Historic Royal Palaces launches national campaign to Teach the Six Queens Differently

Historic Royal Palaces today launches Teach the Six Queens Differently, a major new national campaign inviting schools, teachers and the public to look beyond the familiar story of the six wives of Henry VIII and discover the women behind the rhyme.

For generations, millions of school children have learnt the names of Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Katherine Parr through a single memorable refrain: “Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived.” But while the rhyme may help us remember what happened to them, it tells us remarkably little about who they were.

Historic Royal Palaces believes it is time to tell their stories differently. Teach the Six Queens Differently is a national campaign to support teachers in bringing greater depth, humanity and complexity to the teaching of Tudor history — and to shift the way we all think about six women too often remembered simply as the wives of Henry VIII.

Drawing on decades of historical research and expertise, Historic Royal Palaces is launching a new programme of completely free, curriculum-linked learning resources – encompassing practical teaching packs, quizzes, and palace trails - plus new subsidised school sessions, and teacher development opportunities. The campaign will help educators explore the queens as individuals: women with their own ambitions, beliefs, talents, relationships and experiences, who played important roles in one of the most turbulent periods of English history.

Championed by Historic Royal Palaces’ Chief Historian Tracy Borman, the campaign has been created by HRP’s Schools Team with inspiration and support from SIX the Musical, the cultural phenomenon that has helped bring fresh attention to the individual stories of these six Tudor Queens.

At the heart of the campaign is a simple idea: there is more to the story of the six queens than how their marriages ended.

Pupils will be encouraged to explore:

• Katherine of Aragon as a diplomat, regent and military leader who played a significant role in governing England during Henry VIII’s absences.

• Anne Boleyn as an intelligent and sophisticated figure whose presence at the heart of the Tudor court helped shape the course of the English Reformation.

• Jane Seymour as an artful political operator whose mysterious life at court continues to raise questions about her character, influence and beliefs.

• Anne of Cleves as a shrewd, independent royal survivor who negotiated her way through an extraordinary reversal of fortune.

• Catherine Howard as a young woman navigating the pressures, vulnerabilities and dangers of one of Europe’s most powerful courts.

• Katherine Parr as a scholar, writer and religious thinker whose intellectual influence extended well beyond her marriage to the King.

The campaign also encourages a broader understanding of the lives of women in Tudor England. By moving beyond stories centred on beauty, scandal, tragedy and marriage, it encourages young people to look at familiar historical stories from different perspectives and ask new questions about the past.

Tracy Borman, Chief Historian at Historic Royal Palaces, said: “For too long, the stories of the six queens have been overshadowed by the man they married and by the way their lives ended. The familiar rhyme is memorable, but it reduces six extraordinary women to six outcomes. These were women who exercised influence, shaped events and navigated extraordinary challenges in one of the most powerful courts in Europe. They were regents, diplomats, patrons, writers, scholars and reformers — and each had a story that was uniquely her own.

“This campaign isn’t about rewriting history. It’s about enriching it. Henry VIII and his reign remain central to understanding the Tudor period, but there is so much more to discover by looking at the lives of the six women who stood alongside him. By looking beyond the rhyme and exploring the queens’ ambitions, beliefs, achievements and experiences, we can give young people a much richer understanding of Tudor England — and of the women who helped shape it.”

Lucie Parkes, Deputy Head of Schools at Historic Royal Palaces, said: “The six queens offer a brilliant opportunity to explore the Tudor period from a range of different perspectives. Their lives allow pupils to investigate power, politics, religion, resilience and the experiences of women in the past — while developing the curiosity and critical thinking skills that make history so rewarding.

“Teachers do an extraordinary job of bringing the past to life, often with limited time and resources. We want Teach the Six Queens Differently to give them practical, high-quality tools that they can use straight away, while opening up new ways for pupils to engage with the Tudor period. This campaign is all about putting the queens back at the centre of their own stories, and helping the next generation see them not simply as six wives, but as six remarkable women with much to teach us about a defining period in our national story.”

Supporting teachers nationwide

Teach the Six Queens Differently places practical support for educators at the centre of the campaign. Teachers will have access to a growing programme of free resources and subsidised experiences, including:

• Teacher packs and classroom guidance

• Fact sheets and biographies

• New KS2 and KS3 learning sessions at Hampton Court Palace.

• Downloadable palace trails for the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace.

• Curriculum-linked behind-the-scenes videos filmed at Hampton Court Palace with former cast members from SIX the Musical (2025-26 West End Cast) and HRP Chief Historian Tracy Borman, including watch-along guides

• Historical source banks

• Quizzes and knowledge boosters

• A 5-day Six Queens Week for Schools at Hampton Court Palace in July 2027.

• Resources exploring Catalina of Motril and diversity in Tudor England

• Continuing Professional Development opportunities for teachers

Created by Historic Royal Palaces’ historians and education specialists, the resources are designed to support teacher confidence while making Tudor history rigorous, engaging and accessible to learners with different needs and levels of knowledge.

The six queens lived, worked, worshipped and made history in the palaces now cared for by Historic Royal Palaces. From Hampton Court Palace, where Henry VIII’s court was at its most spectacular, to the Tower of London, where Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard met their tragic ends, the charity’s historic sites are deeply connected to these women’s lives. These palaces offer a unique opportunity to move beyond the textbook and encounter the Tudor world in the spaces where its history unfolded.

Teach the Six Queens Differently forms part of Historic Royal Palaces’ wider mission to help everyone explore the stories, people and events that have shaped society. By supporting teachers and encouraging young people to look again at familiar stories, the campaign aims to make history more engaging, relevant and meaningful — and to ensure that the six queens are remembered not simply for whom they married, but for who they were.