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500 Years of Anne Boleyn:

IT-GIRL. ICON. LEGEND.

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Event Goes Live On

29-30 October 2022

Ticket Price: $29.99

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

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I am delighted to announce that the Tudor Travel Guide’s fifth annual summit celebrates 500 years of Anne Boleyn! Of course, 2022 marks the first recorded appearance of Anne Boleyn at the English court, when she played the character of Perseverance during the masque of the Chateau Vert at York Place.

From the beginning, Anne garnered both dangerous enemies as well as fiercely loyal friends. This enigmatic woman, who captured the heart of a king and 'set the country in a roar' has mesmerised us ever since and, whether you love or loathe her, no one can deny that Anne was a force of nature.

From being a leading light for early English Evangelicals or simply as a fashion icon, who, as Lancelot de Carles stated at the time 'changed something about her dress every day', Anne Boleyn was a visionary.

From early on in her relationship with Henry, this young, English courtier had a strong sense of personal destiny and ultimately, she changed the course of English History. Her resilience and courage have endured the test of time and continue to inspire thousands across the globe today.

Now, with the help of seven experts who have researched and written about the life of Anne Boleyn, and the cast of characters who shaped her, we will be celebrating 500 Years of Anne Boleyn: It-Girl. Icon. Legend.

We will learn about:

The Early Years: Where did Anne spend her time in France and what were the forces and the characters who shaped the woman that Anne would become?
Courtship: We will explore Anne's relationship with Henry and dive deeply into the role Anne played in Wolsey's downfall.
Queenship: We will examine Anne's relationship with her powerful Howard relatives, particularly, Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, and look at why that relationship deteriorated during her tenure as queen. We will also hear tantalising snippets of new insights and discoveries that shed more light on the closeness of the relationship of Anne to her daughter, Elizabeth.
Downfall: Finally, we will investigate who was responsible for Anne's downfall and how did it happen? We put Henry and Thomas Cromwell in the dock and look at their respective roles in the destruction of Anne and the Boleyn faction.
PLUS: For your enjoyment, we have four additional videos that will bring you digital artwork and music to enliven our appreciation of Anne and her story.

Learn from World-Leading Experts

As our guides for this virtual summit, we are lucky to have a number of world-leading experts on hand to navigate us through the glittering, dangerous and often complex world of the Tudor court. Read on to find out more details...

Please note: All videos are pre-recorded. They will go live at scheduled times over the weekend. You can either watch each video as the schedule unfolds over the weekend or, if you can't make the dates/times, you will be able to watch any of the videos at ANY time after they go live UNTIL 31 December 2022.

Here is our agenda for this online, weekend, virtual event:

Day One - October 29th

Dr Sarah Morris: Lost in France - Walking in the Footsteps of the Young Anne Boleyn. Join me on location, in France, at the chateaux of Amboise, Blois and Chaumont as I bring to life some of the key French locations that Anne would have known well during her early years at the French court.

Kate McCaffrey: Becoming Anne - The Early Years of Anne Boleyn. Kate will guide us through Anne Boleyn's early years in Mechelen and France, introducing us to the key characters of the French court and explaining how they shaped the future of Anne Boleyn.

Prof Glenn Richardson: The Cardinal, Anne and 'The King's Great Matter'. Glenn is an expert on Wolsey, having published a recent biography in 2020. He was our lead expert in my Wolsey summit of the same year. Now, I revisit my conversation with Glenn, this time putting Wolsey's often fraught relationship with Anne under the spotlight as we seek to answer the question of the extent of the role that Anne played in Wolsey's downfall.

Day Two - October 30th

Gareth Russell: Anne Boleyn and Thomas Howard - A Relationship of Mutual Loathing. Famously Anne's uncle, the 3rd Duke of Norfolk complained bitterly that his niece treated him no better than a dog! In this entertaining conversation with Gareth Russell, we unpack the basis for their legendary dislike for one another while gaining a fascinating insight into the interplay between members of the Boleyn and Howard families.

Tracy Borman: 'My Elizabeth'. In all the dramatic and tragic events that crashed through Anne's life after 1533, the one enduring shining light was the love shared between mother and daughter which, as Tracy explains in this fascinating talk, endured long after death separated the infant from her doting mother.

Prof Diarmaid MacCulloch: Thomas Cromwell - A Deadly Adversary. We are in safe hands with Prof Diarmaid MacCulloch as we venture into the dangerous world of Thomas Cromwell. As Thomas' most well-known and celebrated biographer of recent times, Diarmaid puts right the often misunderstood relationship of Thomas with the Boleyns. From the beginning, was he a friend or foe? The answer might surprise you!

Natalie Grueninger: The Final Year of Anne Boleyn. Join Natalie and me as we unpack the fatal sequence of events that gathered pace in the last year of Anne Boleyn's life. In particular, we will examine the relationship with Henry Tudor and debate the role he played in Anne's ultimate fate on the scaffold.

Introducing Your Speakers!

