British History: Royals, Rebels, and Romantics

Carol Ann Lloyd

Weekly podcast, British History: Royals, Rebels, and Romantics, available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. Meet famous and infamous characters, walk with playwrights and peasants, and wander through castles and cathedrals. New episodes every Wednesday. Have a question about British history, something you’ve always wanted to know? Just ask! Let’s explore history together.

  • 45 minutes 49 seconds
    The Truth Behind the Stolen Crown with Tracy Borman (ep 232)

    The death of Elizabeth I marked the end of the Tudor dynasty. But how did James VI of Scotland become the next English monarch? Historian Tracy Borman shares the hidden story.

    Show Notes:

    Carol Ann Lloyd
    www.carolannlloyd.com
    @shakeuphistory
    patreon.com/carolannlloyd
    The Tudors by Numbers
    Courting the Virgin Queen 

    Tracy Borman, OBE
    tracyborman.co.uk
    Twitter: @tracyborman
    Insta: @tracy.borman
    FB: @TracyBorman
    The Stolen Crown (now available in US and UK!)
    Holbein: The Ambassadors
    Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History
    Crown and Sceptre
    AND MORE!

    History shows us what's possible.

    5 November 2025, 5:00 am
  • 46 minutes 8 seconds
    The Women Who Wrote the Renaissance with Ramie Targoff (ep 231)

    While navigating the expectations of women's work in the sixteenth century, some women created works that have lasted hundreds of years. Ramie Targoff shares how women's words help us understand the Renaissance.

    Show Notes:

    Carol Ann Lloyd
    www.carolannlloyd.com
    @shakeuphistory
    patreon.com/carolannlloyd
    The Tudors by Numbers
    Courting the Virgin Queen 

    Ramie Targoff
    ramietargoff.com
    Shakespeare's Sisters: How Women Wrote the Renaissance
    The Life of Vittoria Colonna: Renaissance Woman
    Posthumous Love
    Poems of Womanhood
    John Donne, Body and Soul

    History shows us what's possible.

    22 October 2025, 4:00 am
  • 58 minutes 21 seconds
    Crown Divided: Richard II and Henry IV with Helen Castor (ep 230)

    Two cousins, both descended from Edward III. Both would become King of England. Helen Castor explores the epic battle between Richard II and Henry IV--the causes and the implications.

    Show Notes:

    Carol Ann Lloyd
    www.carolannlloyd.com
    @shakeuphistory
    patreon.com/carolannlloyd
    The Tudors by Numbers
    Courting the Virgin Queen 

    Helen Castor
    helencastor.substack.com
    @hrcastor
    The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV
    Elizabeth I: A Study in Insecurity (Penguin Monarchs)
    Joan of Arc: A History
    She Wolves: The Women Who Ruled Before Elizabeth
    Blood and Roses

    History shows us what's possible.

    8 October 2025, 4:00 am
  • 1 hour 3 minutes
    Mary of Modena and The Graces with Breeze Barrington (ep 229)

    Taken from the letters of Mary of Modena, this is the story of the Queen Consort and the women in her court who reshaped the culture and conventions of her time.

    Show Notes:

    Carol Ann Lloyd
    www.carolannlloyd.com
    @shakeuphistory
    patreon.com/carolannlloyd
    The Tudors by Numbers
    Courting the Virgin Queen 


    Breeze Barrington
    www.breezebarrington.com
    https://allthingsseventeenthcentury.substack.com/
    @breeze_barrington
    The Graces: The Extraordinary Untold Lives of Women at the Restoration Court
    Available from Blackwell’s: Blackwells.co.uk

    History shows us what's possible.

    24 September 2025, 4:00 am
  • 38 minutes 56 seconds
    Making Space for More Stories in History with Carol Ann (ep 228)

    My motto is "History shows us what's possible." But what does that mean? I turn to the terrific book What is History Now?, edited by Helen Carr and Suzannah Lipscomb to explore what history can be when open our minds and make room for more.

    Show Notes:
    Carol Ann Lloyd
    www.carolannlloyd.com
    @shakeuphistory
    patreon.com/carolannlloyd
    The Tudors by Numbers
    Courting the Virgin Queen 

    What is History Now

    Helen H Carr
    https://www.helenhcarr.com
    @helenhcarr Twitter
    @helencarr_author Instagram

    Suzannah Lipscomb
    https://suzannahlipscomb.com/
    @SixteenthCGirl

    History shows us what's possible.

    10 September 2025, 4:00 am
  • 23 minutes 29 seconds
    Murder Mystery in Elizabethan England, Times Two (ep 227)

    For our final Royals, Rebels, and Romantics Summer Special, I'm sharing a couple of fun reads: Elizabethan murder mysteries! Set in the times of two Elizabeths--Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II.

