David Starkey (born January 3, 1945) is one of the UK's best-known historians, and a specialist in the Tudor period.

Professor Starkey graduated from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, of which he is still a fellow. From 1972 to 1998 he taught history at the London School of Economics. During this period, he embarked on his career as a broadcaster, which soon won him a reputation for abrasiveness. One newspaper called him "the rudest man in Britain". In the televised Trial of Richard III, he accused the defence counsel of havine a "small lawyer's mind". His television series on Elizabeth I of England, the six wives of Henry VIII and on the lesser-known Tudor monarchs have made him a familiar face. His greatest contribution to Tudor research has been in explaining the complicated social etiquette of Henry's household, exploring the complicated nature of Catherine Howard's fall in 1541/1542, and rescuing Anne Boleyn from the historical doldrums by persuasively proving that she was a committed religious reformer, keen politician and sparkling intellctual. Dr. Starkey has also rejected the historical community's tendency to portray Catherine of Aragon as a "plaster-of-Paris saint". He also makes regular radio broadcasts and contributes to many magazines and newspapers.

Professor Starkey is also a prominent campaigner for homosexual equality.