John Blanke: A Tudor Trumpeter Who Asked for a Raise! | KS1 History

🎺 Travel back to Tudor England with your Key Stage One students to discover the story of John Blanke, a skilled Black musician in the royal court. Find out how he impressed Henry VII and Henry VIII—and what happened when he boldly asked the king for a pay rise!

🔎Our KS1 history resources help young learners explore significant individuals, using primary sources as evidence to understand how we know about these people today.

📚 Find classroom tasks for students and knowledge boosters for teachers with Historic Royal Palaces: https://www.hrp.org.uk/schools/signif...

📌 In this video:
00:00 John Blanke key facts
00:56 Life in the Tudor period
02:20 Did people play any other instruments?
03:07 Were there any other Black people in Tudor court?
03:27 How do we know about John Blanke today?
03:55 Mystery object
04:19 How can we remember John Blanke today?

Produced by Three Arrows Media
Performers supplied by History Riot

📸Images
College of Arms MS Westminster Tournament Roll, 1511, membrane 28. Reproduced by permission of the Kings, Heralds and Pursuivants of Arms.

Henry VIII (1491-1547) © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust

Cato © British Library Collection Add. 27579, f.87

Psalter of Henry VIII © British Library Collection Royal 2 A. XVI, f.98v

Black trumpeter John Blanke's wage slip © The National Archives

Petition by John Blanke to Henry VIII for a wage increase © The National Archives

All other images © Historic Royal Palaces