Did the Tudors DO April Fools?

It's April 1st, and I'm not going to trick you. Instead, let's ask a genuine question: did the Tudors even DO April Fools' Day? The answer is no, not really. But what they did instead is so much more interesting. We dig into the murky origins of April Fools' Day (the most popular origin story is probably itself a myth, which is perfect), the Tudor tradition of licensed misrule, and the story of Will Sommers, Henry VIII's court jester, the only person in England allowed to call the king "Harry" to his face and tell him he was being robbed by his own advisors. He also occasionally had to flee the palace for his own safety. It was a complicated job. No tricks. Just Tudor history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can listen to Did the Tudors DO April Fools? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Did the Tudors DO April Fools? is an episode from Renaissance English History Podcast: A Show About the Tudors by Heather Teysko.

This episode is 11:29 long.

This episode was published on Apr 1, 2026.

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