Our speakers are all world experts in their field...

Tracy

Borman

Tracy is Chief Curator for Historic Royal Palaces. She often appears on television and radio.

In 2021, Tracy was made an Honorary Professor at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln. She is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

She has written several celebrated books on the Tudors including, 'The Private Lives of the Tudors', 'Henry VII and the Men Who Made Him' and 'Thomas Cromwell: The Hidden Story of the King's Most Faithful Servant'.

She has a particular love for Anne Boleyn and her daughter, Elizabeth

Natalie

Grueninger

Natalie Grueninger is a Tudor history specialist, author, speaker and host of the popular podcast, ‘Talking Tudors’.

She has co-authored two books with your host, Sarah Morris: ‘In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn’ and ‘In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII’.

Other books include ‘Colouring History & ‘Colouring History: Tudor Queens and Consorts’, (co-created with Illustrator, Kathryn Holeman), ‘Discovering Tudor London’ and her latest book, ‘The Final Year of Anne Boleyn’, which will be published on 30 November 2022.

Kate

McCaffrey

Kate McCaffrey is an historian and Assistant Curator at Anne Boleyn's childhood home of Hever Castle in Kent.

Her Master's thesis, in Medieval and Early Modern Studies from the University of Kent, focused on groundbreaking new evidence she uncovered in one of Anne Boleyn's printed Books of Hours, held at Hever Castle.

She has just co-curated the 'Becoming Anne: Connections, Culture, Court' exhibition running this year at Hever and co-authored the accompanying book, entitled 'Becoming Anne' alongside Dr Owen Emmerson.

Dr Diarmaid MacCulloch

Diarmaid MacCulloch is Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford, Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford, and prize-winning author. He has written extensively on the sixteenth century and beyond it, including on the History of the Church and Christianity. In the Tudor world, he is perhaps best known, and loved for his spectacular 2018 biography of Thomas Cromwell, called: Thomas Cromwell: a Life

He was knighted in the UK New Year’s Honours List of 2012.

Prof Glenn Richardson

Glenn Richardson is Professor of Early Modern History. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and is an Honorary Fellow of the Historical Association.

Glenn has published extensively on Tudor England's political and cultural relations with Continental Europe and on European Renaissance monarchy.

His most recent book is a biography of Thomas Wolsey, published in 2020, entitled 'Wolsey'.

Gareth
Russell

Gareth was educated at Oxford University and Queen’s University, Belfast. He is a historian, novelist, and playwright.

In 2018, he published 'Young, Damned and Fair' a wonderful biography of Catherine Howard.

He is the author of 'The Ship of Dreams', 'The Emperors', and 'An Illustrated Introduction to the Tudors'.

He lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Your Summit Host & Speaker:
Dr Sarah Morris

Hi! My name is Sarah. I am the Founder and CEO of The Tudor Travel Guide. This means I split my time between travelling around and visiting places, interviewing experts for my blog and my podcast (The Tudor History & Travel Show), running my two YouTube channels (The Tudor Travel Guide andTudor Talk) and spending even more time in front of my computer...between you and me, I'd prefer it to be the other way around!

My mission is to help you immerse yourself in the sixteenth century by weaving stories of people and events into the places in which they unfolded. So, Tudor places are my first love; well, maybe second after my 40 year love affair with Anne Boleyn, which started as a schoolgirl of 11 years old. Hence, I am delighted to bring you this summit, which puts Anne Boleyn and her life firmly in the spotlight - and weaves in something of the places and artefacts associated with her as we go.

Alongside committing to deliver thoroughly researched, factual content, the one other magical ingredient that I think brings us as close to time travel as humanly possible is my belief that…

It is only time, and not space, which separates us from the past.

So, grab a cuppa and a large slice of cake (my favourite way to enjoy history, BTW) and let's go time travelling!

PLUS...FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT...

A New World Premiere!
'Re-imagining the Early Years of Anne Boleyn: A Life in Images'

Rebecca Monet

Rebecca Monet is an artist and writer. She trained as an illustrator and while initially creating private mural commissions, her current focus is on historical illustration with Anne Boleyn as her passion. She is also studying the work of Hans Holbein the Younger.

She is the author and illustrator of the 'Queen Anne Boleyn Paper Doll' book which, despite its playful title, serves as a richly researched and decoratively illustrated biography endorsed by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and noted by Alison Weir to “afford hours of pleasure” for those who love Anne Boleyn.

You can connect with Rebecca on Instagram: @rebeccamonet2

Natalia Richards

Natalia worked for 30 years as a museum curator in England, including London.

Her life-long love for history and passion for the Tudors led to her researching Anne Boleyn's earlier life (1500 to 1521).

The result of this research was ‘The Falcon's Rise,' her first book, followed by ‘The Falcon's Flight' published 19 May 2020.

She is currently writing the third book in the trilogy, The Falcon’s Fall. There is no publication date as yet.

