logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2021
50m 6s

Mary, Queen of Scots

History Hit
About this episode

Mary, Queen of Scots, returned to the news headlines when the rosary she carried to her execution in 1587, was recently stolen from Arundel Castle. It's the latest chapter in the enduring story of this highly romanticised figure.


Mary reigned over Scotland for just over 24 years between December 1542 until her forced abdication. Considered the legitimate sovereign of England by many Catholics, Mary was seen as a threat to Queen Elizabeth I. In this episode from our sibling podcast Not Just the Tudors, Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Kate Williams about Mary's tragic life, her disastrous marriages and the plots against Elizabeth that resulted in her execution.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
John F. Kennedy: Myths vs Reality
<p>John F. Kennedy was a man of charm, power, and contradictions. Behind the public image of the heroic president lay a figure plagued by pain, haunted by his past, and driven by desire.</p><br><p>Dan is joined by esteemed biographer Randy Taraborelli to explore Kennedy's private ... Show More
43m 41s
Nov 20
The Spanish Armada
<p>In 1588, Spain’s mighty armada sailed to invade England and change the balance of power in Europe. Dan explains why Philip II launched the Armada, details the high-stakes clash in the Channel, and outlines the decisive tactics, leadership and luck that helped the English preva ... Show More
1h 9m
Nov 17
Nuremberg: The Trial of Göring
<p>Warning: This episode contains discussion of suicide.</p><br><p>When the Nuremberg Trials began in November 1945, Hermann Göring was the highest-ranking Nazi to face justice for the crimes of the Third Reich. Charismatic, manipulative and unrepentant, he became the central fig ... Show More
40m 3s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2017
Mary, Queen of Scots
In a programme first broadcast in 2017, Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of Mary, Queen of Scots, who had potential to be one of the most powerful rulers in Europe, yet she was also one of the most vulnerable. In France, when she was the teenage bride to their future k ... Show More
52m 19s
Jun 2021
The Early Life of Bloody Mary
<p>The oldest daughter of Henry VIII, Mary Tudor, is commonly known today as "Bloody Mary" for her persecution of Protestants in England during her reign as queen. But as a young woman, she was a girl whose life was ripped out from under her when her father declared that she was ... Show More
35m 13s
Nov 2023
Mary I: What if She'd Lived?
<p>On 17 November 1558, Queen Mary I died. But how would history have turned out differently if Mary had lived another 30 years?&nbsp;Where would her Roman-Catholicism taken England?&nbsp;Would Mary have patched up relations between England and the rest of Europe?&nbsp;</p><br><p ... Show More
31m 29s
Sep 2020
Queen Mary I Pt. 1: England
As the daughter of England’s most famous king, Mary Tudor spent much of her life in Henry VIII’s shadow, forced to navigate his capricious moods and murderous whims. But she played the long game, outlasting nearly everyone around her to assume the throne in 1553 as Britain’s firs ... Show More
45m 31s
Jul 2023
Mary, Queen of Scots: Part Seven: Lochleven
In this week's episode, our girl is BACK as Mary dons at least one disguise and manipulates numerous fools around her! -- References: Daughters of the North: Jean Gordon and Mary Queen of Scots by Jennifer Morag Henderson Embroidering Her Truth: Mary Queen of Scots and the Langua ... Show More
1h 32m
Oct 2020
Maria Theresa
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Maria Theresa (1717-1780) who inherited the Austrian throne in 1740 at the age of 23. Her neighbours circled like wolves and, within two months, Frederick the Great had seized one of her most prized lands, Silesia, exploiting her vulnerability. Yet ... Show More
50m 37s
Oct 2022
Henrietta Maria: The Most Hated Queen Consort?
<p>What does it take to get the reputation as one of the least popular queens in history?</p><br><p>Should we remember Henrietta Maria as the wife of the King executed by his subjects, the Catholic influencer and a serial adulterer? Or as a prankster, a patron of the arts and a m ... Show More
30m 55s
May 2024
Henry VIII's Sister, Margaret Queen of Scots
<p>Margaret Tudor - daughter of King Henry VII, sister to Henry VIII - was married at 13 to James IV of Scotland, learning the skills of statecraft that would enable her to survive his early death and to construct a powerful position in Scotland.&nbsp;</p><br><p>In this episode o ... Show More
41m 16s
Mar 2019
William Cecil
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the impact on the British Isles of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, the most poweful man in the court of Elizabeth I. He was both praised and attacked for his flexibility, adapting to the reigns of Protestant and Catholic monarchs and, under Eliz ... Show More
51m 23s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami