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
Congratulations on ten successful years! I remember being in primary school and colouring in Elizabeth I and being so fascinated by her clothes and the importance of a woman from so long ago. Then when I got a bit older I watched the white queen based on the books by Philippa Gregory and instantly read the whole series of books. I wanted to find out more about these people and found out that Elizabeth Woodville was Henry VIII grandmother and I’ve been obsessed ever since! Anything tudor I want to read or watch or listen to and I don’t think my love of history will ever go away!
I visited Hampton Court 20 years ago and that sparked my interest in Anne. I read some books on her and while visiting England last fall we’re fortunate enough to travel to Hever. I love your website and would love to win your book.
As a young teenager I was introduced to Victoria Holt books. Learning of her pseudonym Jean Plaidy I then consumed every book she wrote. 40 years later I still love all things pertaining to English history!
I started out watching The Other Boleyn Girl…it was all down hill after that! I loved The Tudors series, have read all the books and FINALLY got to actually tour the castles on a trip to London!
I have loved Tudor history for years and have read countless books about the Tudor and pre-Tudor era. I have recently discovered your website and your posts. I was so fortunate last March to actually take a trip to London, York and Canterbury! What a thrill to visit so many historical places I had read about! I’m looking forward to reading your book and articles on your website!
I first heard about the Tudors when I was in high school, and I read a historical fiction novel on Mary Tudor, then another on Elizabeth. The Tudors have been my favorite subject for 15 years now. I love your work, and can’t wait to see what you do in another 10 years!
My obsession with all things Tudor began many years ago as a young girl. I heard the tragic story of Anne Boleyn, and felt such a strong connection to her. I began to devour every book I could find at our local library on the subject. All these years later, I am a collector of books about the Tudor era, especially related to Anne. My husband is from England, so I’ve been fortunate enough to travel there twice, and I have been to the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace. My next visit, I plan to see Hever Castle. Your podcast has inspired my Tudor travels, and I eagerly look forward to the each one. Thank you!
Hi and congratulations on the 10th anniversary of your website. My interest in the Tudors and particularly Anne began when I was in High School. I saw the film “Anne of a Thousand Days” which I loved. In 1971 I started work as a librarian and found a very interesting book in the English history section called “The Innocence of Anne Boleyn” I became really fascinated with her from then on. I live in Sydney, Australia and have been fortunate to have travelled to Great Britain over the years. I first went to Hever Castle with my mother in 1978 and just recently in June I re visited Hever Castle with 2 of my daughters who also share the love of English history and Royalty. We had a wonderful day, enjoying the cross country walk from Hever Station and the Castle tour with its magnificent gardens. I have now been to all the burial sites of Henry’s Queens except for Sudeley Castle which I hope to visit one day.
I really fell in love with the Tudors in college during a Shakespeare seminar- my professor did a great job of introducing the family trees and giving us tidbits about each family member, and I was hooked!
Congratulations ! A newcomer of about two to three years! Love your work with Sarah and have all your books ! But not signed that’s a fabulous prize ! I took my tudor London around London with me ! In the footsteps are fabulous books and have alerted me to look at things I would have missed ! Well done !!
I watched Anne of a thousand days and A Man For All Seasons in college and was hooked. I
Ever since i was a young girl i have always been a lover of english history. Specially about
Henry the eighth and his wives. Anne boleyn has always been my favorite. I feel sorry for her because she do anything wrong and she had to die in order for the king to get what he wanted. Whenever we going to london my first stop is to the tower to visit her and then i am off to hampton court where she lived. On our next visit we our planning a trip to hever where she grew up. I love engish history. I just wish had of lived to give henry a son things would have a lot different .
I have always had an interest in history in general – British history in particular, then it grew to concentrate on Henry VIII and expanded to all things Tudor. I just was introduced to your site. And now will be following your viewpoint also.
