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About the show
Join acclaimed historians Suzannah Lipscomb and Kate Williams for this unmissable live event exploring Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I - two women caught in one of the greatest political and personal crises of the 16th century.
Two queens. One crown. A decision that would change the monarchy forever.
Working back from the fall of the axe at Fotheringhay Castle, the discussion explores the chain of events and decisions that led Elizabeth to sign her cousin’s death warrant. What went so wrong between these two women? Why was Elizabeth so threatened—and could this tragedy have been avoided?
Through vivid storytelling, drawing on the latest research, Kate and Suzannah will examine espionage, treason, and gender politics in the Tudor world, from William Cecil’s spy networks and Mary’s defiant embroideries to the Babington Plot. They’ll challenge how male historians have long pitted these women against each other and will reframe their choices as acts of courage and consequence.
A gripping evening of queenship, legacy and power, this is the story of how two queens acted at the greatest crisis point of their lives.
Featuring
Dr Suzannah Lipscomb
Dr Suzannah Lipscomb is an historian, author, broadcaster and award-winning academic. She has a double first in BA History and a distinction in her MSt in Historical Research from Lincoln College, Oxford and DPhil in History from Balliol College, Oxford, where she was a Jowett Senior Scholar.
See Dr Suzannah Lipscomb tour dates
Kate Williams
Kate Williams is a history lecturer, writer and television presenter. Previous historical works England's Mistress, a biography of Emma Hamilton and Becoming Queen, about the youth of Queen Victoria, were both highly acclaimed. Williams is also a novelist using her knowledge of history to base her characters in a particular time and place. Her first novel The Pleasures of Men was set in Victorian London while her recently published second novel The Storms of War tackles the impact of World War I on a prosperous family shunned by a society that once embraced them.
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on Friday 4 September 2026