The Spring 2024 Carolyn Harris Royal Historian newsletter includes links to my recent articles and interviews as well as registration information for my 2024-2025 courses at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies.
Click here to read the Spring 2024 Carolyn Harris Royal Historian newsletter
Pick up a copy of the April/May 2024 issue of Zoomer Magazine to read my article about royal finances, part of a special feature about the reign of King Charles III.
Click here to purchase the April/May 2024 issue of Zoomer Magazine online.
I discussed King Charles III’s recent cancer diagnosis with Redmond Shannon at Global National News, including the potential for the 2024 Commonwealth tour schedule to change in the coming months.
Click here to watch How King Charles’ Cancer Diagnosis Affects the Royal Family on Global National News
My latest article in the Historica Canada Canadian Encyclopedia is about King Louis XIV and his role in the development of New France. Click here to read my article about King Louis XIV.
King Louis XIV, king of France (born 5 September 1638 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France; died 1 September 1715 in Versailles, France). Louis XIV was the longest-reigning monarch in European and Canadian history, serving as the king of France for 72 years (from 1643 to 1715) — nearly two years longer than the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1663, Louis XIV assumed direct control of New France as a Crown Colony, sponsoring increased immigration, regulating the fur trade and creating a stronger French military presence in the region. Despite these efforts, Louis XIV’s military and diplomatic endeavours — including repeated wars with the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), as well as the War of the Spanish Succession and the Treaty of Utrecht — shifted the balance of power in North America. This created the eventual conditions for the British conquest of New France with the support of the Iroquois during the Seven Years’ War of 1756–63.
I discussed the highs and lows of the 2023 royal year and the major themes so far in the reign of King Charles III in a year end conversation with Janet Davison of CBC News.
I discussed the recent Canadian tour by Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, King Charles III’s 75th birthday and the new statue of Queen Elizabeth II in Toronto’s Queen’s Park with Janet Davison at CBC News.
Click here to read this week’s edition of The Royal Fascinator Newsletter at CBC News.
My new article in the Historica Canada Canadian Encyclopedia is about Frederick William Beechey, Arctic explorer, naval officer, hydrographer, artist and author. Beechey sailed with Sir John Franklin and William Edward Parry and made many sketches of the Arctic. Lake Beechey, Nunavut, and Beechey Point, Alaska, were named in his honour. Beechey was also a godson of the future King William IV, the first member of the royal family to visit what is now Canada.
Click here to read my article about Frederick William Beechey in the Canadian Encyclopedia.
I also recent wrote a Canadian Encyclopedia article about Frederick William Beechey’s daughter, Frances Anne Hopkins, who became a prominent Canadian artist.
I will be delivering an evening lecture (7pm) at North York Central Library in Toronto on Friday October 13 about the history of royal weddings from Victoria and Albert to Harry and Meghan! All are welcome.
I will be teaching an eight week course on Tuesday afternoons in October-November 2023 at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies – Behind the Crown: The Monarchy from Victoria to Charles III. Click here for more information and to register.
The personal lives of royalty are a popular subject for fiction in novels, films and TV series but the real history is more interesting. Each generation of royalty must respond to the challenges of their times to keep the monarchy relevant and engaged with public opinion. Join Carolyn Harris, historian, commentator and author of Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting for a lively discussion of the history, politics and cultural significance of the monarchy in the UK and Canada.
In an extended interview with Katie Boyden at Metro UK, I discussed Queen Elizabeth II’s popularity and how past monarchs were viewed – favourably and unfavourably – by the public, both during their reigns and afterward. Kings and Queens discussed in the interview include Queen Victoria and Richard III.