Alistair Hardaker | Images: Wordless Story 'Elizabeth Tudor' from Historic Royal Palaces (Illustrated by Charlotte Firmin)
Historic Royal Palaces develops UK’s first fully illustrated wordless stories about British history, co-created with SEND schools to support learners.
Historic Royal Palaces develops UK’s first fully illustrated wordless stories about British history, co-created with SEND schools to support learners.
Historic Royal Palaces has launched the UK’s first series of fully illustrated, wordless stories about British history, designed to remove barriers for learners who find traditional text-based materials challenging.
The Wordless Stories project, made possible through support from The Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation, tells historical narratives entirely through images with no written text or numbers. The project has been inspired by the work of the charity Books Beyond Words.
The stories are designed to support reluctant readers, students with learning disabilities and anyone for whom traditional text-based history presents a barrier to understanding.
The independent charity, which looks after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace and Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, developed the project in close partnership with special schools local to its sites.
Students who face challenges with literacy, alongside their teachers, have played a central role in shaping each story from initial concept to final illustrations.
The first story focuses on the early life of Elizabeth Tudor and launches online on Wednesday 14 January 2026. Illustrated by Charlotte Firmin, who has illustrated over 30 children’s books in her 50-year career, it explores themes of traumatic loss, rejection, resilience and self-belief.
The second story, Princess Victoria, illustrated by Danica da Silva Pereira, delves into experiences of isolation and inner strength during the princess’s formative years. Future instalments will include the stories of William of Normandy and The Princes in the Tower.
Annette McCartney, HRP’s schools content producer and project manager for Wordless Stories said wordless storytelling “empowers students to interpret meaning visually, strengthening oracy, visual literacy, and analytical thinking.
“By removing text-based barriers, these Wordless Stories will open up the past to learners who might otherwise find traditional history materials inaccessible and helping further Historic Royal Palaces’ mission to share the stories that shape us all in meaningful and inclusive ways for everyone.”
Teachers from four London schools helped select the four stories being developed, whilst students tested draft illustrations in class and shared feedback that directly shaped the final artworks and narrative.
The charity is developing a package of free supporting resources for schools, including teacher guidance and classroom activities aligned with History, English, PSHE and SMSC curricula. All materials will be freely available as digital downloads via the Historic Royal Palaces website, optimised for printing, tablets and classroom screens.
