Today I talked with author Nathen Amin about the Beaufort family.

When we look at the birth of the Tudor dynasty, it is often claimed that Henry Tudor had no right to the throne, or a very slim claim at the most. It's true that his wasn't the strongest of claims, however the stick of his ancestors illegitimacy that his dissenters like to beat him with was in fact removed in 1397 by Richard II and recognised in both canon and civil law.

When most people hear the name Beaufort, they automatically think of Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII's mother, and then jump straight back to her ancestor, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (third son of Edward III). But what about the generations in-between?

The Beauforts were wealthy, powerful, high achievers, and loyal to their kings. They did not succeed on name or family loyalty alone and they shaped the political line for generations. This discussion takes their story from Gaunt, up until we meet a young man you may have heard of - Owen Tudor. If you want to see the cat (quite correctly) put amongst the pigeons, wait until you get to 33.20!

I want to thank Nathen so much for this; it was so enjoyable and I hope to have him back another time.

Nathen runs The Henry Tudor Society and is the author of 'The House of Beaufort: The Bastard Line that Captured the Crown' and 'Tudor Wales'. His next book, 'Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck, and Warwick', will be released on 15th November 2020 and is available on pre-order from Amazon and the Book Depository.