New insights on the women who shaped the Virgin Queen
'I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a King.’ With these words Queen Elizabeth I showed her distaste for the shortcomings associated with her sex. But despite this apparent dismissal of women’s capabilities, her life would be profoundly influenced by the women who surrounded her. From her mother Anne Boleyn and a succession of doomed stepmothers, to her half sister Mary, the fates of these women set the course of Elizabeth’s life. Tracy Borman is the author of Elizabeth’s Women and she joins Jane to discuss this fascinating aspect of the monarch’s history.Ìý Elizabeth’s Women is published by Jonathan Cape. ISBN 978-0-224-08226-6