The Mary Rose Trust is launching a new history festival that will bring together some of the leading experts on Tudor England to explore the lives of Henry VIII’s six queens while raising funds for the preservation of one of the world’s most famous shipwrecks.
Titled Six Queens, One King and His Ship, the two-day event will take place in Portsmouth on July 18–19, 2026. The dates coincide with the 481st anniversary of the sinking of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s flagship, which was lost during the Battle of the Solent in 1545.
The festival will focus on the women who shaped Henry VIII’s reign, with a day of lectures and discussions held at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard on July 18. Six prominent Tudor historians will each examine the life and legacy of one of Henry’s queens:
Dr Charlotte Bolland of the National Portrait Gallery on Katherine of Aragon
Dr Estelle Paranque on Anne Boleyn
Dr Elizabeth Norton on Jane Seymour
Dr Owen Emmerson on Anne of Cleves
Gareth Russell on Katherine Howard
Dr Linda Porter on Kateryn Parr
The event will be chaired by historian and broadcaster Professor Suzannah Lipscomb, a trustee of the Mary Rose Trust. She noted the close connection between the ship and Henry’s marriages, explaining that the Mary Rose was commissioned when Henry was a young king and remained in service until the final years of his reign.
Suzannah Lipscomb is chairing the event
“The Mary Rose was Henry VIII’s beloved warship, commissioned when he was a young man to celebrate his joint coronation with Katherine of Aragon, and sailing until the twilight years of his reign and marriage to his final wife, Kateryn Parr,” Lipscomb said. “The ship was witness to each of his six queens, and their story is bound up with the story of The Mary Rose.”
The second day of the festival will commemorate the loss of the ship and its crew. Activities include a Service of Remembrance at Portsmouth Cathedral, where the remains of a Mary Rose sailor were reinterred in 1984, followed by a boat trip to the wreck site in the Solent.
Dominic Jones, Chief Executive Officer of the Mary Rose Trust, emphasized the importance of the event for supporting the organisation’s ongoing work. “The event is a first for the Mary Rose and will help raise much needed funds to continue the vital conservation, research and educational work of the Trust,” Jones said. “It’s such an exciting chance to be part of our story and a unique opportunity to learn about the six Queens who helped shape the world we live in today. I hope many more people will want to come along and join us for this special weekend.”
The Mary Rose Trust receives no government funding and relies on admissions, donations, and special events to support its activities. Ticket prices range from £250 to £1,000 for in-person attendance, while a £60 livestream option will allow audiences around the world to watch the lectures online.
Rediscovered in 1971 and raised from the seabed in 1982, the Mary Rose remains one of the most significant maritime archaeological discoveries ever made. Today, the ship and its thousands of recovered artefacts are housed in the Mary Rose Museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, offering visitors an unparalleled glimpse into life aboard a Tudor warship.
The Mary Rose Trust is launching a new history festival that will bring together some of the leading experts on Tudor England to explore the lives of Henry VIII’s six queens while raising funds for the preservation of one of the world’s most famous shipwrecks.
Titled Six Queens, One King and His Ship, the two-day event will take place in Portsmouth on July 18–19, 2026. The dates coincide with the 481st anniversary of the sinking of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s flagship, which was lost during the Battle of the Solent in 1545.
The festival will focus on the women who shaped Henry VIII’s reign, with a day of lectures and discussions held at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard on July 18. Six prominent Tudor historians will each examine the life and legacy of one of Henry’s queens:
The event will be chaired by historian and broadcaster Professor Suzannah Lipscomb, a trustee of the Mary Rose Trust. She noted the close connection between the ship and Henry’s marriages, explaining that the Mary Rose was commissioned when Henry was a young king and remained in service until the final years of his reign.
“The Mary Rose was Henry VIII’s beloved warship, commissioned when he was a young man to celebrate his joint coronation with Katherine of Aragon, and sailing until the twilight years of his reign and marriage to his final wife, Kateryn Parr,” Lipscomb said. “The ship was witness to each of his six queens, and their story is bound up with the story of The Mary Rose.”
The second day of the festival will commemorate the loss of the ship and its crew. Activities include a Service of Remembrance at Portsmouth Cathedral, where the remains of a Mary Rose sailor were reinterred in 1984, followed by a boat trip to the wreck site in the Solent.
Dominic Jones, Chief Executive Officer of the Mary Rose Trust, emphasized the importance of the event for supporting the organisation’s ongoing work. “The event is a first for the Mary Rose and will help raise much needed funds to continue the vital conservation, research and educational work of the Trust,” Jones said. “It’s such an exciting chance to be part of our story and a unique opportunity to learn about the six Queens who helped shape the world we live in today. I hope many more people will want to come along and join us for this special weekend.”
The Mary Rose Trust receives no government funding and relies on admissions, donations, and special events to support its activities. Ticket prices range from £250 to £1,000 for in-person attendance, while a £60 livestream option will allow audiences around the world to watch the lectures online.
Rediscovered in 1971 and raised from the seabed in 1982, the Mary Rose remains one of the most significant maritime archaeological discoveries ever made. Today, the ship and its thousands of recovered artefacts are housed in the Mary Rose Museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, offering visitors an unparalleled glimpse into life aboard a Tudor warship.
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