The Tudor Chest - The Podcast

Dr Estelle Paranque is an associate professor in history at Northeastern University London and is also a historian, broadcaster and author, who joins me today for a discussion about Catherine de Medici and Queen Elizabeth I. Estelle’s book, Blood, Fire and Gold is the basis for todays conversation, so sit back and enjoy as we discuss how these two formidable women, one a queen regnant and the other a queen consort and then queen mother went head to head across their momentous reigns.

Today I am talking to historian and author Emily Murdoch Perkins about her latest book, Regina - the queens who could have been. In this book, Emily charts the lives of royal women from over 1,200 years of English history and asks the question, would any of them made good queens regnant? From very well known figures such as Empress Matilda and Elizabeth of York, to characters seldom explored or discussed, including a medieval princess who pleaded with her father to be able to lose her virginity and to another who appeared completely naked before the entire court to prove she did not suffer from leprosy. Buckle in to explore the lives of so many remarkable royal women, many of whom remained in the shadows, until now!

This week I am talking to historian and author Wendy Dunn all about Catherine Carey, the daughter of Mary Boleyn. Wendy has written a full length biography of Catherine Carey, and believes firmly that she was not the daughter of Mary Boleyn’s first husband William Stafford, but was, in fact, an illegitimate child of King Henry VIII’s. Wendy and I discuss Catherine’s upbringing, her role at the royal court, whether there is any truth in the legend that she accompanied her aunt Anne Boleyn to the scaffold and how she grew to be one of the most trusted and admired figures at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, who, following Catherine’s death granted her a funeral so lavish that it may well prove the theory that Catherine was not Elizabeth’s cousin, but may have been her half-sister instead.

Dr Eleanor Jackson is a curator at the British Library, responsible for creating the incredible new exhibition they have on display, Medieval Women, Voices and Visions. This remarkable exhibition brings together artefacts including letters, statues, trial records, table wear and so much more, beautifully telling the stories of medieval women. Many of the items have ties to some of the most iconic women from history, including the Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Margaret of Anjou and even Joan of Arc. Equally, there are tales of your every day medieval woman, from a girl who broke a rib whilst ice-skating to a court case against a 14th century sex worker, who though born male, lived, identified and worked as a woman, so join me as we journey back through four hundred years of medieval history brought together in this remarkable exhibition.