Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with historian Ella Brook Muir about how queenly clothing in 16th‑century England and France acted as political communication, conveying magnificence, legitimacy, loyalty and cosmopolitan identity through fabrics, colours and emblems.

The episode examines case studies (Katherine of Aragon, Claude of France, Anne Boleyn, and Eleanor of Austria), the makers and household staff who produced these garments, the impact of global trade on materials, and the scarcity and mystery of surviving textiles.

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https://www.ellabrookmuir.co.uk/

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Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Dr Melissa Shiels about New Year's gift-giving across 16th-century England and Ireland, and how material gifts expressed political messages at the Tudor court.

They discuss typical gifts (money, clothing, jewellery, horses, hawks), differences across reigns, examples of gifts that reveal diplomacy or tension, and the distinction between public gift exchange and bribery.

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Host Natalie Grueninger speaks with Dr Michelle Seah about the economic lives of medieval and late 15th-century English queens, focusing on Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Woodville, and Elizabeth of York.

They explore how queens raised and managed income—through lands, cash allowances, port customs and the tradition of “queen’s gold”—how their households were organised, and how financial resources shaped their public role, patronage and power.

Learn more about Dr Seah

https://www.newcastle.edu.au/profile/michele-seah

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