Jack Beesley is a postgraduate in Heritage and Queenship Studies from Queen Mary University of London and Historic Royal Palaces, currently preparing to begin his PhD at Manchester Metropolitan University this October.
Jack’s BA dissertation focused on the memory of Anne Boleyn in the reign of Elizabeth I, for which he won the King Alfred Prize for Best Performance in History from the University of Winchester in 2019. His MA dissertation, meanwhile, focused on the relationship between nationalism and the heritage sector, specifically the impact of Scottish Civic Nationalism on gendered heritage interpretation. Jack’s research identified how this form of nationalism can contribute to the obscurement of royal women, such as Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots, from mainstream heritage narratives in Scotland. This project inspired Jack to pursue doctoral research. His PhD will focus on the impact of nationalism on representations of royal women in heritage interpretation across England, Scotland and France. By conducting this research, Jack hopes to contribute towards making gender an acknowledged field within heritage discourse and influence the future diversity of heritage interpretation, affording women’s narratives greater presence and impact.
Outside of academia, Jack can be found writing his first historical fiction novel (which of course features queens), enjoying long walks and learning French.
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