Elizabeth

The author of The Other Tudors delves into the Virgin Queen myth, Elizabeth’s secret “love life,” and the children she may have had as a result.

“Virgin Queen” is the name for which the powerful and fearless daughter of Henry the Eighth and Anne Boleyn is best remembered, and may explain why Elizabeth was the last of the Tudor monarchs. But how appropriate is that reputation?

Were Elizabeth’s suitors and favorites really just innocent intrigues? Or were they much more than that? Was Elizabeth really a woman driven by her passions, who had affairs with several men, including Thomas Seymour, while he was still the husband of her guardian Catherine Parr, and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester—a man adjudged to have been the great love of her life? Are the rumors of Elizabeth’s illegitimate children true?

Was the “Virgin Queen” image a carefully thought out piece of Tudor propaganda? Historian Philippa Jones, author of the acclaimed The Other Tudors, challenges the many myths and truths surrounding Elizabeth’s life and reveals the passionate woman behind the scenes.