On May 24 (Queen Victoria’s birthday), I discussed the recent royal portraits of King Charles III and the Princess of Wales with 15 CBC radio stations from coast to coast to coast!
Here is my conversation with CBC Radio Whitehorse, Yukon. Click here to listen to Portrait in Time
Tudor and Stuart Consorts: Power, Influence and Dynasty, edited by Aidan Norrie, J.L. Laynesmith, Danna R. Messer, Elena Woodacre, and myself is now available in a more affordable paperback edition from Palgrave History
I discussed Queen Camilla’s patronages and the lives of previous queens consort who were not the mother of the heir, including King Henry VIII’s 6th wife Catherine Parr, in an interview with Marco Della Cava at USA Today.
Tudor and Stuart Consorts: Power, Influence, and Dynasty, edited by Aidan Norrie, Carolyn Harris, J.L. Laynesmith, Danna R. Messer and Elena Woodacre has been reviewed by Conor Byrne in the Royal Studies Journal.
“In all, Tudor and Stuart Consorts is a handsomely produced study of the careers of fifteen consorts between 1485 and 1714 and deserves attention from scholars seeking fresh perspectives of these individuals based on solid research.” – Conor Byrne, Royal Studies Journal.
I will be offering an online course for seniors about Royal Parenting from Medieval Times to Modern Times for Etobicoke Learning Unlimited in January-March 2024.
Click here for more information and to register.
For more about the history of Royal Parenting, read my book, Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting (Dundurn Press: 2017)
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.
I discussed the fascinating and eventful history of royal regalia, the Stone of Scone and the coronation chair with Alessia Passafiume at the Toronto Star.
I discussed the English Consorts: Power, Influence, and Dynasty series with co-editors Elena Woodacre, Aidan Norrie, and Joanna Laynesmith on the Royal Studies Podcast including key themes in the history royal consorts, and the challenges of co-editing a book series that includes chapters on every English/British royal consort from 1066 to the present day!
Click here to listen to English Consorts: Power, Influence, and Dynasty on the Royal Studies Podcast
Click here to purchase the first volume in the series to be published: Tudor and Stuart Consorts: Power, Influence and Dynasty, edited by Aidan Norrie, Carolyn Harris, J. L. Laynesmith, Danna R. Messer and Elena Woodacre.
My course about the history of Women in Power from the Classical World to the 21st Century will be offered in class at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies on Tuesday afternoons in Fall 2022 from October 11 to November 29.
Click here for more information and to register
Powerful women have presented themselves as warrior queens, rulers by divine right, wives and mothers and, most recently, as elected officials. We’ll examine the most significant female political figures in history, including Boadicea, Queen Isabella, Queen Elizabeth I, Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher and Hillary Clinton. Through lively lectures and discussions, you’ll learn the story of women in political life. Why are women still underrepresented in political life? Join Carolyn Harris for a fascinating look at the often-neglected place of women in power from Cleopatra to Angela Merkel.
Tudor and Stuart Consorts: Power, Influence, and Dynasty edited by Aidan Norrie, Carolyn Harris, J.L. Laynesmith, Danna R. Messer and Elena Woodacre is now available from Palgrave Macmillan.
This book examines the lives and tenures of all the consorts of the Tudor and Stuart monarchs of England between 1485 and 1714, as well as the wives of the two Lords Protector during the Commonwealth. The figures in Tudor and Stuart Consorts are both incredibly familiar—especially the six wives of Henry VIII—and exceedingly unfamiliar, such as George of Denmark, the husband of Queen Anne. These innovative and authoritative biographies recognise the important role consorts played in a period before constitutional monarchy: in addition to correcting popular assumptions that are based on limited historical evidence, the chapters provide a fuller picture of the role of consort that goes beyond discussions of exceptionalism and subversion. This volume and its companions reveal the changing nature of English consortship from the Norman Conquest to today.
Click here to purchase Tudor and Stuart Consorts: Power, Influence, and Dynasty