How the Tudors Lost Their Heads

Episode 2

Perkin Warbeck & the Princes in the Tower

1491, Ireland. A young man claims to be Richard, Duke of York, one of the missing Princes in the Tower. Backed by European powers, he poses a serious threat to English king Henry VII. Suzannah Lipscomb and Dan Snow reexamine the evidence behind one of history’s most persuasive pretenders. Was he, in fact, England’s rightful ruler?

Episode 3

Anne Boleyn

Executed on charges of adultery and treason, Anne Boleyn is often remembered as the ‘harlot’ who seduced Henry VIII into annulling his first marriage and forcing his country into religious turmoil. Suzannah Lipscomb and Dan Snow explore evidence that reveals a different Anne, whose ideas transformed England and whose reputation deserves reassessing..

Episode 4

Earl of Essex – Fall of a Favourite

Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, was Elizabeth I’s golden boy: a charming, reckless war hero. He stood at the Queen’s side as she rallied troops against the Spanish Armada. But just twelve years on, he was executed for leading a rebellion. Suzannah Lipscomb and Dan Snow unpack Essex’s rapid rise and fall, and the court politics that sealed his fate.

Episode 5

John Dudley: The Wicked Duke

Known as the wicked duke, John Dudley mastered the perilous politics of the Tudor court and became the power behind King Edward VI. But Dudley’s attempt to secure the crown for his own daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, the ‘Nine Day Queen,’ sparked a succession crisis. This royal gamble brought Dudley to the height of power and then destroyed him.

Episode 6

Margaret Pole: The Last Plantagenet

Born royal, Margaret Pole lost her status and riches as a child. She fought back to win unprecedented power for a woman in Tudor times, even defying Henry VIII. But she became caught in a feud between the Catholic church and an increasingly paranoid king. Dan Snow and Suzannah Lipscomb investigate a brutal execution that shocked the nation.