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From warrior queens to quiet radicals • Acclaimed Tudor historian Tracy Borman explains how the roles of Britain’s royal women have changed greatly over the centuries
QUEEN BOUDICA SCOURGE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE • VANESSA COLLINGRIDGE tells the story of the woman who raised and led a native army in revolt against oppressive Roman rule in Britain in AD 60
MARY QUEEN AGAINST THE ODDS • ‘Bloody Mary’ Tudor was long-branded a religious bigot and a military failure. Yet, as ANNA WHITELOCK explains, the first woman to wear the crown of England was a political pioneer who redefined the monarchy
The life of Mary Tudor
Elizabeth I: THE MONARCH BEHIND THE MASK • ANNA WHITELOCK looks beyond Elizabeth I’s carefully crafted image as an all-conquering Tudor beauty and finds a balding, frail woman, scarred by pox, crippled by headaches and plagued by bouts of depression
ANNE DAUGHTER and HEIR • Although hers would be the final reign of the Stuart dynasty, Queen Anne was, as TRACY BORMAN argues, a much more popular monarch than her predecessor William III
How do you solve a problem like Victoria? • KATE WILLIAMS, the author of Becoming Queen, charts the challenges that Victoria had to overcome to gain the throne – most of which came from her own mother
Victoria: a young life
Elizabeth II THE QUEEN WHO SAVED the ROYALS • Britain’s current Queen was an accidental royal heir, but she has become one of the country’s most successful – and long-running – rulers. During her reign she has overseen the radical modernisation of the institution of monarchy, as KATE WILLIAMS relates
Medieval QUEENS • Although none would rule in their own right, the medieval queens of England played significant roles in the country’s governance, as LISA HILTON reveals
Catherine of ARAGON SPAIN’S VIRGIN QUEEN? • When Henry VIII was attempting to divorce Catherine of Aragon, the question of whether she had enjoyed a sexual relationship with his brother became of vital importance. GILES TREMLETT looks at the Spanish perspective
WHY DID ANNE BOLEYN HAVE TO DIE? • Was Henry VIII’s second wife ensnared by a conspiracy, the victim of her own loose tongue, or simply guilty as charged? SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB tries to unearth the real reason why the king sent his queen to the block
Picturing Anne Boleyn • Do any accurate portraits survive?
The rise and fall of Anne Boleyn
A WITNESS to the SIX WIVES • As a long-serving ambassador to the Tudor court, Eustace Chapuys was in the rare position of meeting all of Henry VIII’s wives. LAUREN MACKAY reveals what his writings tell us about the various queens’ characters
FAKING JANE • Lady Jane Grey ruled for nine days in 1553 before Mary I grabbed the throne. But, asks LEANDA DE LISLE, was the teenager really the innocent stooge that fictional depictions have led us to believe?
Elizabeth CROMWELL’S SHADOWY QUEEN • SIMON GUERRIER investigates the mysterious life of Elizabeth Cromwell – the ordinary woman who became England’s first lady in the 17th century
Music and meat: the life of the wife • ELIZABETH CROMWELL LEFT US JUST A FEW HINTS OF HER LIFE, AS SIMON GUERRIER FOUND OUT WHEN WORKING ON A BBC RADIO DOCUMENTARY
ROYAL MISTRESSES • From passionate paramours to affairs of convenience, with illegitimate children along the way, TRACY BORMAN takes a look at some notable royal affairs through the ages
The Vilification of Wallis Simpson • In 1936, King Edward VIII shocked the world by favouring abdication over renouncing his love for an American divorcee. SUSAN WILLIAMS investigates how the woman for whom he gave up the throne was savaged by society
Diana REBEL PRINCESS • Initially presented as the heir to the throne’s dutiful,...