Ten Years of On the Tudor Trail

Today I’m celebrating ten years of On the Tudor Trail. Ten years of sharing my love of Tudor history with the world! I remember how excited and nervous I was when I hit ‘publish’ on my first ever blog post in which I asked my “readers”, not that I actually had any yet, what their defining Tudor moment was. I could never have imagined the wondrous adventure that lay ahead or the countless hours of hard work. Balancing my all-consuming love of Tudor history with my familial and work obligations hasn’t always been easy. How does one spend countless hours immersed in the sixteenth century and yet be present in the now? Despite the challenges, I quickly discovered that if I turn my back on what I love, on what lights the lamps in my heart, I wither. Simple as that.

Giveaway now closed. Thank you for your entries!

The last decade has seen many highlights, including: the birth of my website; research trips to England and Spain; the publication of my first book, In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn; the release of four other Tudor titles; collaborations with talented bloggers, writers and artists, and the launch of my Tudor podcast, ‘Talking Tudors’. But what I’m most grateful for are the amazing, soul-feeding friendships I’ve made along the way.

Whether you’ve been with me on this journey from the very beginning or you’ve only recently found my website, thank you for accompanying me On the Tudor Trail! I’m deeply touched by your support and encouragement.

To celebrate this milestone, I’m giving away a copy of my first book baby, In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn, co-authored with Sarah Morris. However, this is not just any copy, it’s an out-of-print hardback edition, autographed by both Sarah and myself. These are not easy to come by!

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment telling me about what ignited your love of Tudor history.


Conditions of Entry

For your chance to win this copy of ‘In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn’, you must be subscribed to On the Tudor Trail’s newsletter (if you are not already, sign up on our homepage where it says ‘Free Enewsletter Subscription’).

Then simply leave a comment after this post telling me about what ignited your love of Tudor history between now and 5 August 2019. Don’t forget to leave your name and a contact email. Please note that I have comment moderation activated and need to ‘approve’ comments before they appear. There is no need to submit your comment twice.

This giveaway is open internationally.

One winner will be selected and contacted by email shortly after the competition closes. Please ensure you’ve added natalie@onthetudortrail.com to your address book to avoid missing my email.


Here’s to the next ten years!

Natalie x

Share

Comments

  1. Pam shakespeare says:

    I read the other Boleyn girl, which opened my world to the Tudors. I didn’t even know she had a sister! Now I am one of those annoying friends you take to the pictures and points out the errors ! Love your site love your podcasts . Thank you

  2. Nicola conroy says:

    I have recently found a love of the tudors and im currently getting to know them. I find this period so interesting, and this your website is amazing ??

  3. Michelle Hall says:

    I have always been interested in Tudor History and last year I discovered my 14x grandfather was Henry Norris which was very surprising.

  4. When my grandmother passed in 1992, I was given a pile of books from her room. Amongst the pile was a book on Isabella of Castile and her children. And I instantly fell in love with her daughter Katherine of Aragon.

  5. Been following since the start! My love of the Tudor’s started after watching the film lady Jane . I found your website and began reading any books I could. Shortly after I met my soon to be husband who shared my passion for everything Tudor the day we got engaged at the ritz 8 years ago he started the day off with a trip to the Tower of London. Since then we have taken many a Tudor trip and continue to explore although we return again and again to Hever and sudeley castle they seem very connected to our soul.

  6. It started at the age of 16. Mary Queen of Scotts’ life story ignited the flame of my love for anything and anyone during the Tudor period.
    After Mary’s Tragic story, I started researching and reading up on all the Tudors.
    Anne Boylen fascinates me to the day, I cannot decide weather I love or hate her? I would love this prize and I would love to learn more about her, through your and Sarah’s thoughts, research and writing. A signed, rare Hardback copy, wow!

  7. Karen Stone says:

    I started reading the novels of Jean Plaidy at primary school in my local library and was hooked, I wanted to know more about the amazing women of the Tudor era, now i play Anne Boleyn with a living history group at various castles and love my life!!!

  8. Tara Barlow says:

    I have always loved Tudor histories, even as a young girl. I have always been pulled to that time era no matter what else I would want to study. From the war of Rose’s to Elizabeth and Mary, I will never be able to get enough of the stories. Just when I think I am done studying them I learn something new and the spark ignites even brighter.

  9. Michele G Allen says:

    Just always been attracted to the story and family. My grandmother says I dm reincarnated from the era – maybe the family. ?

  10. Jessica Ottey says:

    My interest in the Tudors started with the movie The Other Boleyn Girl but was cemented after watch The Tudors. (TV series) – A little Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Henry Cavill didnt hurt either. Hahaha
    I was able to get to London to see as much Tudor as we could in the short time we were there over xmas. Standing so close to her resting place (the guard wouldnt let me too close) was among the highlights of my trip. It was a very long trip from Australia but worth it in every way.

