Holbein and the Year That Changed Tudor England Tracy Borman
Event details
The year 1533 changed everything for Henry VIII and his kingdom. By the end of it, England had a new queen, Anne Boleyn, a new church and a new royal heir, the future Elizabeth I.
This turbulent year was captured forever by Hans Holbein, the most famous court painter of the age. The Ambassadors, which is seen by millions of visitors to the National Gallery each year, is full of secret meanings and symbols that have remained hidden for 500 years.
Based on her new book, Holbein: Ambassadors, Tracy Borman’s illustrated talk will unlock the mysteries of this painting and reveal the secrets that it tells us about the Tudor court.
Book sales
You can buy copies of many of our speakers’ books from Fox Lane Books, a local independent bookseller and Festival partner. In some cases, author signed bookplates are available too.
About the speaker
Professor Tracy Borman OBE studied and taught history at the University of Hull and was awarded a PhD in 1997. She went on to a successful career in heritage and has worked for a range of historic properties and national heritage organisations, including the Heritage Lottery Fund, The National Archives and English Heritage. She is now Chief Executive of the Heritage Education Trust, a charity that encourages children to visit and learn from historic properties through the Sandford Award scheme. She is also Chief Historian at Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that manages Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, the Banqueting House, Whitehall and Hillsborough Castle. She often appears on television and radio, and is a regular contributor to history magazines, notably BBC History. Tracy is the author of a number of highly acclaimed books, both fiction and non-fiction, including Holbein: The Ambassadors, Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History, and Thomas Cromwell: The Hidden Story of Henry VIII’s Most Faithful Servant. In 2024, she was awarded an OBE for services to heritage in the King’s Birthday Honours.
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