    Show Notes:
    Carol Ann Lloyd
    www.carolannlloyd.com
    @shakeuphistory
    patreon.com/carolannlloyd
    The Tudors by Numbers
    Courting the Virgin Queen 

    Suzanne Wolfe, Elizabethan Spy Mysteries series
    https://suzannemwolfe.com/
    A Murder by Any Name
    The Course of All Treasons

    S J Bennett, Her Majesty The Queen Investigates series
    https://www.sjbennettbooks.com/
    Windsor Knot
    A Three Dog Problem
    And more!

    History shows us what's possible.

    28 August 2025, 4:00 am
  • 1 hour 7 minutes
    Radical Jane: A New Look at Austen's Novels with Helena Kelly (ep 226)

    As we celebrate Jane Austen's 250th birthday, her novels are more beloved than ever. But do we see them as she intended? Dr Helena Kelly joins us to discuss the radical nature of Austen and her novels.

    Show Notes:

    Carol Ann Lloyd
    www.carolannlloyd.com
    @shakeuphistory
    patreon.com/carolannlloyd
    The Tudors by Numbers
    Courting the Virgin Queen 

    Dr Helena Kelly
    @msashtondennis
    Jane Austen, The Secret Radical
    The Life and Lies of Charles Dickens
    The Worlds of Jane Austen (coming Sept 23, 2025)

    History shows us what's possible.

    20 August 2025, 4:00 am
  • 1 hour 31 minutes
    Cecily and Other Royal Mothers with Annie Garthwaite (ep 225)

    At the heart of the Hundred Years War to the Wars of the Roses, women worked behind the scenes. As men struggle for power, women work to protect their families. What will and won't they do to promote the cause of the people they love?

    Show Notes:

    Carol Ann Lloyd
    www.carolannlloyd.com
    @shakeuphistory
    patreon.com/carolannlloyd
    The Tudors by Numbers
    Courting the Virgin Queen 

    Annie Garthwaite
    https://www.anniegarthwaite.com/
    @anniegarthwaite
    @anniegarthwaitewriter
    Cecily
    The King's Mother
    (Books available from blackwells.co.uk)

    History shows us what's possible.

    16 July 2025, 12:00 pm
  • 51 minutes 38 seconds
    How We See Anne Boleyn: Image and Perception with Helene Harrison ( ep 224)

    Who was Anne Boleyn? Helene Harrison reviews documents, images, letters, biographies, and more to consider the various ways Anne Boleyn's image has been created.

    Show Notes:

    Carol Ann Lloyd
    www.carolannlloyd.com
    @shakeuphistory
    patreon.com/carolannlloyd
    The Tudors by Numbers
    Courting the Virgin Queen 

    Helene Harrison
    tudorblogger.com
    @tudorblogger
    The Many Faces of Anne Boleyn: Interpreting Image and Perception
    Tudor Executions: From Nobility to the Block
    Elizabethan Rebellions: Conspiracy, Intrigue, and Treason

    History shows us what's possible.

    18 June 2025, 1:00 pm
  • 27 minutes 45 seconds
    Sceptered Isle: The Story of the Fourteenth Century with Dr Helen Carr (ep 223)

    Fourteenth century England was a time of upheaval, extended war, political turmoil, and overall chaos. Dr Helen Carr joins us to talk about her new book that covers the life of the famous and lesser-known people of a time that changed power structures and the monarchy forever.

    Show Notes:

    Carol Ann Lloyd
    www.carolannlloyd.com
    @shakeuphistory
    patreon.com/carolannlloyd
    The Tudors by Numbers
    Courting the Virgin Queen 

    Dr Helen Carr
    helencarr.com
    @helenhcarr
    History Hit, Intelligence Squared, BBC, The New Statesman, etc.
    The Red Prince: John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster
    What is History, Now? (co-author and editor)
    Sceptered Isle: A New History of the Fourteenth Century

    History shows us what's possible.

    4 June 2025, 4:00 am
  • 1 hour 4 minutes
    Anne Boleyn: Days of Glory and Betrayal with Estelle Paranque (ep 222)

    For hundreds of years, the stories of Anne Boleyn have fascinated us. Her stunning rise to the role of Queen of England, the birth of the future Elizabeth I, and the catastrophic fall from favor that led to a swordsman from Calais is a story we can't stop telling. But where did it all begin? Estelle Paranque traces Anne's story to its origin in the glamorous kingdom of France.

    Show Notes:

    Carol Ann Lloyd

    www.carolannlloyd.com
    @shakeuphistory
    patreon.com/carolannlloyd
    The Tudors by Numbers
    Courting the Virgin Queen 

    Estelle Paranque 

    Associate Professor Northeastern University London
    Insta: @estellrprnq; Twitter: @drestelleprnq
    Thorns, Lust, and Glory: The Betrayal of Anne Boleyn
    Blood, Fire, and Gold: The Story of Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici
    Elizabeth I of England Through Valois Eyes  

    History shows us what's possible.

    21 May 2025, 4:00 am
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