  11. I read an article as a teen about Henry VIII and his need for a male heir. The way he treated his wives fascinated me and I decided I needed to know more. Was hooked on the Tudors from that day. When I read his Dissolution of the Monestries i cried for all the history and art that was lost. Such an interesting period

  12. Judith coote says:

    I have always loved anything about the tudors since I was younger. My favourite of all is Queen Anne boylen and the love/hate story between her and Henry 8th. I cannot get enough books about her. Would love this one to add to my collection.

  13. Christine says:

    I was given a novel about Jane Gray for my 10th birthday. I was hooked!

  14. The very first thing that started my love of the Tudors was a school project on the wives of Henry viii when I was about 8. Then a school trip to the Tower of London at about 10. I really really got into it when the TV show ‘The Tudors’ aired and i felt the need to seperate the history and the drama. Not long after this the film “The Other Boleyn Girl” came out and I told myelf to read a book before watching the film for a change (so glad I did). I love your website and social media accounts. Congrats on 10 wonderful years

  15. Kathy Butler says:

    I fell in love with Tudor History from reading a book about Henry VIII and his wives. I then discovered all kinds of books from this time period. I found your blog through a link on Facebook and have been a huge fan ever since. Thank you for continuing to write about my obsession.

  16. Deborah says:

    I was given Mary, Queen of Scots by Margaret George and my love of history was born. Once I read about Anne Boleyn, I was obsessed with learning everything I could about her.

  17. CiCi Joseph says:

    When learning about general Tudor history in my early college years I was drawn to the story of this king with the many wives. I started reading about each of them and it inspired me to go from an art history major to a history major with an emphasis on European history. Anne has kind of been a silent companion for me all of these years. Even though I may not be a complete scholar when it comes to her story, but I’ve always felt a connection with this wonderful woman who didn’t want to be just another pawn in the game. When we moved to England in October I was so excited to start visiting places related to her in some form. I work at Sulgrave Manor, which is a Tudor manor but not related to Anne. I love discussing her with guests. Truthfully, though, I need to brush up on my knowledge about her. Time to read your book!

  18. Christy Cordo says:

    When I was about ten years old, I found a book that belonged to my mother on my grandparents’ bookshelf. It was a copy of Anne Boleyn by Evelyn Anthony. Though I couldn’t comprehend all of it, I got the gist of her story. I read the book many times as I got older, each time learning more. It was my first Anne Boleyn book but certainly not my last, and it began a lifelong obsession for all things Tudor.

  19. Nikki Johnson says:

    I fell in love with all things English history when I worked at a library in Indiana. I picked up a copy of a book from the Plantagenet saga by Jean Plaidy. When I realized she wrote book after book about all the kings and queens through Victoria, my love for English history and royalty quickly took the form of obsession 🙂 I am fascinated with the Tudors, especially Anne Boleyn. There are so many opinions of her. Is she a manipulative witch or just a pawn in a game she doesn’t want to play? Sigh.

  20. Interest probably started with Philippa Gregory and then i started scanning online and book stores for authors of English medieval history. Stumbled by Alison Weir “the innocent traitor” and then it just rolls… compiled list of books i’d like to read and it’s growing faster than i can strike off a read book 🙂
    My favorite period is Wars of the Roses, with extention to Tudors.

  21. And thank you for your podcasts – love them!

  22. Madeleine says:

    I know a lot of people say this but The Other Boleyn Girl! Philippe Gregory opened up that world for me. That and travelling to England. Now I can’t wait to go back and travel using your guides!

  23. Kelly Stambaugh says:

    I have just recently found your website and Talking Tudors podcasts…..and have been voraciously reading and listening ever since! Most people come to the Tudors through books, movies and TV. My story is a bit different. As a child, my parents had a set of encyclopedias; at about 12 years old, I was doing a report for school and I happened upon the entry for Henry VIII. The entry was accompanied by the famous Holbein portrait. The portrait looked so much like my Dad that I started reading anything and everything I could find….. I’ve been obsessed ever since!

  24. Susan R. Norwood says:

    I got interested in Tudor history after watching the show “Reign.” After every episode I researched which parts were true and which ones weren’t. I also did the class “A History of Royal Fashion” on Futurelearn which was really interesting. I would love to learn more details about the life of Ann Boleyn.

  25. Lauren Rogers says:

    I’m 35 now but when I was in primary school (so about 7 or 8) we had some books from the the book club about the kings and queens of England and I was just fascinated with Henry which led to a love of Anne! I have passed the love to my own children. We are going to London soon and my daughter just wants to have her picture taken beside Anne’s at the NPG.

