From Holbein's portraits to Broadway musical costumes: an iconographic look at the legacy of six remarkable queens

The queen consorts of Henry VIII have come to be encapsulated in a succinct six-word rhyme: Divorced, beheaded, died / Divorced, beheaded, survived. But what were their real stories and legacies? Six Lives reveals the extraordinary worlds of Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr. This publication focuses on the material traces of these women and the court culture that shaped their lives, extensively illustrated with their letters, heraldic devices, love tokens and, of course, their portraits.
The book begins with an examination of the women as cultural phenomena, from Shakespeare's Henry VIII to the musical Six, and the role that portraiture has played in these retellings. An overview examines the queens' self-presentation through portraiture before individual chapters consider each of their relationships with the king, their social networks and their patronage. Thematic pieces take a closer look at a particular element of court culture, ranging from music and jewelry to pageantry and heraldry.

On the Tudors and their legacy, from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I

This illustrated volume shows how the Tudor monarchs of Britain engaged with the internationalism of court culture; the tumultuous years of the Reformation; and the emergence of the transatlantic slave trade and English colonialism.
Taking a thematic and biographical approach, the book features some of the most famous royal and court figures from the 16th century, from Henry VIII and Catherine de' Medici to Elizabeth I and Walter Ralegh.
Artworks are arranged into the themes of court culture, religion, queenship, conflict, empire, piracy and trade, and translation. The book features texts from a range of voices exploring the historical contexts of the works, new research on the topics and biographical sketches of key individuals whose role in Tudor history has often been overlooked, such as the trumpeter John Blanke.

The Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London, is renowned for its portraits from the Tudor and Jacobean eras. This book presents portraits of key individuals from this period, from the monarchs and members of the ruling elite to the writers, artists and artisans that characterized the literary and artistic flourishing of the 16th and 17th centuries. Each portrait is accompanied by an exploration of how the portraits were created and their contribution to our understanding of this fascinating period. Among the painters featured are Hans Holbein the Younger, Hans Eworth, John de Critz the Elder, Robert Peake the Elder, Anthonis Mor, George Gower, Renold Elstrack, Simon de Passe, William Larkin, Rowland Lockey, Paul van Somer, Daniel Mytens, Master John, Gerlach Flicke and Nicholas Hilliard.

An introductory essay provides important historical context, and the 90 works selected from the collections of the National Portrait Gallery and National Trust are accompanied by extended captions exploring the sitter and artist's significance to the period and technical information about the portrait. The publication features sections on Tudor monarchs, the Stuarts, courtiers, the family in portraiture and iconography.