Tracy Borman OBE
@TracyBorman
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Historian, author and Lincolnshire-lass-turned-Londoner. Chief Historian of HRP. Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln. All views my own
Joined August 2012
Love this: Henry VIII's wives if they'd never met him 😁
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I’m delighted to announce that I’ve been appointed Chief Historian for @HRP_palaces Looking forward to uncovering many more stories from the palaces’ incredible history 🏰
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This is a CAKE!!! It was created by the unbelievably talented @cake_emma I’m in complete AWE 🤩🤩🤩
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It was very poignant to see the red roses laid on Anne Boleyn’s memorial in the Tower chapel this morning. They have been delivered on the anniversary of her execution every year since the 1840s and to this day nobody knows who sends them @HRP_palaces @TowerOfLondon #anneboleyn
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It was the end of an era today as we bade a fond farewell to our amazing colleague @Lucy_Worsley in the only way that @HRP_palaces curators know how: with copious amounts of tea and cake 🍰 🫖
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The official photos have just arrived. These are absolutely the last, I promise! 🎖️#obe @RCT @RoyalFamily #windsorcastle
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Still pinching myself after the most incredible investiture day. Apologies in advance for the number of photos I’m going to be sharing this week! #obe #windsorcastle🏰 @RCT @RoyalFamily
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I am thrilled and honoured beyond words to have been awarded an OBE for services to heritage in HM The King’s Birthday Honours 2024
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Before…and after. That’s the last time I encroach on Poppy’s turf 😬@ravenmaster1 @HRP_palaces @TowerOfLondon
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Can’t stop gazing at the newly conserved painting of Anne of Cleves, my favourite of the six queens. It’s just exquisite 🤩🤩@museumLouvre #AnneofCleves
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I didn’t even want to blink during tonight’s premiere of the series I’ve been waiting 10 years for. Superb beyond words. You won’t want to miss it! 🤩🤩🤩#TheMirrorAndTheLight @BBCOne #ThomasCromwell #HenryVIII #Tudors
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Going through some letters in @britishlibrary and came across this. Definitely a shivers down the spine moment 🤩#ElizabethI #Tudors
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Every New Year, Elizabeth I would receive well over 1,000 gifts - and, unlike me, it wasn’t even her birthday 🎂Happy New Year everyone 🥳
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It’s a pinch-me moment to be giving a talk about Anne Boleyn and her daughter in the Great Hall at Hampton Court, which was decorated in her honour @HRP_palaces #QueensReadingRoomFestival
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Just an average Thursday evening, hanging out with @TomHolland1996 All for an incredible cause @Tbrotherstrust
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Today is one of the most important dates in history: the anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s execution. I took this photo on the last day of filming a new documentary all about it. Coming soon! @channel5_tv @HRP_PressOffice #anneboleyn
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Still pinching myself that I got to hold this incredible find at @britishmuseum earlier 🤩🤩🤩#henryviii #katherineofaragon #jewellery #Tudor #gold
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I am EXTREMELY excited to announce that my new series, The Fall of Anne Boleyn, will air on three consecutive nights from 24 November at 9pm on Channel 5 @channel5_tv @LionTelevision @HRP_PressOffice @H_forHistory @TheSohoAgencyUK @Society_Anne @AnneBoleynFiles
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Officially a career highlight: getting to try on Elizabeth’s crown @hevercastle (I promise @DrOwenEmmerson let me do this) 🤩🤩🤩👑👑👑
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STOP PRESS!! The mystery of the Princes in the Tower has been solved by my 8 year old, who revealed this morning: 'Richard III didn't kill his nephews. He probably just grounded them and forgot to let them out.' So there you have it @HRP_learning @HRP_palaces @TowerOfLondon.
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Don’t miss The Princes in the Tower: The New Evidence, tonight at 8pm on @Channel4 I hugely enjoyed showing the brilliant Rob Rinder where the mystery unfolded @TowerOfLondon @HRP_palaces @HRP_PressOffice
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Watching #themirrorandthelight being filmed at Hampton Court was one of the most extraordinary moments of my 16 years at @HRP_palaces I can’t believe it’s the last episode tonight 😢 #thomascromwell @BBCOne
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It was 9° in my office today. No wonder those Tudors liked an open fire 🥶🥶🥶
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Note to self: never leave your laptop unattended when your ten-year-old is in the room.