  26. Donna Millan says:

    I have always loved History, as a young child I always asked about the past and my fascination with ancient places and people started as early as I can recall. Tudor history has always held a special place for me, I somehow feel very connected to it all and visit known places of Tudor history when possible. When I seen your facebook site about all things Tudor needless to say I joined and enjoy reading the articles and posts. I am also interested in genealogy and while researching my family tree, realised that one of my ancestors was Sir John Wright, of Plowland in Holderness, Seneschal for Henry VIII, Master of Plowland Manor (1474 – 1540). His sons were Sherriffs of Yorkshire after he was given land there by Henry VIII. I would treasure the book and enjoy reading it very much. I hope your site continues the good work on bringing Tudor history to social media.

  27. Lisa M Fleener says:

    My love for Tudor history began when I was in high school (….years ago) while during my history class we did a brief section on Henry VIII. I realized that I wanted to now more about that time, so I began to read all that I could in my spare time. As I have gotten older, I have started my own collections of books & I have fallen in love with England (especially after finally visiting 5yrs ago) & seeing some of the history/places where Anne Boylen had been.

  28. Oh Hi and congratulations of 10 years of working. It’s such a huge time! The thing that makes me fell in love with the Tudor era are the portraits and the tv shows out there. I just fell in love with costumes and Charles, especially Mary Queen of Scots. I started reading about her like 3 years ago and after that I decided to explore the lives of her relatives such as Elizabeth I, Margaret Tudor and Henry VIII’s wives.
    There is so much to learn and we will never end learning and this is the most beautiful thing of all!

  29. Sue Gregory says:

    Thank you for your marvellous website.

    My interest in Tudor history started almost 50 years ago when I was taken on a school trip to the Tower of London. All of us children were interested in the gruesome stuff, like torture and execution, and so much of that stuff was tied up with the Tudors! It sparked a lifelong interest. I’m fascinated by all the big personalities of the time, but most especially Anne Boleyn. A few months ago I had the great pleasure of visiting Hever Castle, which was truly wonderful.

  30. Happy Anniversary!

    For me, my interest was first piqued as a child watching Anne of a Thousand Days on TV. Mum was watching it for Richard Burton but I was interested in Henry VIII and the power he seemed to wield.

  31. Kathryn says:

    I’ve always been interested in this era, even more so now that my granddaughter is a history major and this is her love. We can share it.

  32. Tammy Ottersen says:

    Your “How does one spend countless hours immersed in the sixteenth century and yet be present in the now? Despite the challenges, I quickly discovered that if I turn my back on what I love, on what lights the lamps in my heart, I wither. Simple as that.” truly connects with my years spent working on my Genealogy.

    Years ago my daughters high school family tree project provided amazing discoveries from an Aunt who had gathered and researched our tree prior to computers and it was huge. For the first time I heard surnames I had never heard before that were my ancestors.

    This led me to seeking lineage lines even farther back. Was tickled pink to learn and discover lineages to not only the Boleyn family (Direct descendant of Mary, Anne’s sister), but to so many.

    My journey of knowing all of my ancestors has led to tears, joy and a deeper understanding of how many times a single life of a direct ancestor was spared in a time when others in the immediate family were killed, died of disease, wars, massacres, captured and enslaved, famine, etc. It is by the grace of God that many of my direct Ancestors survived, it is truly a blessing to know that even just one of those lineages not surviving and I would not be here.

  33. Brittany Zayas says:

    Probably one of the Royal Diaries books, which told the stories of famous royal women through factionalized diaries. I loved the one on Princess Elizabeth and the one of Isabel of Castile, and i still vividly remember parts of both. That got me into picking up Carolyn Meyer’s MG/YA historical fiction…Doomed Queen Anne, Mary, Bloody Mary, and Beware, Princess Elizabeth. I was probably 13ish and I was so drawn in by what you always call the “dazzling and dangerous world” of the Tudors! In high school an adult recommended The Other Boleyn Girl when I told them I liked historical fiction, and that book got me turning to her resources, which led me to Alison Weir. From then on I was reading historical non fiction and doing research for fun (I had a Tudor timeline I made for fun on the family computer!). All the time I hated history in school….but at some point I realized I loved history, just not how school did it, and I ended up studying to be a history teacher in college!

  34. 10 years, wow! Congratulations.
    My love of Tudor history started in high school, when my year 10 English teacher Holbein’s portrait of Anne of Cleves as a point in a discussion about artistic license. It peaked my interest and I started looking further into the history of Henry VIII and his wives, and the absolutely fascinating people and stories of the times.