I cannot remember at what age, but the story of the many wives and how many were tossed aside drew me into Tudor history. Henry VIII’s treatment of and ability to just toss aside wives who could not conceive ‘appropriately’ made me interested in a world where women were just pieces of property. That was so strange for a young woman like me in a century that is obviously quite different. Therefore, I started reading…everything! It’s been twenty years now, and I continue to read and listen to Tudor era history.
Happy Anniversary!
I absolutely love this era. I have always ( since around 10 yrs of age) been interested in Shakspeare and so that snowballed into Elizabeth I and her reign. Then started learning more and more about her father and all Tudor history. I have a special needs daughter and her middle name is Elizabeth for her strength and wisdom.
Congratulation on 10 years. May you or we enjoy many more.
I honestly don’t remember what ignited my love of Tudor History, but I do enjoy historical fiction, so it was probably a book.
Congratulations on 10 years!
I remember when i first saw “Anne of the Thousand Days” and was mesmerized. “Lady Jane” was also an early one. I still didn’t quite fall in love with history until after I was out of school, but what brought me back, time and again, were the clothes. I started sewing historical dresses and while i have yet to brave making a Tudor-era gown, I can never pass up the opportunity to drool over them. 🙂
My love for Tudor history began in 5th/6th grade, reading one of the “diaries” of Elizabeth. It was historical fiction, but opened up a whole new world for me. I actually won a contest after reading that book ( I was only 10 or 11) by naming all of the wives in order.
I started watching the tv show Reign which propelled me to the Tudors show on Star, and I have been obsessed since. I will watch any Tudor show or movie or read just about any Tudor Historical fiction novel.
I wish I could remember what sparked my interest. I honestly don’t remember as I have been interested for a very long time. I think it is part of my love of history that makes it all so interesting to me.
Oh gosh. I think it was watching the other Boleyn girl and I wanted to know more about Anne. From there I just started reading and watching everything I could get my hands on. Also my world history professor drilled the date of the armada into our head so I don’t think I could forget it if I tried ?
When I was around 11 we studied the Tudor’s in schools and I was hooked instantly! It shocked me that there was a time in history where a king chopped off his wives heads! Back then I was fascinated by Anne Boleyn and all the myths surrounding her, and her death. As I’ve got older, I’ve started to really understand how she was a woman ahead of her time. Fast forward 17 years and I literally read about the Tudor’s every day. Every time I think I know everything I need to, I find a new person or time during the period that grabs me and means another new book purchase! I listen to the podcast on my commute and love it!
An early lover of Shakespeare, I really first fell in love with Elizabeth. As a pre-teen I devoured everything I could find on her life; I was drawn to her strength and resilience. Then I just fell down the Tudor rabbit hole! Two years ago, my daughter took me to London and our day trip to Hever Castle ranks as on of the best days of my life! ?
I became fascinated with the Boleyn family about 10 years ago when I started researching family and discovered that Mary Boleyn is my 15th great grandmother! I always was interested in that era and now I know why!
I read a novel about Catherine of Aragon. This was so gripping that I went forwards devouring books that took me to the end of Elizabeth I’s reign.
That left me so flat that I went backwards and devoured books that took me back to Jasper Tudor.
Then I more or less repeated the whole exercise 🙂
Congratulations! I love listening to you and your guests. I probably started before I was 10, watching the Six Wives of Henry VIII. I then devoured every book on the Tudors in my local library.
I became interested in the Tudors through my interest in Shakespeare!
Hip, Hip, Hoorah! Natalie, a toast to all ur hard work.
Living in Fresno,Ca. 16th century England isn’t taught in our schools. My love for Henry began while researching my family history. I stumbled upon a doc linking my mothers paternal line directly to the man responsible for creating the living version of the Tudor ?. This doc changed my life forever and I was hooked on Henryand shortly after I discovered you and all ur priceless knowledge. I’m blessed to have completed many courses on The Tudors, most recently educated by Dr Suzanna Lipscombe and Dr Sarah Morris. Thank you 3 woman for being my greatest inspiration and I am certain one day soon we will b colleagues.
