Book review: The Private Lives Of The Tudors

THE glittering, jewel-encrusted private world of Britain’s five Tudor monarchs returns gloriously in these pages.

Tracy Borman, author of an acclaimed biography of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s right-hand man, has done it again and produced a well-researched and highly readable social history.

The Tudor rulers were Henry VII, Henry VIII, Mary Tudor, Edward VI and Elizabeth I.

They ruled, in succession, from 1485 to 1603 and gained awe and respect, at home and abroad, through the opulence and blazing theatricality of their palaces, and, above all, their clothes.

Henry and his daughter, Elizabeth I, were the most flamboyant.

When Elizabeth died in 1603, her massive wardrobe included 1,900 amazing dresses, none of which survives today.

Borman produces much fascinating personal detail about everyday life in the royal palaces.

The Private Lives Of The Tudors

Tracy Borman

Hodder and Stoughton, £25; ebook, £16.99