Tudors on YouTube

This excellent collection of videos can now be found on YouTube (apologies that they can't be viewed at school). It includes a mixture of extracts from films and TV dramas on Tudor subjects, and documentaries on particular events and individuals, such as David Starkey's comments on Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth's relationship with the Duke of Anjou. Also recommended is this brief discussion of Lady Jane Grey by John Guy, looking in particular at how she has been portrayed in paintings. The infamous "Bloody Mary" video is now also on YouTube, and can be seen above - watch out for David Loades' impressively louche performance.

Historians object to AV

Last week a group of historians wrote a letter to the Times raising their objections to the Alternative Vote, which will be considered in a referendum on 5 May. Amongst them are David Starkey, Niall Ferguson, Anthony Beevor, John Guy, Alison Weir and Chris Skidmore (the last two of whom have visited Nonsuch in the last few years). Their objection is that throughout British history people have struggled to gain the right to suffrage and establish the principle of one vote for each man or woman. They believe that AV weakens the equality of everyone's vote and leads to (In the words of Winston Churchill) "the most worthless votes given for the most worthless candidates". You can see the full text of the letter here.

Here is Chris Skidmore's longer explanation, and here is an alternative point of view. Hopi Sen's blog post also objects, and includes the interesting fact that until 1950, several Westminster seats were given to universities, where graduates of them were able to vote for a second time, using the single transferable vote system.

What's your opinion of AV? Please let us know.

PS: If you would like to see how the Daily Mail's reaction, click here.

Starkey on Royal Portraits

Channel 4 showed an excellent programme last night called "The Genius of British Art". It was presented by David Starkey and focused on royal portraiture, using Hans Holbein's images of the Tudors as its starting point to examine the way portraits have been used to convey power and other messages about the monarch to their viewers. The first 20 minutes are particularly worth watching, with some excellent analysis of portraits of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. You also get to see Starkey doing an impression of his old university tutor, the famously grumpy Geoffrey Elton.

Starkey on Brown

Here's David Starkey on Wednesday's Question Time discussing whether politicians should keep details of their health private. Check out how Ben Bradshaw struggles to maintain his composure despite getting increasingly irritated and how Starkey manages to compare Brown to both Chairman Mao and Henry VIII.

PS: The Adam Boulton clip showing Brown grimacing and getting up to leave while his microphone is still attached is here.

David Starkey on MP3

Here is a podcast of David Starkey speaking on the events of 1605 (The Gunpowder Plot) for Cambridge University. It would appear that both Oxford and Cambridge have been busy creating mp3s from some of their most eminent academics, so if you spot any other good ones, please let us know.

PS: Here's a list of interesting historical podcasts, including this one on codebreaking by the official historian of MI5