Stop pitting Tudor queens against each other and confront the real villain.

Two of the most famous women in Tudor history are still framed as enemies—but what if that story is fundamentally wrong?

In this History Rage festival special for the Katherine of Aragon Festival, castle historian and Assistant Curator of Hever Castle, Kate McCaffrey, dismantles the deeply entrenched myth that Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn were bitter rivals defined by loyalty versus seduction. Instead, this conversation reveals two strikingly similar women shaped by education, intelligence, faith, and survival in a brutally patriarchal court.

Kate draws on her original research into Anne Boleyn’s Books of Hours—including a remarkable discovery that both Anne and Katherine owned copies of the same edition—to expose moments of shared piety, cultural sophistication, and even reluctant solidarity. These sources challenge simplistic labels such as “Catholic martyr” and “Protestant temptress” and reveal how both queens were politically astute, internationally educated, and fiercely protective mothers to England’s first two queens regnant.

The episode explores how Henry VIII’s needs, insecurities, and ambition have long been obscured by narratives that pit women against each other. From Katherine’s prolonged legal resistance to Anne’s calm dignity in the face of a foregone conclusion, this is a reassessment of queenship, downfall, and legacy that puts responsibility firmly back where it belongs.

If you’re interested in Tudor history, women’s power, religious reform, or how historical myths are created and sustained, this episode offers a compelling, evidence-based rethink of one of the most enduring rivalries in popular history.

Festival Info:

The Katherine of Aragon Festival Talks are on January 31st and February 1st 2026 at Peterborough Cathedral:

Tickets are available at: https://peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/about/history/katharine-of-aragon/kofa_26/

Guest: Kate McCaffrey

Kate McCaffrey is Castle Historian and Assistant Curator at Hever Castle, co-creator of Owen & Kate History, and a PhD researcher specialising in Tudor material culture, religion, and queenship.

Follow & contact Kate

• Instagram: @kateemccaffreyhistorian
• Instagram: @owenandkatehistory
• Patreon: Owen & Kate History – monthly videos, articles, and behind-the-scenes curator research
• https://www.patreon.com/cw/OwenandKateHistory

More from History Rage

History Rage is the podcast where historians challenge myths, confront bad history, and rage against lazy narratives.

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Recommended listening

• Episode 182 – Anne Boleyn did not withhold sex to become Queen (Nicola Clark) - https://pod.fo/e/2aa892
• Episode 155 – In defence of Thomas Boleyn (Lauren Mackay) - https://pod.fo/e/2714d3

History isn’t a catfight.

It’s complicated, political, and far more interesting than the myths we inherit.

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The War of 1812 wasn’t sailors’ rights — it was empire.

Think you know why the War of 1812 started? Most people believe it was all about the Royal Navy “pressing” innocent American sailors. Historian Matt Taylor calls nonsense on that myth – and reveals how the real story is far darker, and far more explosive.

Paul Bavill is joined by Matt Taylor, author of Black Redcoats, to uncover the hidden narratives of the War of 1812. From the forgotten African Americans who fought for Britain to the political smokescreens that dragged America into war, Matt shatters the schoolbook version of this conflict.

Highlights include:

• The Real Cause of War – Forget sailors’ rights: the United States launched the war as an imperialist grab for territory, land, and dominance over Native Americans.
• Black Redcoats & the Colonial Marines – Enslaved African Americans who escaped to British lines were armed, uniformed, and helped tear apart America’s defenses. Their presence led directly to the collapse at Bladensburg and the burning of Washington.
• The Psychological Bombshell – Fear of slave uprisings paralysed militias, making the Chesapeake campaigns devastatingly effective.
• Aftermath & Legacy – From the unique “company villages” in Trinidad that still survive today, to the tragic destruction of Negro Fort in Florida, the legacy of the Black Redcoats still reverberates.
• The Human Story – Meet Fernando, enslaved, freed, re-enslaved by Andrew Jackson, and finally liberated – choosing to carry the name of the British officer who once commanded him.

This episode doesn’t just retell history – it rips apart comfortable myths and shows how race, freedom, and empire collided in ways that shaped nations. If you want history with bite, this is it.

📚 Connect with Matt Taylor

• Buy the book: Black Redcoats: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781399034012
• Follow Matt on Social Media: [@BlackRedcoats]

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Join us as we rage against the myths of the War of 1812 and rediscover the extraordinary African Americans who fought for freedom.

Stay angry

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Henry VIII: beloved monarch or mass-murdering tyrant we refuse to confront?

Why do we glorify a king who executed 1% of England and displaced over 10,000 people for his own power?

It’s time to dismantle everything you thought you knew about Henry VIII.

Historian and educator Jackson Van Uden joins History Rage to expose the real Tudor ruler: a man his own contemporaries labelled a tyrant, not the charming Christmas-bauble king of Hampton Court gift shops. Henry didn’t just kill wives — he destroyed lives, seized land, staged show trials, and crushed dissent with Stalin-level brutality.

We dig into:

• How The Act of Supremacy turned Henry into a Caesar-papist dictator
• The Dissolution of the Monasteries and the 0.4% of England suddenly made homeless
• 200 peaceful Protesters executed after the Pilgrimage of Grace for simply disagreeing with the King
• Tudor “big, sexy history” that distracts from a reign built on fear
• How education today still sanitises Henry for the sake of heritage and TV scandals

If pop culture has convinced you Henry was a misunderstood romantic, strap in — Jackson launches a rage that puts Henry in the same moral category as history’s worst dictators.

By the time we’re finished, those Holbein portraits will never look the same again.

Festival Info:

The Katherine of Aragon Festival Talks are on January 31st and February 1st 2026 at Peterborough Cathedral:

Tickets are available at: https://peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/about/history/katharine-of-aragon/kofa_26/

🎙 Guest: Jackson Van Uden

Historian • Teacher • Host of History With Jackson

Katherine of Aragon Festival contributor and organiser

Tickets for the festival via Peterborough Cathedral link in show notes

📌 Listen to History With Jackson wherever you get your podcasts

📱 Follow Jackson:

• Instagram & other socials: @historywithjackson
• X/Twitter: @HistoryWJackson

🙌 Support History Rage & Join the Fight Against Bad History

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🔗 Connect with History Rage

• Follow us everywhere @HistoryRage
• Rate & review on Apple Podcasts to help more people discover real history
• Join us live at the Katherine of Aragon Festival for our special recording with Owen Emerson and Alfred Hawkins at Peterborough Cathedral

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