We speak to Dr Ellie Woodacre again, this time about male consorts. Our last mini series had two male consorts (Philip II and Prince George of Denmark) as well as covering the time period of Elizabeth I (with no consort) and William and Mary. We speak to Ellie about where England's experience fits in with other European countries - did England come to queens regnant late? What kind of roles, powers and titles did male consorts have in other countries? You can follow Ellie on X/Twitter...

We speak to Dr Emma Southon for the second time on the podcast, this time discussing her new book A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women (or A Rome of One's Own in the US), a fascinating look at women from Roman history that (mostly) people don't tend to have heard of, but who give us a fascinating alternative look at the history of Ancient Rome and the varying experience of women in that history. For more on Emma, check out her website https://www.emmasouthon.com and her podcast History...

We speak to the author and historian Lead Redmond about her book 'Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power', which looks at the lives of Catherine de' Medici (Queen Consort and Mother of France), Elisabeth de Valois (Queen Consort of Spain) and Mary Queen of Scots (Queen Regnant of Scotland and Consort of France). For a time, they all lived under one roof, but even when their paths diverged, they continue to be closely connected and were key figures in the web of European diplomacy in...

Having finished our mini-series on the Stuart consorts (plus a couple of others), we go through some of your messages, responding to corrections, points of debate and whatever else comes up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's the last of the Stuart consorts this time with the consort of Queen Anne, Prince George of Denmark. Often maligned by contemporaries, George nevertheless had a significant role as the first male consort not to be king. Derided by many but loved by Anne, George was a player in the tumultuous events of the late seventeenth century and a bit of a trailblazer for unambitious chaps, but is that enough for the Rex Factor? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mary of Modena is not one of the more famous names for English consorts but subject to one of the most notorious incidents as mother to the so-called 'bedpan baby'. We look at the truth of this as well as Mary's life, second wife to the man who would become James II, at the eye of the storm for the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and then the life of the Jacobite Matriarch in French exile. Will the real Mary warrant her notoriety and does she have enough about her to claim the Rex Factor? Learn...

Catherine of Braganza has often been overshadowed by Charles II's numerous mistresses, but she has an interesting story in her own right. She faced a difficult start in England, finding her own space in a court where the mistresses were publicly honoured, as well as being a Catholic queen for a decidedly not Catholic country. She would need to find a way to adapt to the more relaxed Restoration court, assert her own place in Charles's reign and leave a lasting legacy behind. Will she succeed?...

Elizabeth Cromwell was the wife to one of the most (in)famous figures in British history, but Oliver Cromwell's wife is something of a forgotten figure. Though the evidence for her life is limited, we track her from Essex and East Anglia to the dizzy heights of Lady Protector, seeing the Civil War and Protectorate from a different perspective. Elizabeth had to transition from managing a large but modest Puritan household to the pseudo-queen of the country, but would she be able to make the...

Henrietta Maria of France was the highly controversial queen of Charles I. An avowed Catholic in an increasingly Puritanical country, her efforts to promote her religion were one of the factors that led to the Civil War. A forceful character, Henrietta played her part in the war (despite being a target for Parliamentarians), but would she be able to survive? And can such an unpopular queen be in the running for the Rex Factor? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We start the Stuarts proper with Anne of Denmark, consort to James I, though originally to James VI of Scotland. Anne had quite a difficult time getting to Scotland, then found herself caught up in various controversies when she did get there, clashing with the church, nobles and James himself. When she became Queen of England, there were controversies over her religion and more person disputes, but also significant cultural patronage. But how will it all balance out? Will Anne enjoy renown...

Elizabeth I famously never married, but there were various suitors for her hand who came close to becoming Elizabeth's consort. We spoke to Professor Susan Doran about Elizabeth I and the marriage question, with a particular question on her relationship with Robert Dudley, the Hapsburgs and the French candidates and consider why she never married, if she ever wanted to and how close she came. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

It's our first chap of the consort series in the form of Philip II of Spain. A powerful king in his own right, and notorious in England as the man who launched the Spanish Armada against Elizabeth I, it's often forgotten that he was actually King of England through his marriage to Mary I. We learn about Philip's upbringing, how he came to marry Mary, what sort of powers he did or didn't have as King (consort) of England, and the impact he had on English history before the Armada. Hosted on...

