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Tracy Borman (author of ‘Elizabeth’s Women: The Hidden Story of the Virgin Queen’ called ‘Elizabeth’s Women: Friends, Rivals and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen’ in the USA) has very kindly answered my questions relating to the Grey sisters.
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Thank you Tracy.<\/p>\n
Why did you choose to write about \u2018Elizabeth\u2019s Women\u2019? <\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Elizabeth I is my all-time historical heroine.\u00a0 I have devoured books, manuscripts and even films about her for as long as I can remember.\u00a0 But the more research I did, the more I realised that practically all of these books were about Elizabeth and men – often her relationship with Robert Dudley.\u00a0 And I became fascinated by the missing story – that of Elizabeth and the women in her life.\u00a0 They were hugely influential in shaping her character and reign, and it is through their eyes that a startling new image of the celebrated Virgin Queen emerges.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Why do you think Queen Mary made both Catherine and Mary Grey \u2018Ladies of the Bedchamber\u2019 even though their father and sister had been executed for the Wyatt rebellion?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n It was that old adage ‘keep your friends close, but your enemies closer’.\u00a0 Mary was very aware of what a threat the Grey family had been – after all, Lady Jane Grey had usurped her throne (albeit unwillingly).\u00a0 I suspect that there may also have been a sense of repentance there.\u00a0 Mary had agonised over signing Lady Jane’s death warrant, so perhaps she wanted to make amends by promoting her sisters.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n During Queen Elizabeth\u2019s bout of smallpox, why did Robert Dudley support the claim of Mary Queen of Scots, rather than that of his ex sister-in-law, Catherine Grey? <\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I think it comes down to Dudley’s rampant ambition.\u00a0 There was talk of him marrying the Queen of Scots, and if she had taken Elizabeth’s place in 1562 then Dudley would have been king.\u00a0 Furthermore, his arch rival Lord Burghley supported Catherine Grey, so Dudley was almost bound to be on the opposing side.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Who do you think had more chance of becoming Queen, Margaret Douglas during the reign of Mary or Catherine Grey during Elizabeth\u2019s reign? <\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n That’s a difficult one to judge because their claims were of similar weight.\u00a0 I would say that Margaret Douglas has the edge because, unlike Catherine, she was not tainted by any traitorous antics of siblings, etc.\u00a0 She also had Scottish, as well as English royal blood in her veins.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n What impact did Jane\u2019s short reign have on Elizabeth\u2019s view of her sisters? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Undoubtedly it made Elizabeth highly suspicious of Catherine and Mary, and tainted her relationship with them forever afterwards.\u00a0 She remained convinced that they were plotting to overthrow her, even though there was little evidence that this was the case – particularly where Mary was concerned.\u00a0 I think jealousy also played a part, at least where Catherine was concerned.\u00a0 She was young, attractive and drew a lot of the male attention away from Elizabeth – a punishable offence in itself!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tracy Borman (author of ‘Elizabeth’s Women: The Hidden Story of the Virgin Queen’ called ‘Elizabeth’s Women: Friends, Rivals and Foes Who Shaped the Virgin Queen’ in the USA) has very kindly answered my questions relating to the Grey sisters. Thank … Continue reading