Category Archives: Research Post

A discussion of LGBTQ+ stories and historical spaces

By Holly Marsden The material remains of historic houses and the imagining of their past inhabitants enables the concurrent appreciation by their visitors of the historical specificity and otherness of the past, together with those echoes of the familiar which makes them feel real. Making connections with the ghosts of the past will remain anContinue reading “A discussion of LGBTQ+ stories and historical spaces”

‘You spent fifty thousand on shoes!:’[1] power, gender, and sartorial expression in Versailles

By Holly Marsden Cover Image: BBC Two Canal+’s historical drama Versailles premiered in the UK in May 2016 on BBC Two. It is set during the building of the palace of Versailles, led by King Louis XIV in seventeenth century France. The is frivolous, dramatic and gripping, portraying Louis in his most power-hungry prime: inContinue reading “‘You spent fifty thousand on shoes!:’[1] power, gender, and sartorial expression in Versailles“

Mater Dolorosa: Elisabeth in the Aftermath of Mayerling

By Lucy Coatman Cover Image: Empress Elizabeth at Corfu by Friedrich August von Kaulbach, after 1898, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Friedrich_August_von_Kaulbach_-_Sisi_auf_Korfu.jpg This blog post complements Lucy’s post published earlier this month, and we highly recommend reading it before delving into Elisabeth here.

Stéphanie: A Life in the Shadow of Mayerling

‘Dear Stéphanie, By Lucy Coatman Cover Image: Crown Princess Stéphanie, mid-1890s, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St%C3%A9phanie,_Crown_Princess_of_Austria-Hungary.jpg ‘Dear Stéphanie, ‘Dear Stéphanie, ‘Dear Stéphanie, By Lucy Coatman Cover Image: Crown Princess Stéphanie, mid-1890s, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St%C3%A9phanie,_Crown_Princess_of_Austria-Hungary.jpg ‘Dear Stéphanie, ‘Dear Stéphanie, ‘Dear Stéphanie,

A Forgotten Queen: Mary of Modena

By Susannah Lyon-Whaley One early modern queen consort has not yet received her share of the limelight, despite a dramatic and remarkable life. Mary of Modena (1658-1718), born Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d’Este, married James, duke of York (1633-1701) in 1673. She was only fifteen, and the duke was forty. While such ageContinue reading “A Forgotten Queen: Mary of Modena”

Acknowledging a wealth of scholarship on global queenship

By Elena ‘Ellie’ Woodacre In my last blog post for Team Queens “Going Global: New Directions in Queenship Studies”, I talked about how important it was for us as a field to reframe queenship in a fully global context, inclusive of all periods, places and cultures. While this is a fairly new trajectory for queenshipContinue reading “Acknowledging a wealth of scholarship on global queenship”

Girls on Film: On-Screen Depictions of Queens in Warfare

By Catherine Capel Queens have been brought to life on the screen for many decades, highlighting their turbulent and enigmatic reigns and portraying key themes analysed within queenship studies – reception of female power and rulership, succession crises, sexuality, and motherhood to name but a few. But warfare as an aspect of queenship has notContinue reading “Girls on Film: On-Screen Depictions of Queens in Warfare”

Marie-Louise d’Orléans, Queen of Spain (1662-1689)

By Elisabetta Lurgo Cover Image: Portrait of Marie Louise d’Orléans (1662-1689), c. 1679, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marie-Louise_d%27Orl%C3%A9ans,_reine_d%27Espagne.jpg If, according to the contemporary view, the reign of Marie-Louise d’Orléans, wife of King Carlos II of Habsburg, ended with the fleeting victory of the Austrian faction at the court of Spain, her sudden death, which gave rise to tenacious suspicionsContinue reading “Marie-Louise d’Orléans, Queen of Spain (1662-1689)”

Katherine Parr, religious reform, and the battle for the throne

By June Woolerton Twitter: @mrsrjgiven On a summer’s day in 1546, the Queen of England was walking with her husband when guards arrived to arrest her. King Henry VIII had already had two of his previous wives detained and later executed and for a moment there was every indication that his sixth consort was aboutContinue reading “Katherine Parr, religious reform, and the battle for the throne”