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I’ve been BURSTING to share this. @hevercastle has loaned us Anne Boleyn’s Book of Hours, which is now on display alongside her daughter’s prayer book in the Holy Day Closet at #HamptonCourt @HRP_palaces Huge thanks to @kateemccaffrey @DrOwenEmmerson & Revd Canon Anthony Howe
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Extremely honoured to have been installed as Chancellor of @BGULincoln in the awe-inspiring @LincsCathedral this afternoon @thelincolnite @visitlincoln
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Another city, another iconic queen. So thrilled to see the exquisitely restored portrait of Anne of Cleves 🤩👑@MuseeLouvre
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Thanks so much for all the lovely birthday wishes. And here’s proof that you’re never too old for a Colin the Caterpillar cake 🎂
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This was one of the most thrilling moments of my whole career.
A breakthrough in one of the most intriguing, historic who-dunnit cases by @HUD_DVC, discovered buried deep in a Register of Wills held at The National Archives. 📺 Princes in the Tower: A Damning Discovery, Tuesday 9pm .@TracyBorman @TowerOfLondon @HRP_palaces
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After a much-needed haircut, Cromwell now has a permanent look of surprise 🐶✂️
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I am extremely excited to announce the release of my new non-fiction book on 19 May (fittingly) 2023 @HodderBooks @TheSohoAgencyUK #anneboleyn #elizabethi #tudors
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I was utterly starstruck by the dazzling collection of treasures in this new exhibition. This is the Tudors as you’ve never seen them before 🤩@metmuseum
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It really is the most incredible discovery. I can’t believe it’s been hidden in plain sight all this time. Huge congratulations to the brilliant team at @hevercastle.
We’ve found the Book of Hours captured by Holbein in his famous portrait of #ThomasCromwell! Cromwell’s book is one of the few objects depicted in a Tudor portrait to survive. @TracyBorman has dubbed it “the most exciting Cromwell discovery in a generation - if not more.”
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Absolutely love this painting my 14 year old did for my birthday, featuring two of my favourite things: robins and @LincsCathedral 🤩🤩
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Don’t tell anyone but I’ve got to the Great Hall to myself 🤫@HRP_palaces #hamptoncourt #henryviii #Tudors
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Happy New Year! And Happy Half Century to me (with thanks to @tommyhashbrown for the brilliant card)
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Of all my happy memories at @HRP_palaces this has to be the most treasured: my daughter presenting the Duchess of Cambridge with some flowers at the opening of the #MagicGarden #HamptonCourt 5 years ago today
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I think this is what’s known as a ‘pinch me’ moment. Thank you so much @DrOwenEmmerson @kateemccaffrey @Alipalmer1979 for letting me get up close and personal with Cromwell’s newly-discovered book 🤩🤩🤩@hevercastle #ThomasCromwell
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It has taken me a while to visit the newly refurbished @NPGLondon but this portrait alone made it worth the wait #ElizabethI
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Proof that eating your sandwiches in full view of the ravens is a really bad idea @TowerOfLondon @HRP_palaces @ravenmaster1 🥪
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Disaster! I’ve just decorated my tree and one of the six wives has gone missing since last year…worse still, it’s #AnneBoleyn 😱👑
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Excellent piece about the discovery in today’s @thetimes @channel5_tv @LionTelevision @HRP_palaces @TowerOfLondon @Jason__Watkins
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Arrived at #HamptonCourt to find this lovely surprise, courtesy of my colleague (and fellow OBE) @Lucy_Worsley I suppose I should share it with the team…🍰 @HRP_palaces
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It’s not quite @frickcollection but thanks to a wonderful birthday present I now have a More to go with my Cromwell 😍
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Calling all Tudor fans! I was the historical adviser and an on screen contributor for this utterly addictive new @netflix series, beginning 23 Nov. This is Anne Boleyn as you’ve never seen her before… @TheSohoAgencyUK @DrOwenEmmerson #anneboleyn #henryviii #tudors
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I can’t tell you what a complete honour and joy it is that you created this for me. To see myself as a Tudor is just incredible and such an inspiration. I’ll never be able to thank you enough. Master Holbein himself would have been proud 🙏🤩.
