There is also discussion around the status of Tudor consort queen Katherine of Aragon, alongside the disputed reign of Lady Jane Grey and the short-lived, but nonetheless impactful, reign of Mary I. She-Wolves’ chapters focus on the lives of the Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, and Margaret of Anjou. Castor’s exploration of a selection of these consorts, and a would-be queen regnant, outlines how their lives were deeply affected by their political and social context.
England’s first crowned regnant queen was Mary I, who reigned from 1553-1558, but before her there were consort queens who wielded power, and some who became well-known for their involvement in major historical events. Adapted into a popular BBCFOUR miniseries in 2018, Castor’s exploration of some of the women who ruled as queen consort or regnant before Elizabeth I presents a mixture of perceptions of female rule from the medieval to the early modern period in England.
Helen Castor’s She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth (2010) is perhaps one of the most well recognised popular biographies on English queens for both academic and public history lovers.
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