As a lovely finale to our mini-series on the Six Wives of Henry VIII, we share our live podcast recorded at the Ludlow Assembly Rooms on Saturday 17 June 2023 in which we review all six of Henry VIII's wives in one go, compare them factor by factor and then get the audience to vote for who they think was the greatest of them all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before we get started on the Stuart consorts, we read through various listener correspondence as well as sharing previews of our bonus content, including our new special episode (also out today) on Catherine De' Medici. You can sign up to join the Privy Council and gain access to all our bonus content here: https://www.patreon.com/rexfactor And you can purchase the Catherine De' Medici special episode (as well as all our other specials) here: https://payhip.com/RexFactorPodcast If you want...

This week, we chat with Dr Fiona Radford and Dr Peta Greenfield (AKA Dr Rad and Dr G, the Partial Historians) about their new book Rex: The Seven Kings of Rome. Much to Ali's surprise, before the Emperors and before the Republic, ancient Rome was ruled by kings. From Romulus and the founding of Rome to Tarquinius Superbus and the fall of the kings, we learn about the kings and the early history of Rome, then decide how well the kings would fare under the Rex Factor criteria. Find out more...

Just a quick message to say that we are going to be doing a live show at the Ludlow Fringe on Saturday 17 June at 19:00 (BST), where we will be looking at all of the Six Wives of Henry VIII and asking the audience to vote for who they think was the best. We'd love to see some Rex fans in the audience, so if you're able to make it then you can book tickets at the address below: https://ludlowassemblyrooms.co.uk/event/rex-factor-which-was-henry-viiis-best-wife/ Hosted on Acast. See...

Following our mini-series on the Six Wives of Henry VIII, we chat to Professor Suzannah Lipscomb about all things Henry VIII - what was he about? How did he change and why? Plus we get Suzannah's thoughts on the Six Wives, about whom she is currently researching a new book. You can follow Suzannah on Twitter @sixteenthCgirl and listen to her podcast Not Just the Tudors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a feature-length special episode, we chart the history of the coronation of the English monarchy from Alfred the Great to Elizabeth II. We learn about how and why the coronation ceremony started, why it is the way that it is, how it's changed over the last thousand years, and all the funny things that have gone wrong. From a random big stone to oily headlice and reversing horses, there's plenty of fun to be had at the coronation! Plus we learn how Dunstan has ruined Ali's bank...

We chat to Dr Dean Irwin, long-time listener to the podcast and co-curator of the episode 'History According to Ali', about the history of the Jews in medieval England. We discuss the origins of a Jewish community in England along with their legal status and close relationship to the crown. We look in particular detail at the thirteenth century, considering the attitudes of Henry III and Simon de Montfort as well as some exception individuals like Licoricia of Winchester. Finally, we look at...

Having finished our mini-series on the Six Wives of Henry VIII, we go through some of your messages and answer questions about the podcasts, the queens, Henry, and whatever else comes up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We come to the end of the Six Wives of Henry VIII odyssey with Katherine Parr. Often neglected but a fascinating character: previous marriages, the Pilgrimage of Grace, and the navigating the treacherous, divided court of Henry VIII's final years. Katherine was closely involved with Henry's children and a key player in the religious divide that was raging in the final years of Henry's reign, but would she be able to emerge unscathed? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katherine Howard was the fifth of the Six Wives of Henry VIII. Young and pretty, she quickly caught Henry's eye while he was extricating himself from his marriage to Anne of Cleves, but Henry's infatuation turned to devastation when revelations about Katherine's past and present dalliances were revealed. Often dismissed as a foolish irrelevance, we consider alternative views of Katherine and whether she has that certain something. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The fourth of the six wives of Henry VIII, Anne of Cleves is often recalled as the 'Flanders Mare' but we dig deeper into the true story of where things went wrong between Anne and Henry, why this nickname is unfair and what Anne does after Henry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We move on to the third of Henry VIII's six wives - one of the least famous and yet Henry's favourite, so where does Jane really deserve to rank in the annals of history? She experience life under Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, whom she ultimately supplanted as queen, and depending on how you view her either brought some much-needed stability or was just a bit dull! So, an overlooked classic or deservedly in the shadow of her more celebrated predecessors? Hosted on Acast. See...

Although we've reviewed Anne Boleyn, we felt that we needed one final episode to look in more detail about the fall of Anne Boleyn, and to answer the question of why it happens (and why she dies). Was she actually guilty of the crimes she was accused of? Was she brought down by Cromwell? Did Henry tire of her? Was it all just a big misunderstanding? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.