You can connect with Natalia via Twitter:

@nat_wieczorek

Ashley Risk

Ashley Risk is an artist with a fascination for history and, particularly, sixteenth century England. She runs a large Tudor history Facebook group called Anne Boleyn Obsessed.

Ashley digitally recreates famous portraits and sketches from the Tudor era in a semi-photo realistic manner and shares these eye-catching images on her Instagram account, FakeTudorHistory.

She has recently published an article entitled Pandemic Sleuthing to Re-identify a Tudor Queen, which argues that a portrait miniature misidentified as Catherine Howard for centuries, is in fact Anne of Cleves.

You can connect with Ashley via Instagram: faketudorhistory

Together Rebecca, Natalia and Ashley bring you...
Re-imagining the Early Years of Anne Boleyn: A Life in Images

Meet the Anne Boleyn few know. Rebecca, Natalia and Ashley are excited to be able to debut a multi-sensory presentation, including a first-ever-peek into 'lost' reimagined scenes from Anne Boleyn’s formative, early life. This presentation has been recreated by artists, Rebecca Monet and Ashley Risk, and supported by years of fastidious research by Natalia Richards, author of the first two-part, in-depth historical fiction series on Anne’s young years. At the end of this video, you will have probed deeper into the question, 'What made Anne, Anne? '

Both Rebecca and Natalia consider it their personal mission to see Anne’s early life given more attention. They believe that it is critical to the shaping of Anne's character, her agency and queenship. It is their hope that Anne’s early life will continue to be an important focus for discussion for many years to come. We are thrilled to have them as part of the Tudor Travel Guide's 2022 Summit on Anne Boleyn and to be able to showcase this presentation for the first time.

Behind the Scenes: Recreating Royalty of the Past
with Royalty Now

Becca Saladin Segovia

Similar to many people, I’m so intrigued by history, yet always felt separated from the figures. A favorite figure of mine is Anne Boleyn. For my first ever creation, I decided to give Anne a modern “upgrade” - hair that could break free from her headdress, a bit of makeup, a modern dress, and all of a sudden she looked lifelike. She looked like someone who could stand right in front of me and tell me her story from her own lips, instead of someone who is at the mercy of historians and Hollywood producers.

I started a tiny Instagram account to share my work in early 2018. Thanks to some well-timed tweets by a journalist, my work suddenly got picked up by the general public, and the popularity of the images skyrocketed. Since 2018 I’ve modernized over 100 portraits of past figures, from ancient history favorites to almost-modern-day figures like Abraham Lincoln. My work has been featured in websites and newspapers around the world, and I’m so lucky to have such an eager and supportive audience.

My husband and I have recently teamed up to create Royalty Now Studios, the historical documentary branch of Royalty Now, where we tell the story of historical figures and then reveal what they may have looked like in real life. These can be found on YouTube.

You can connect with Becca via Royalty Now on Instagram at: royalty_now_

Music from 'Boleyn: The Musical' by Jessy Tomsko

Jessy Tomsko

If you haven't already heard, Jessy has written a new musical 'Boleyn' and last year I fell in love with her and her music. Jessy featured in last year's summit, but since this year, we are specifically talking about Anne, I had to invite her back. I am delighted that Jessy accepted my invitation. We will hear two stripped down versions of songs from the musical. The first, called 'My Heart Lives in France' is joyous and uplifting (and a personal favourite of mine), which you will alongside the videos on the first day. The second is called : To Be Brave and is perfectly attuned to tragic events we will be discussing on day two.

Here is a little bit more about Jessy:

Jessy Tomsko is a composer, writer, singer, and vocal coach in NY. As a singer/songwriter, Jessy has independently released several albums, singles, and EPs. She was a featured vocalist on October Project’s Book of Rounds, with whom she also performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall in 2017.

As a musical theatre writer, Jessy is the composer/lyricist for BOLEYN, and has also written the book, music, and lyrics for new musical IN EMILY'S WORDS. BOLEYN was recently the featured performance at the 2021 TudorCon in Lancaster, PA, and IN EMILY'S WORDS is currently in development in NYC with the Emerging Artists Theatre Company and the Combustion Collective.

You can connect with Jessy on Twitter via @jessytomsko

What People Have said

about Previous Virtual summits

The 1535 Progress Virtual Summit

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed your progress! I learned so much & would give anything to see the beautiful gardens for myself. Maybe someday! I wanted you to know how far your voice travels! Thank you for your dedication!!!

Darlene T - Buckeye, AZ

The Field of Cloth of Gold: 500 Virtual Summit

I can say I really know a lot about this event now! It was so enthralling and by the time I got to your final video last night, I was so happy! My husband even commented as he watched me glued to the video how excited and happy I looked.

Stacy B- GAinsville, VA

The Life and Death of Cardinal Wolsey Virtual Summit

First of all, let me thank you most sincerely for a wonderful Virtual Summit on Cardinal Wolsey!

Thank you for enriching my life on my favourite aspect of English History, the glorious Tudors!

Colleen C- South Africa