From the acclaimed royal historian Tracy Borman, the dramatic and untold story of the lie about the controversial succession that ended the Tudor era and changed the course of British history.
In the long and dramatic annals of British history, no transition from one monarch to another has been as fraught and consequential as that which ended the Tudor dynasty and launched the Stuart in March 1603. At her death, Elizabeth I had reigned for 44 turbulent years, facing many threats, whether external from Spain or internal from her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. But no danger was greater than the uncertainty over who would succeed her, which only intensified as her reign lengthened. Her unwillingness to marry or name a successor gave rise to fierce rivalry between blood claimants to the throne--Mary and her son, James VI of Scotland, Arbella Stuart, Lady Katherine Grey, Henry Hastings, and more--which threatened to destabilize the monarchy.
As Tracy Borman reveals in The Stolen Crown, according to Elizabeth's earliest biographer, William Camden, in his history of her reign, on her deathbed the queen indicated James was her chosen heir, and indeed he did become king soon after she died. That endorsement has been accepted as fact for more than four centuries. However, recent analysis of Camden's original manuscript shows key passages were pasted over and rewritten to burnish James' legacy. The newly-uncovered pages make clear not only that Elizabeth's naming of James never happened, but that James, uncertain he would ever gain the British throne, was even suspected of sending an assassin to London to kill the queen. Had all this been known at the time, the English people--bitter enemies with Scotland for centuries--might well not have accepted James as their king, with unimagined ramifications.
Inspired by the revelations over Camden's manuscript, Borman sheds rare new light on Elizabeth's historic reign, chronicling it through the lens of the various claimants who, over decades, sought the throne of the only English monarch not to make provision for her successor. The consequences were immense. Not only did James upend Elizabeth's glittering court, but the illegitimacy of his claim to the throne, which Camden suppressed, found full expression in the catastrophic reign of James' son and successor, Charles I. His execution in 1649 shocked the world and destroyed the monarchy fewer than 50 years after Elizabeth died, changing the course of British and world history.
Tracy Borman OBE has recently been named Chief Historian at the Historic Royal Palaces, a role which she previously shared with Lucy Worsley. She’s a regular broadcaster and public speaker, giving talks on her many books across the UK and abroad. She was a key expert in the recent Channel 5 documentary, Princes in the Tower, which explored new discoveries relating to Richard III’s nephews and their uncertain fate. Tracy is the author of a number of highly acclaimed books including Crown & Sceptre, Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him, The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain's Greatest Dynasty, Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant, Matilda: Wife of the Conqueror, First Queen of England, Elizabeth's Women: The Hidden Story of the Virgin Queen and Witches: A Tale of Sorcery, Scandal and Seduction
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Doors will open at 6.45pm.
This event will take place in the Cathedral nave and is in-person only and won't be streamed or recorded. Copies of The Stolen Crown: Treachery, Deceit and the Death of the Tudor Dynasty will be available to purchase in advance or on the evening and Tracy will be delighted to sign your copy after the event.
