Tudor life

The Tudor era lasted from 1485 – when Henry VII defeated the Yorkist king Richard III at the battle of Bosworth – until the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. So what was life like during Tudor times?

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Depiction of a musician and dancing fool in Paris, 14th century

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Queen Elizabeth I dancing with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Artist unknown. (© Lebrecht Music and Arts Photo Library/Alamy)

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Portrait of an African man, c1530

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Portrait of Catherine of Aragon

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An illustration of King Richard speaking to James Tyrrell in William Shakespeare's 'The Tragedy of King Richard the Third

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English admiral Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596), circa 1585. (Photo by Getty Images)

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Sam Willis and James Daybell. (Photo by David Hampton, Tudor rose by Alamy)

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A portrait of Thomas Cromwell

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Nicola Tallis photographed by David Hampton in October 2019

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A depiction of the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (10 September 1547), the last formal battle between England and Scotland. (Photo by Print Collector/Getty Images)

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Hever Castle, Anne Boleyn's childhood home in Kent. (Photo by Prisma Bildagentur/UIG via Getty Images)

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English countrywoman (right) with a lady of the court. From ‘Civitates Orbis Terrarum’, 1572. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

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