£13.5 Million Christmas? Inside Henry VIII’s Royal Feast

2025-12-02

Welcome to Day 2 of my Tudor Christmas Advent series!Today, we’re stepping into the smoky, bustling, gloriously extravagant royal kitchens of Henry VIII to uncover the unforgettable dishes served at a Tudor Christmas feast.While Advent was a month of fasting and restraint, everything changed the moment Midnight Mass ended on Christmas Day. And nobody feasted with more splendour — or spent more money — than Henry VIII. His very first Christmas as king cost the modern equivalent of £13.5 million!Join me, historian and au...

Welcome to Day 2 of my Tudor Christmas Advent series!
Today, we’re stepping into the smoky, bustling, gloriously extravagant royal kitchens of Henry VIII to uncover the unforgettable dishes served at a Tudor Christmas feast.

While Advent was a month of fasting and restraint, everything changed the moment Midnight Mass ended on Christmas Day. And nobody feasted with more splendour — or spent more money — than Henry VIII. His very first Christmas as king cost the modern equivalent of £13.5 million!

Join me, historian and author Claire Ridgway, as we explore:

The dazzling meats on the king’s table
The terrifying Tudor showpiece: the “cockatrice”
The ceremonial boar’s head, carried in to trumpets, drums, and song
Sugary marvels like marchpane sculptures, leech, gilded fruits and sugar-plate creations
Tudor Christmas drinks — mulled wine, hippocras, Christmas ale, and lamb’s wool
The original Christmas pie, stuffed with layer upon layer of birds

We’ll also explore what ordinary Tudor families ate, why Christmas food symbolised power, and how feasting became a kind of royal performance.

Thank you for joining me for Day 2 of our journey toward Christmas!
Tomorrow, in Day 3, we’ll dive into Tudor gift-giving — when presents were exchanged and what a king or queen might receive.

If you’re enjoying this Advent series, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and ring the bell so you won’t miss the next podcast.