Whilst I am here, I was at Derby Cathedral last week and visited the resting place of Bess of Hardwick (below). Quite the experience!

Thanks everyone!

01/05/2024

Hello all! Hope you're keeping well.

Feel cheeky promoting this when I've been inactive but one reason is that I've been writing my first book - which has just been published by Amberley Publishing.

It's called Abandoned Derbyshire and tells the story of places across the UK county of Derbyshire that have been left to ruin - and the reasons why they were lost.

There are even a few Tudor references!

So if you've enjoyed my posts over the years and you're able, please do take a look. The book is very much written in the same style as the posts I do here.

Any support of the book would be greatly appreciated :)

Derbyshire is home to a myriad of places and buildings that have been left behind by history – from well-known castles and stately houses to more obscure family homes, air-raid shelters, derelict mines, public buildings, railways and even a theme park. Behind the façade, each has a story to tell ...

31/12/2023

Happy New Year everyone.

Hope you're all doing well! X

10/04/2023

Hello all!

Apologies for being a bit quiet. Just returned to the UK after an incredible time in Argentina.

As you'd expect, no Tudor stuff to report on but thought I would share some photos.

I know I have a few followers from Buenos Aires/Argentina. Completely fell in love with your beautiful country - well worth the 14 hour flight!

24/03/2023

It's 420 years to the day since the Tudors vacated the throne of England.

It was a dramatic and turbulent era which began with an unlikely victory at Bosworth and ended with the death of Queen Elizabeth on this day 118 years later.

A period that changed the face of history forever.

After years of turbulence as Henry VIII sought to secure the Tudors though the birth of sons, it was his daughter Elizabeth who ultimately presided over the most successful reign of the Tudor period.

For all Henry's desire to secure the dynasty, the fact that the Tudors era was coming to an end was well known during the reign of Elizabeth - as she vowed never to marry.

And so the Tudor chapter of English history ended on this day in 1603 - yet its legacy lives on.

Those who have followed my page from the start will remember I went through a brief period four years or so ago of writing poems.

This is one of them, about the final days of Elizabeth - and the Tudors.

13/03/2023

A few photos I took of the inner sanctum at Hampton Court Palace back in 2018.

By day these corridors, alleyways, nooks and crannies are filled with people, the stone floors a carnival of noise as visitors reconnect with times long since lost to us; a time when the Tudors sat on the throne of England.

Yet day turns to evening and then to night and the steps, fervour and activity die down; gradually replaced by silence and darkness.

And I wonder what it would be like to be stood in those corridors, alleyways, nooks and crannies at this time, in the dead of night - imagining the tip tap of feet which echoed here centuries ago.

The booming feet of Henry VIII heading towards the Council chambers, the confident strides of a pregnant Anne Boleyn, the anxious walks of Thomas Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell as their fates hung in the balance.

Real people who really walked within these famous walls - day and night - all those years ago.

08/03/2023

Happy International Women's Day 2023!

03/03/2023

Let me be your tour guide as I take you through the centre of Buxton - England's highest market town.

I wanted to provide a commentary to the video but felt a tad self conscious with people around!

Featured in this video:

The place where Mary Queen of Scots stayed whilst under house arrest - reputedly the oldest hotel in England!

In the Mary Bower Room, there are etchings still visible from her own hand - probably dating from 1573 and 1576 (she was a frequent visitor to Buxton where she liked to 'take the waters').

The Buxton Crescent - built for the 5th Duke of Devonshire of Chatsworth in the 1700s.

Buxton's famous natural springs.

The beautiful Buxton Opera House.

Buxton Pavilion and Gardens.

Hope you enjoy!

02/03/2023

Happy World Book Day everyone!

I took these photos at Hever Castle back in 2019.

These are two of the three Book of Hours that still exist that once belonged to Anne Boleyn.

The book on the right is thought to date back to 1528 and, according to historian Eric Ives, was probably acquired by Anne in France.

Amazingly, there is an inscription inside the book written in Anne's own hand. It reads:

"Remember me when you do pray, that hope doth lead from day to day."

The book on the left is even older - thought to date back to 1450. It's not clear when or how she came by this beautiful manuscript.

In this, too, is an original inscription penned by Anne's own hand - this time in French. It reads:

"Le tiemps viendra” (The time will come)" followed by her signature “Je anne boleyn."

Standing inches from these books is powerful because it strips away so many elements that keeps us far from the historical figures of the past that still fascinates us.

That's because to stand by books written in by Anne, who's eyes will have scanned the same words and images we do today, there's only one thing that separates us from her - time.

28/02/2023

A photo I took in deep winter as day gave way to night.

This was taken inside Hever Castle, childhood home of Anne Boleyn, looking out towards the famous moat.

Imagine the people that passed through this entrance, for whom this setting would still be instantly recognisable, even all these centuries on.

Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, Mary Boleyn... all left their marks and imprints in this very spot - real people living real lives, as we do today.

Sometimes, all that separates us from the past - and those who lived through it - is time itself.

23/02/2023

One of the most significant photos I've ever taken.

The 13 steps that lead to Anne Boleyn's bedroom at Hever Castle & Gardens. She will have walked these steps many times.

Much is made of Anne Boleyn's life. There are many who are pro-Anne and see her as a trailblazer, whose life was mercilessly and wrongly cut short.

Many portray her as a power-driven figure, drunk on ambition and happy to dispose of anybody who posed a threat to her.

Wherever you sit on the spectrum, few would argue that Anne was - and continues to be - a hugely influential figure in history.

The aura and fascination that surrounds Anne remain as strong and prominent now as when she graced this earth five centuries ago.

How many times must Anne have stood on the fourth or fifth step here, looking out over the grounds of Hever, thinking about her future.

And how many times did she skip down these steps as a precocious child, unaware that she would go down as one of the most talked about figures in British history.