Celebrating The Royal Collection Trust's exhibit, "Holbein at the Tudor Court" at Buckingham Palace. See the short where I re-work my portrrait of Tracy Borman & full interview with the time lapse drawing on my YT Channel "Holbein & History.” Next episode out this month !
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An unforgettable evening on board @britanniayacht to round off a truly wonderful Scottish tour. Thank you so much @AlisonWeirBooks for having me (and @NicolaTallis for the photo!) 🏴
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A fresh snowfall overnight has transformed Central Park into a winter wonderland ❄️
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I had a long list of things to do before Christmas. Breaking my wrist wasn’t one of them ☹️
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I’m beyond thrilled to announce that this Weds 19 March, a new documentary based on my book Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I will air on @channel5_tv at 9pm UK time @LionTelevision @HRP_palaces @britishlibrary @RMGreenwich @wabbey
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Felt very on brand when paying homage to this iconic portrait at @RMGreenwich yesterday 👜🤩👑#ElizabethI #Armada
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I’m in St Thomas’s Tower (aka Traitors’ Gate)…alone…at night…and not at all scared 😱 @TowerOfLondon @HRP_palaces @LionTelevision
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The proofs have arrived, just in time for Christmas!🤩🎄Thank you so much @HodderBooks @morleyalice #anneboleyn #elizabethi @TheSohoAgencyUK
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I am now the proud owner of a Tudor shoe sole!!! 🤩🤩🤩Found at Greenwich by the wonderful @LondonMudlark Thank you SO much Lara. I can’t stop looking at it 🙏🙏🙏
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The incredibly talented young historian and, surely, future @BritishBakeOff winner @Aaliyahmozzey created this stunning showstopper of a cake, inspired by my book on #AnneBoleyn and #ElizabethI I am in absolute awe 🤩🤩🤩
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Our strict standards of authenticity at @TowerOfLondon even apply to delivery vans @HRP_PressOffice @HRP_palaces @HodderBooks #TowerofLondon #AnneBoleyn
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When your day starts with seeing a newly discovered Elizabethan treasure, you know the bar has been raised pretty high 🤩🤩🤩 @britishmuseum @findsorguk @HRP_palaces
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Henry’s place is looking particularly splendid in the sunshine today 🌞 @HRP_palaces #hamptoncourt
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Hugely privileged to be invited by St John Baptist, Cirencester, to get up close and personal with their exquisite Anne Boleyn cup today #anneboleyn #elizabethi @CirencesterVIC
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(2/2)….Seeing the bag which Sir Walter Raleigh’s grief-stricken widow carried his head around in for years after his execution 🪓😱 @WHorsleyPlace @gfordbookfest
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It's been so difficult keeping this under my hat! It promises to be an explosive evening 🧨🧨🧨.
The Gunpowder Plot: Countdown to Treason is Wednesday 1st November at 9pm on @channel5_tv with @xandvt and @TracyBorman, join them as they uncover the real story.
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The sun is out and so is my new book! 🎉🎉🎉 @HodderBooks @HampCourtPal @HRP_palaces @TheSohoAgencyUK @BeccaCMundy #anneboleyn #eliizabethi
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As of today, in honour of the 500th anniversary of Anne Boleyn's first appearance at court, this incredible discovery will go on display at the Great Hall at Hampton Court, where it was likely made for @HRP_palaces #AnneBoleyn
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I took some time off to write but have ended up sick in bed for most of it. Having this lovely girl for company helps, though 🤧🐱
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This just popped up in my memories. Nice to be back at @TowerOfLondon 10 years to the day since I helped plant a few of these… @HRP_palaces
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Thank you so much!.
