On the 1st of Janurary, 1604, Hampton Court Palace hosted a performance by William Shakespeare's acting troupe, The King's Men. They were booked to perform for the new King of England, James VI of Scotland, and one of the plays that they chose was 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.

What did it mean to be part of 'The King's Men'? How did Shakespeare's relationship with James VI and I shape his life and his plays?

In this episode, Curator Brett Dolman welcomes Dr Will Tosh to the Great Hall at Hampton Court, one of few surviving places where we can tread in Shakespeare's footsteps, to discuss the nature and impact of royal patronage on Jacobean theatre.

Read more about Shakespeare at Hampton Court Palace on our website.

Dive into the history of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with blogs from The Globe.

Buy Will Tosh's book 'Straight Acting: The Many Queer Lives of William Shakespeare' here.

Empress Matilda wielded an extraordinary amount of power during the period known as the Anarchy in the 12th century, yet she just missed out on being crowned the first queen regnant in England.

Originally chosen as heir for her abilities as a ruler, Matilda was determined to fight her cause when her throne was usurped by her cousin Stephen. But how was she viewed by contemporaries, and what is the legacy she left behind?

Join Curator Charles Farris, alongside Professors Louise Wilkinson and Elisabeth Van Houts, for an in depth look into how Matilda pushed the limits and possibilities of female power. Who was her counter-part – Queen Matilda, and how did these women conform to, or disrupt medieval expectations of Queenship?

Archaeology can offer us new discoveries into the Tower of London's medieval past, as well as insights into the lives of the community that lived and worked there. In 2019, and in the summer of 2025, we undertook one of the most important excavations at the Tower for a generation, just outside the Chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula.

Now for the first time ever, we have detailed information about the ordinary people who lived, worshipped, and died at the Tower, but what more can we learn from these excavations? To find out more, we join Alfred Hawkins, Curator of Historic Buildings.

Read about the recent archaeological digs at the Tower of London in our blog posts:

Life, death and worship in the Tower of London, Part I | Historic Royal Palaces

Life, death and worship in the Tower of London, Part II | Historic Royal Palaces