What's so interesting about this particular historical period and its characters? Royal Bastards: The Rise of the Tudors consultant historian Lauren Johnson talks us through it. Royal Bastards: The Rise of the Tudors is a three-part TV docu-drama series for Sky HISTORY which transports us back to a tumultuous, violent time of civil wars, usurped kings, intrigues and plots. The series presents the story of the Wars of the Roses and the origins of the Tudor dynasty through a unique lens – the women who shaped the course of English history.