Here’s to the next ten years from @historywithc or as my friends call me
Dr. England Greensleeves, lol
I credit Keith Mitchell and Glenda Jackson for my love of the Tudor period and my fascination with Tudor monarchs. Mitchell was riveting in a BBC production of The Six Wives of Henry VIII in which he brought out the many sides of the King in a production that was wonderfully historically accurate, Jackson also played the ultimate Good Queen Bess. Modern interpretations of Elizabeth portray her a a highly sexual (!) and very ordinary woman who just happened to be Queen. I have always though that if anyone was truly larger than life those someones would have been Henry and his daughter Elizabeth. So thank you, Mr. Mitchell and Ms. Jackson, for letting us see what true legends looked like.
When I saw the movie Anne of the Thousand Days and then watched Six Wives of Henry VIII back in the 1970s I was hooked. I majored in history at the University of Minnesota. I enjoy reading all I can find on the Tudors. Happy Anniversary!
My love for Tudor history began when I was around 10-years-old. I was obsessed with these books called The Royal Diaries. Each would feature a different famous monarch from around the world and it would be a fictional diary written by them as a young girl. One of my favorites was Elizabeth I’s, which is where I first learned about Anne Boleyn. It wasn’t until I was a young adult that I really dived into my learning about Anne and Henry’s other wives, but I clearly remember, even as a child, something about her story fascinated me.
We were not allowed to watch TV during the day. I read the book Anne Boleyn by Anthony. That was 55 years ago. I have been enthralled with her every since. I have been ABSOLUTELY thrilled to find others who feel the same way about “our” Anne. Makes me mad when I hear untrue and nasty things said about her. I soon set them straight!!!!! ???????
I have been interested in Tudor history since I was 13 and my parents brought me to Hampton Court Palace. Hopefully I’ve passed it on to my children, as we have brought our children twice (when they were young from Boston and this past Dec from Austin Tx, now as adults with spouses) Thank you for your blog which I’ve recently discovered.
Hi happy anniversary
I first became interested in the tudors when I was at high school as I started learning about the Scottish royal family then I started researching james 1st then worked my way back through his family. Then I discovered the tudors and I have been obsessed since. I particularly have an obsession into the Tudor woman and their own characters and what roles they played within history.
In elementary school all I ever wanted to read were biographies of famous women. When I came upon Elizabeth the first I fell in love with Tudor history. Adding to that fuel was the fact that I was raised in Raleigh, NC. Named after Sir Walter Raleigh and the state where the Famous Lost Colony got lost. History has always been my first love and I have so enjoyed immersing myself in Tudor history once again these past few years.
My initial interest in the Tudor’s came at age 11 when I watched the Series Elizabeth R with Glenda Jackson. After that I read any novel and watched every show I could find about them. I would love to read this book. Thank you for the opportunity to win a copy!
Congrats on 10 years!
My obsession started when I was 10 and we moved to Leicestershire from Canada.
I saw Glenda Jackson in the mini series Elizabeth I and was hooked. My high school History teacher and I used to swap books and talk Tudors!
My love for the Tudors began when I was in high school, probably 15/16 years old. One of my classmates had a library book on her desk, I asked if I could look at it, and ended up reading the whole thing before giving it back to her. It was The Thistle and the Rose by Jean Plaidy, and after that, I was at the library searching for her books. In 1997, we lost our house in a fire, so it’s been all these years, trying to replace her books. I fell in love with Anne Boleyn through her, as well.
When I was young I saw a wax display of Henry the 6th with his wives and I loved it so much I bought the postcard which I still have,I also loved any drama film about the Tudors as a teenager and that started my love of royal history.
