The Warring Queens | History’s Messiest Royal Rivalry
5/20/202647 min
Historian Kate Williams joins Alice and Matt to make the case for Mary, Queen of Scots - and why history's been getting her all wrong.
Professor Williams unpicks centuries of blame placed on Mary for her own downfall, and reveals how looking at her life through a modern lens changes everything.
And what about Elizabeth I? Kate says their rivalry wasn't just politics - it was personal, petty, and shaped by the impossible position of being two women trying to rule in a world that just didn't want them to.
Do you have...
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First 90 secondsAlice Levine· Host0:00
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Matt Forde· Host0:07
[upbeat music] I'm Matt Ford.
Alice Levine· Host0:11
And I'm Alice Levine.
Matt Forde· Host0:12
And this is British Scandal, an Audible Original. Alice, we have had some incredible royal scandals in recent years, but do you think that this scandal could be the worst in British history?
Alice Levine· Host0:34
Well, it was definitely a very dramatic royal scandal. I don't know if it was the worst, but it was definitely the most tragic, a cousin killing another cousin.
Matt Forde· Host0:43
Yeah, it's up there. But whose side were you on? Are you Team Mary or are you Team Liz?
Alice Levine· Host0:47
It's sort of funny to be taking Instagram feud sides this many years later. It's hard to support the one that signs the death warrant, but she was in a tricky sitch, to just completely trivialize the whole situation.
Matt Forde· Host0:58
Yeah, I mean, she wasn't exactly keen to kill off her cousin, but, you know, she's a queen. She's gotta act like a queen.
Alice Levine· Host1:04
Queens gotta queen.
Matt Forde· Host1:05
Yeah, I think it's fair to say it's complicated. So to get a real understanding of what the situation was like in Tudor Britain and what these rival queens were faced with, we're speaking to a real pro. She's the author of the book Rival Queens: The Betrayal of Mary Queen of Scots. Her latest book, Regina, is about a history of women and power, and let's face it, you've almost definitely seen her on TV. We've got Professor Kate Williams in the studio after this.