  35. Sophie Williamson-Stothert says:

    My love for Tudor history and, more specifically, the life of Anne Boleyn, began when I was in year 5 at primary school. We just started learning about the Tudor dynasty, building our own Tudor houses in art classes. Once they were built, we moved on to the six wives of Henry VIII. We were put into six groups and given a piece of folded paper. Written on this piece of paper was the name of the queen we would be studying and drawing/painting as a group. The name we were given was Anne Boleyn. Just a week or two later, we were on a school trip to Hampton Court Palace which, from that day, became my favourite place in the world. I’ve since visited HCP more times than I can count (including taking part in the 500-year celebrations in 2015) and read every fiction and non-fiction title on the life, love and death of Anne Boleyn that I could get my hands on. Bliss!

  36. Ann Rowsell says:

    I read a Jean Plaidy book as a young teenager – can’t remember which one – so by the time we came to study the Tudors at secondary school I felt I knew everything about Henry 8th bar the colour of his pyjamas. I read everything the school library had, including a very dodgy book on Catherine Howard.

  37. Chris Snyder says:

    I have always loved history but I was in Barnes and Noble and picked up s book that was maybe $5.97 and it was about one of King Henry’s wives. I was hooked!!! I had to read more! I’ve read so many I can’t even tell you what the first one was!!

    ~Chris Snyder

  38. Jane Reedy says:

    Since high school trip to London and our tour of the Tower.

  39. Michelle Kennedy says:

    I always loved to read but when I was in junior high school I read a book about Henry the eighth and from them then on I loved anything about the Tudors and it has continued to this day .

  40. My love of Tudor History started with Masterpiece Theater’s The Six Wives of Henry VIII when I was 15….long ago….LOL. I became obsessed with the 16th Century and started reading and collecting books, then movies, dvds etc. I even tried to make a dress our of draperies but never got past the skirt. (Was intimidated with the bodice) I still have it packed away!

  41. Lisa Crouse says:

    Congratulations! I have always been in love with history. I discovered the Tudors years ago when the other Boleyn girl came out. It wasn’t the most accurate but led me to look further into the real history of the tudors and I have been hooked ever since! Thank you so much for this chance!

  42. So my love of all things Tudor started from about the age of 4 when my parents took me to visit Hampton Court Palace for the first time. I remember being so in awe of everything I was seeing. I couldn’t believe that I was standing in a building so old and that had seen so much over the years….if only walls could talk!! After that we visited every year and my obsession with Tudor history truly began. To this day everyone who knows me knows about my love for this period in history. I have a particular soft spot for Henry and Anne. I adore visiting places I know they have been, it feels me with such excitement.

  43. Katalin Andrasev-Csuha says:

    I’ve always been fascinated by what history can teach us. Everyone has favourite periods, mine has always been the 15th-16th century. I’ve read numerous books about the Tudors and will keep doing so.

  44. Jess Casey says:

    I had a difficult childhood without a mother, and really connected on an emotional level with Elizabeth I. I was probably around 8 when I started reading about the Tudor period, and now at 32 I’m more obsessed than ever! While I’ll always love Elizabeth, Anne has held me rapt for the last several years, and I know it will continue for the years to come.

  45. Clair Luckman says:

    I share my birthday with Henry VIII and learned about him in school. Over the last few years I started getting more in to the subject and the effect that his relationship with Anne Boleyn had literally redefined the whole of Western society! I would love to add this one to my collection!

  46. Lisa Garas says:

    I inherited my love of Anne Boleyn and all things Tudor from my mother. She passed away 25 years ago and in that time I have built up a small Tudor library. I like to think that she and I would be sharing books and sites like this one.

  47. Stephenie Hazen says:

    What started my love for the tudors was definitely the movie and book The Other Boleyn Girl. I was obsessed with finding out the inaccuracies of both book and movie. It just went on from there!

  48. susan schroeder says:

    thanks for the chance to win your excellent book first of all! I too watched some movies, and found them to be rather over-blown and not full of facts, so went in search of the truth. Still love reading about the Tudors and the histories and then a couple years ago came the first trip across the pond, where I could visit some of the places I had read about-now dreaming and planning another trip to stay and enjoy longer!

  49. Melissa Nagy says:

    I ready “Henry VIII: The King and His Court” by Alison Weir in my teens. Then I read “The Other Boleyn Girl” by Philippa Gregory, which made me determined to find out the truth about Anne. After that I devoured anything I could about the Tudors.

  50. Jennifer Fitzgerald says:

    I live in the US and I started watching The Tudors and wondered how true these things were and I was hooked. I read anything I can get my hands on.
    Jennifer
    US-Tennessee