A big congratulations to Historic Royal Palaces' Chief Historian, @TracyBorman, who has been awarded an OBE for services to heritage in the King's Birthday Honours 🎉
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She’s back! She had been put in the wrong box (no pun intended). I’ve gone all out this year and bought her pendant decoration too, courtesy of @HRP_Shop 🤩
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Doing a spot of filming about #anneboleyn in the Great Hall. When choosing what to wear, I had a line from @sixthemusical going round my head: ‘My sleeves may be green but my lipstick’s red’ @HRP_palaces #hamptoncourt
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Just finished an afternoon’s filming at @TowerOfLondon wearing a jumper, jeans and boots for continuity. Fittingly, the subject was torture 🥵🥵🥵@HRP_PressOffice @Thefry @LionTelevision
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First day of writing the new book, which means that by the end of it: 1. My house will be spotlessly clean 2. My laundry bin will be empty 3. My paperclips will be neatly arranged in rainbow order @HodderBooks @HodderFiction @TheSohoAgencyUK.
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So, I have two days to read through the proofs of the new book and this happens…😼 @HodderBooks #CatsOnTwitter
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Hampton Court is looking particularly glorious at the moment, thanks to the annual Tulip Festival 🌷 😍@HRP_palaces
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I loved contributing to this fabulous new @HRP_palaces book, which rightly gives centre stage to the six queens, not that dodgy bloke they married 👑👑👑👑👑👑 Get your copy now via @HRP_Shop #sixqueens #henryviii
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OK, OK, if you will look so damned stunning in the morning sunshine, I have no choice but to take your photo @TowerOfLondon @HRP_palaces
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It was honestly one of the greatest thrills of my life to see myself as a Tudor. I will never be able to thank the brilliantly talented Rebecca Monet enough.
Rebecca Monet talks with Historian Tracy Borman on “History & Holbein,” an exploration of Holbein’s work coupled with interviews - while Rebecca draws a Holbein-like portrait of her guests, @bnecklacegirl @TracyBorman #Tudors #Art
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#OTD 1603 Elizabeth I died at Richmond, her favourite palace, surrounded by her Boleyn relatives. Her magnificent tomb in @wabbey bears a tiny carved falcon, her mother’s emblem. To the very end, she had honoured Anne Boleyn’s memory @HodderBooks
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Today my book baby ‘Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History’ is released into the world & I can’t wait for all of you to read it! 📖. Celebrate my publication day with me at @thestablesmk where I will be performing tonight. �️
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All six queens visited Hampton Court today, ahead of their special performances there next month. Officially the most fun I’ve EVER had! 👑 👑👑🤩🤩🤩@sixthemusical @HRP_palaces @HRP_PressOffice #sixthemusical
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Exciting news! The new series of Hampton Court: Behind Closed Doors begins tomorrow (18 June) at 8pm BST 🤩🤩🤩@channel5_tv @HRP_palaces @HRP_PressOffice @My5_tv @LionTelevision
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Huge congratulations to the incomparable @AlisonWeirBooks on being awarded an honorary doctorate by @BGULincoln today. So richly deserved @LincsCathedral
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I felt very privileged to plant one of the poppies for the new Tower Remembers installation, part of the events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe @HRP_palaces #worldwar2
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I have been dying to shout about this!!! Beyond excited to have such a treasure on display at Hampton Court 🤩🤩🤩💍💍💍.
🐂 A Boleyn family ring is going on display! 💍 Engraved with a bull's head, this ring is thought to have belonged to Anne Boleyn's family. The bull was likely chosen as a visual pun on the family name which was often spelt 'Bull-en'.
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During today’s filming I was misidentified as @Lucy_Worsley three times and congratulated on my excellent programmes (I didn’t correct them, obvs) @HRP_PressOffice @Thefry
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Calling all history fans! A brilliant new series about some badass queens starts tonight on @Channel4 There could only be one woman to launch with. It was an unforgettable experience to stand on the spot where she delivered her most famous speech 👑 🤩#ElizabethI @woodcutmedia
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