Congrats, I always read your blogs with interest. The Tudors and Plantagenets have always been my go-to subjects for any book purchase, since I read all Jean Plaidy’s novels as a child. Living in Australia I don’t get the opportunity to see the exhibitions (I did see some Tudor art by coincidence while in Paris in 2015) or visit the houses often (we came to England in 1990 and went to Hever, Hatfield and the Tower), so books are the way I can keep up with new opinions and research, snd gain more depth and understanding of the times. Thanks again!
Congrats on 10 years! I have been fascinated with the Tudors for many years. There are so many elements and “characters” in the story of this family and era. I still cant get enough of it and am still learning more. There is always something new to read and learn. Thank you for sharing your love
My father loved Tudor history and I grew up hearing about the Wars of the Roses and the lives of Henry VIII’s queens. I was fascinated by that time in history and to this day my time spent reading about Tudor history is rivaled only by hours spent reading Agatha Christie, with no offense meant to my children and grandchildren, whom I also adore!
My mother told me she named me Elizabeth because of Queen Elizabeth I. When I got to high school I started researching her life to find out why I was named for her. Once I learned about how her mother was falsely accused of horrendous crimes because the king simply grew tired of her, how she was imprisoned by her sister and shunned by her brother, surviving the Tower and her strength in patience until she was queen; I could not be anything but obsessed with her or the Tudors! My first trip to the UK was 5 years ago and it started at Hever. Then I followed what footsteps I could in the short time I was there to gain more knowledge of the queen with whom I share a name. My next trip will begin with Hertfordshire and Hampton Court for research into the whole family and the people who aided and attempted to stop them during their reign!
I always thought the Six Wives of Henry VIII story was fascinating but never got into it until I saw Natalie Dormer’s performance in the Tudors. I had to learn more about a woman I mistakenly thought was always “The Other Woman…” and it developed from there. It’s been quite the journey so far! I can’t get enough.
A wonderful trip across the world to England aged 10 – endless historic houses, walks by the canal, majestic castles, country gardens… and all amongst this an amazing woman called Queen Elizabeth I. I was like a little sponge absorbing all the information I could about her! I had Queen Elizabeth books, a Queen Elizabeth mug, Queen Elizabeth embroidery, Queen Elizabeth fridge magnet, Queen Elizabeth paper dolls… I felt SO lucky to learn about this incredible woman. And that love and enthusiasm for the Tudors (and especially Elizabeth) has never stopped, only grown stronger over the years thanks to books, documentaries, university papers, and wonderful blogs and podcasts like yours Natalie. Thank you for taking us all along with you on your Tudor Trail! Best of luck for the next 10 years xx
When I touch a peice of Tudor wood, window, cloth, stone or listen to Tudor music, I am instantly transported back to a world that strangely feels more like home than home does today. I wish I could transport my life and family back to this time and smell, touch and taste the Tudor past as my present. This is something that I have always felt for as long as I can remember. If I am not in this world I am simply not fulfilled. I always imagine I was Anne Boleyn. Who knows, perhaps I was! I simply cannot learn enough.
Saw the Other Boylen Girl, and thought who is this Anne Boylen? did my research and was hooked ever since! I know the Tudor history inside and out! I love Elizabeth of York for some reason. I know the english history 1300 to 1700 very well and I am American! I always read about the Tudors and such. Just got done watching the Tudors on TV for the 1000 time! I could go on and on.
I worked on an exhibit about Elizabeth I. I learned so much from doing that and was intrigued, so I started reading. I also read Margaret George’s Autobiography of Henry VIII, and so many times I had to ask, “is that true?” and then I had to research it. And, I have to add, the second season of Blackadder cinched the obsession for me! Happy Anniversary to you, and thank you for this wonderful opportunity!
I have always loved the history of England, American history is so new! My love for the Tudor family started when I was about 7, I loved learning about Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn. I find Anne an amazing person, just born way too soon for her time. She had brains, guts and a mouth on her that would make men cringe., heaven forbid there was a strong woman! I have read everything I possible can about Anne, including this book, but i always reread them and I buy them anytime I see one to add to my library at home.