The year is 1533 and religious turmoil is sweeping through Europe. The Reformation is in full swing,

carving divides through countries along doctrinal lines.

Henry VIII has taken things a step further.

He has broken with the papacy,

choosing instead to reign a supreme head of the church in England.

His first wife, Catherine of Aragon, has been put aside,

unlawfully in the eyes of many, and Anne Berlin now sits in her place. Into this melting pot step two ambassadors and a young painter on the

rise. Across a period of months a Tudor masterpiece is created,

capturing this pivotal moment of religious and political upheaval.

But who were these ambassadors?

And what did they want this painting to communicate?

These are questions that have resonated down the centuries.

So, in today's episode on the Historic Royal Palaces podcast, we're stepping outside the palace walls.

I'm Tracy Borman, Chief Historian, and come with me to explore the painting known as the Ambassadors by Hans Holbein. I'm Well, my footsteps are echoing through the empty National Gallery.

What a thrill and a privilege to be here before it opens to the public

and to be standing in front of this colossus of a painting, Holbein's Ambassadors.

One of the most famous paintings, not just in the National Gallery, but in the world.

And it's very familiar to me. I've been spending a lot of time with this painting,

but quite rarely actually in the flesh and very rarely when nobody else is around.

So a huge thank you to the National Gallery for letting us record this in situ because I really do feel I'm in the presence of Holbein himself as well as these two

extraordinary men before me in the painting. And the first thing to say about this painting

is its sheer size. It dominates this room where it now hangs amidst many other beautiful works from the

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