Part Two - Misunderstood Queens: Dispelling the Myths

Here is the second part to the last episode!
Powerful queens throughout history have often been misunderstood and reduced to stereotypes, as they were judged through biased lenses that distorted their actions and motivations. By examining their lives, we can dispel these myths and gain a better understanding of their true character and legacy. Women like Empress Matilda and Eleanor of Aquitaine defied expectations and challenged the status quo, proving that women have played important roles in history by breaking gender norms.
Today, Steph is joined by Dr. Valerie Schutte. Valerie Schutte earned her PhD in History from the University of Akron, and is author or editor of eight books on Queen Mary I, unexpected heirs, and queens in Shakespeare. She is currently working on a cultural biography of Anne of Cleves and edited collections on Tudor myths, the making and remaking of Lady Jane Grey and Mary I, and Mary I and Continental humanism. Valerie's research interests include Queen Mary I, Anne of Cleves, Tudor queenship, book dedications, books related to Tudor kings.
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Credits:
Host: Steph Stohrer
Guest: Dr. Valerie Schutte
Edited by: Rebecca Larson
Voice Over: David Black
Music: Ketsa, Alexander Nakarada, and Winnie the Moog

[@catherinenelson9909]

Really enjoyed your chat

[@debraturner4559]

I think Elizabeth was always surrounded by her ladies and various servants so if she had affairs it would have been known.

[@TudorsDynasty]

Known and reported are two different things. I believe loyalty would keep their lips sealed.

[@debraturner4559]

@@TudorsDynasty Likely they would have revealed a clue in writing to a trusted close relative or some note to themselves such as a personal diary or calendar of events, something that's how historians have found out some royal secrets -- but there's also secrets that can't be verified as the paper trail has been lost, destroyed or not found yet. But if QEII had taken a lover, so many eyes were watching her, it would have been more difficult for her to keep it from history.

[@JJMarie3509]

I am enjoying this series, but I was disappointed when I got to your discussion of Katherine Howard. There is an excellent biography by Gareth Russell that touches on all the questions you discussed, from what she said at her execution, to her age, to how much agency she had in her relationships before and after her marriage. She went to court at the same age other young women did , and was 18 or 19 when she married. While I think it’s possible that her first relationship with the piano teacher overstepped what we would consider appropriate boundaries, in general what emerged is a picture of a young woman with a healthy libido who took an interest in young men, in a way totally normal for a young woman. Her real problem was how it laid her open to blackmail, because she didn’t have agency in her marriage. The title of the book is ‘Young and Damned and Fair.”

[@beth7935]

THIS! Gareth Russell did an incredible job sifting through all the records, & it really destroyed the accepted narrative about Katherine, but that's still overwhelmingly accepted- it doesn't seem like enough people have read his book, or otherwise come across the facts that are in it. I'm sick of hearing the old take on Katherine, so I'll skip this- there's lots of other interesting stuff on this channel.