My new article in the Canadian Encyclopedia is about Isabel Mackenzie King, the daughter of 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion leader William Lyon Mackenzie and mother of Canada’s longest serving Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King.
Click here to read my article in the Canadian Encyclopedia about Isabel Mackenzie King
I will be teaching an online course about Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies on Wednesday evenings in October-November 2023. Click here for more information and to register!
More than 200 years after her execution, Queen Marie Antoinette is still one of the most famous and controversial figures in European history. In late 18th-century France, her reputation influenced debates about the role of women in politics, their families and the arts. Austrian-born, her position at the top of French society fuelled criticism of the monarchy and contributed to the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789. Her influence on popular culture continues today.
I discussed the state visit to France by King Charles III and Queen Camilla as well as Prince William’s visit to New York with Janet Davison at CBC News. I also discussed the recent podcast episode about the royal family’s rugby patronages, featuring William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales and Princess Anne.
My new article in the Canadian Encyclopedia is about Frances Anne Hopkins, an artist who sketched and painted Canadian landscapes. Her most famous paintings, including Shooting the Rapids and Canoes in a Fog, Lake Superior, depict long-distance canoe voyages undertaken by the Hudson’s Bay Company in the 1860s.
Along with historians Sarah Gristwood and Coryne Hall, I discussed the history of the relationship between the United Kingdom and France, as well the significance of the Palace of Versailles, in an interview with Isabella Jewell at Monocle Radio.
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.
I will be delivering a lecture on Royalty and Popular Culture: Fact, Fiction and the Crown, examining portrayals of the monarchy in historical films, plays and novels as part of the University Lecture series at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. I will be speaking in Oakville on October 2, Markham on October 5 and Toronto on November 3.
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.
September 8th, 2023 is the one year anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III. I discussed King Charles III, Canada and the Monarchy with Kieran Southern at The Times
Click here to read What do the Commonwealth countries really think of King Charles?
I discussed perceptions of King Charles III in Canada during the first year of his reign and the impact of royal tours on Canadian popular opinions of the monarchy with Morgan Lowrie at the Canadian Press.