On Friday 11th October, Alnwick Castle welcomes historian and broadcaster Nicola Tallis to speak about her new book. Young Elizabeth is the story of the early years of Queen Elizabeth I, and is a fascinating, comprehensive biography of this part of Elizabeth's life - from the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn to her becoming the last Tudor monarch.

We were lucky enough to be joined on the podcast by Nicola Tallis to tell us about the process of writing the book, her thoughts on the relationship (or not) between Anne Boleyn and Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, Elizabeth's complicated relationship with her final stepmother Katheryn Parr, and much more.

You can hear Nicola speak in person about Young Elizabeth at Alnwick Castle this autumn. Please go to alnwickcastle.com or visit our page on Eventbrite to get your tickets now!

Young Elizabeth is available in hardback now in all good bookshops. Or, you can pick up a copy when you attend our evening with Nicola Tallis!

For more, follow Nicola on Twitter at @nicolatallis or on Instagram @historiannicola. We'd also be very happy if you followed us @alnwickcastle and @alnwickcastleofficial - and of course, if you subscribed to the podcast!

We return to the Wars of the Roses for the latest episode of the Alnwick Castle Podcast, for an exclusive audio tour of the new exhibition inspired by Lions of the Red Rose, the story of the Percy family and their involvement in the Wars.

We were lucky enough to be shown around every part of the exhibition by Alnwick Castle Archivist Chris Hunwick, who explains the stories behind the documents on display - who they belonged to, what they mean, and how they have survived to the present day. You will hear about seals, coins, 15th century fingerprints ... and a rat named Cedric.

This episode gives you a level of access to Lions of the Red Rose you won't get anywhere else. We are very grateful to Chris for his time and his incredible knowledge, and hope you enjoy it to - whether you have visited the exhibition already or not!

If you plan to visit, the exhibition is found within the State Rooms of Alnwick Castle. Lions of the Red Rose, the new book by the 12th Duke of Northumberland, is available from the Castle gift shops.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more from Chris, head back into our podcast archive for episode 12, about the Alnwick Castle Model, or episode 37, about the Crowns and Coronets exhibition created in 2023.

When master medieval archer Andy Rice was last on the Alnwick Castle podcast, we were introduced to some of the principles and the importance of archery in the Middle Ages. For our latest episode, Andy returned for a live interview in Artisans Courtyard - with a live audience listening in!

You will hear Andy explain how the bow and its arrows were made. Continuing our 2024 theme of the Wars of the Roses, he describes how archery made a difference (or didn't) in battles like Towton in 1461. And then we get a little bit gory with the story of the arrows during the Battle of Shrewsbury - one that was fatal for Alnwick Castle's own Harry Hotspur, and one that Prince Hal, the future Henry V, survived.

C/W: This last section of the episode (16:42-28:08) contains references to medieval surgery and may not be for the queasy or faint-hearted!

This was a live episode recording in Artisans Courtyard, so you will also hear various background noises as Andy speaks.

See Andy demonstrate the medieval longbow in person at Alnwick Castle this July and August. Check our website for all the dates and details.

Finally, if you missed Andy's first podcast about archery, head into our podcast archive where you will find it and every other episode of the Alnwick Castle podcast!