Tracy Borman (author of ‘King’s Mistress, Queen’s Servant: the Life and Times of Henrietta Howard’) has an article in the September issue (vol 10 no 9) of BBC History Magazine. ‘Virgin Queen to Vindictive Queen’ focuses on Elizabeth I’s relationships with the ladies around her in the later years of her reign.
It also briefly mentions the Grey sisters (Katherine and Mary).
‘…far from being the man’s woman that she is so often portrayed as, she had been profoundly influenced by the women who had surrounded her throughout her life.
From her bewitching mother, Anne Boleyn, to her dangerously obsessive sister, Mary Tudor, and from the rivals to her throne such as the Grey sisters and Mary Queen of Scots, to her closest friends at court, such as Kat Astley and Helena Snakenbourg. These were the women who shaped the Virgin Queen, and it is through their eyes that the real Elizabeth stripped of her carefully cultivated image, is revealed.’
BBC History Magazine, September 2009, vol 10 no 9, p26
An accompanying article, ‘Making the Virgin Queen’, also mentions the Grey sisters.
‘Similar fates would await Elizabeth’s other rivals, notably Katherine and Mary Grey (the sisters of Lady Jane), and Arbella Stuart, who each forfeited their claim to the throne by marrying in secret.’
BBC History Magazine, September 2009, vol 10 no 9, p25
Elizabeth’s Women: the Hidden Story of the Virgin Queen’ will be published on 24th September 2009.
It will be Radio 4’s ‘Book of the Week’ in September. More details to follow.
In the BBC History Magazine September Podcast 2 (available from Sep 17th):
‘Tracy Borman looks back at the life of Queen Elizabeth I and reveals how she became consumed by jealousy in her later years.’
BBC History Magazine, September 2009, vol 10 no 9, p7
