British queens

From Eleanor of Aquitaine to Anne Boleyn, these queens shaped British history...

A collaged picture shows a marble statue of Elizabeth I wearing a large crown on the left, and a portrait of King James I, dressed in a red and white robe and crown on the right

The lie of succession: did James I steal Elizabeth I's crown?

To the left, there is a black and white image of Queen Victoria. She is dressed in dark clothing and has her hair partially pulled back by a black fastening. Facing her, on the right is an image of John Brown, a bearded man wearing military uniform and a hat. Over them, there is a pink treatment with a rip in it

How I uncovered Victoria's secret love: Historian Fern Riddell explains all

Two green hearts are sideways, facing each other. In each there is an image: one has a painting of Elizabeth I and the other has a painting of the Duke of Anjou

The Virgin Queen? Elizabeth I's forbidden love

A portrait of Mary I, queen of England

Mary I: your guide to the life and rule of Henry VII's daughter – plus a timeline and 7 little-known facts

A portrait of King John of England

9 of the worst monarchs in history

A portrait of Anne Boleyn

Why did Henry VIII send Anne Boleyn to the block?

A young Katherine Parr, by William Henry Mote.

All you need to know about Katherine Parr – the truth about the wife who 'survived'

Portrait of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII

Anne Boleyn: your guide to the life and death of Henry VIII's second queen – plus 11 little-known facts

The Elizabethan court, with Professor Tracy Borman

General History

Royal women podcast episodes

Anne Boleyn during her imprisonment in the Tower of London, a c1835 painting by Édouard Cibot (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn: the Tudor queen’s undying love for her mother

Elizabeth Cromwell

Elizabeth Cromwell: the life of Oliver Cromwell’s shadowy queen

Elizabeth is borne from Westminster Abbey in a gold coach first used for the state opening of parliament by George III in 1762. (Getty Images)

Becoming Queen: Elizabeth II’s coronation

President Reagan laughs following a joke by Queen Elizabeth, who commented on the lousy California weather she had experienced since her arrival to the States. The British Queen is delivering a brief address during a state dinner held at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. (Picture by Bettmann/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth's relationships with US presidents

British royal family podcast episodes

Queen Elizabeth wearing a hat against a blue background

In picturesQueen Elizabeth II through the decades

Elizabeth II poses for a portrait in Buckingham Palace in December 1958

Queen Elizabeth II50+ facts about her life and reign

A portrait of young Queen Victoria wearing a tiara

The young Queen Victoria’s struggle to gain the throne

Helen Mirren as Elizabeth II in 2006 film 'The Queen'

Screen QueenElizabeth II on film

Queen Elizabeth II, in March 2022 - the year of her platinum jubilee (Photo by Getty Images)

QuizQueen Elizabeth II and her reign

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip mark the diamond jubilee in 2012 by watching the Jubilee River Pageant, where a seven-mile flotilla sails past them (Photo by Eddie Mullholland - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

From silver to platinum: a history of Queen Elizabeth II's jubilees

A portrait of Elizabeth of York

Elizabeth of York: a Tudor of rare talent

Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, illustrated sitting on a throne

Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians: the warrior queen who crushed the Vikings

A portrait of Caroline of Ansbach

Caroline of Ansbach: why George II's remarkable queen was the first iron lady of British politics

Mary Stuart, shown here in a painting after Nicholas Hilliard, might have been a good queen, says Kate Williams, but the odds were stacked against her. (Image by Superstock)

Who betrayed Mary, Queen Of Scots?

Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II with her husband Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, on their wedding day

The Prince Philip Years: how did Britain change while he was Queen Elizabeth II's consort?

Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles I

Henrietta Maria: Charles I’s warrior queen

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, on historical fiction

Josephine Baker with her adopted children. She called them the ‘Rainbow Tribe’. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Memorable mothers: history’s most remarkable mums

Annie Gray portrait by Ian Farrell

Annie Gray“For Queen Victoria, food was a way of exploring the world”