Alison Weir

Alison Weir is the biggest-selling female historian and the fifth best-selling historian in the UK. She has published twenty-one books and sold more than 2.7 million books.

In her latest book and at this talk, she reveals - with her usual eye for detail - the life of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox.

Royal Tudor blood ran in her veins. Her mother was a queen, and she herself was the granddaughter, niece, cousin and grandmother of monarchs. Some thought she should be queen of England. Beautiful and tempestuous, she defied her uncle, Henry VIII, and created scandal by indulging in two illicit affairs. She was forgiven and served five of Henry’s wives.

The marriage arranged for her turned into a love match. A born political intriguer, she was imprisoned in the Tower of London on several occasions. She helped to bring about one of the most notorious royal marriages of the sixteenth century, but it brought her only tragedy. Her son and her husband were brutally murdered, and there were rumours that she herself was poisoned.

She warred with two queens, Mary of Scotland and Elizabeth of England. A brave survivor, Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, was a prominent and important figure in Tudor England, and yet today she is largely forgotten and overlooked.

Her story deserves to be better known, and Alison Weir brings it to life in this new biography.