Volume 41 Issue 6 June 1991

The king on the move - Simon Thurley discusses the style and range of palaces and great houses Henry VIII had available to house him and his peripatetic court.

The early Renaissance royal palace on the Thames

Janet Backhouse quarries the contents of Henry's manuscript library and discusses what they tell us of his taste, interests and the attempts of others to curry favour.

Top gun? Alexander McKee assesses Henry VIII's prowess as a commander by land and sea in the light of his 1545 campaigns against the French.

Business with pleasure - Steven Gunn shows how the spectacle of the joust oiled the wheels of service and diplomacy as well as building up the court's image, not just for Henry VIII but for his dynasty-founding father as well.

Henry VIII spent astronomical amounts on military fortifications from the Scottish border to the South Coast of England. Marcus Merriman discusses the locations and architecture of these fortifications.

William Sessions on the connections of the charismatic courtier-poet who in a short and ill-fated life bridged the aristocratic Renaissance cultures of the Continent and the lifestyle of Henry VIII's court.

Maria Dowling considers the contribution of Henry VIII's queens in promoting new learning and religion at the Tudor court.

David Starkey provides an introduction to the remarkable ruler and places his achievements in a European context.