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Europe’s most iconic Queens in LUCY WORSLEY’S ROYAL MYTHS & SECRETS; Starting Sunday, May 14
< < Back toDiscover the Legacy and Impact of Three of Europe’s Most Iconic Queens in
LUCY WORSLEY’S ROYAL MYTHS & SECRETS
Sundays, May 14 – May 21 on WOUB
Three-Part Series Hosted by the Popular British Historian
Rediscover the true stories behind three of history’s most remarkable queens—Elizabeth I, Queen Anne and Marie Antoinette and their roles in historical events.
In the three-episode, three-hour miniseries, Lucy Worsley, chief curator of the Historic Royal Palaces, travels across Britain and Europe visiting the incredible locations—beautiful palaces, castles and dramatic battlefields—where royal history was made. Throughout, Worsley investigates how royal history is a mixture of facts, exaggeration, manipulation and mythology. Notable women and their roles in historical events are featured: Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada, Queen Anne and the Formation of Great Britain, and Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution.
These three women helped forge the Europe we know today, but Worsley explains how their stories are riddled with inaccuracies. Was Elizabeth I’s defeat of the Spanish Armada really a David and Goliath triumph, or is that one of England’s greatest myths? How did rumors about Queen Anne’s love life and physical weaknesses overshadow her role in forging Great Britain? Did Marie Antoinette actually say “Let them eat cake!” and ignite the French Revolution?
Worsley reveals how history is thought of as a definitive truth about the past, but is often misrepresented through rumor, speculation and sometimes outright lies. “History is a chorus of voices, each of them shouting out its own version of the story,” Worsley observes in the series. “Very often, it’s the loudest voices that get heard most clearly.”
Episode 1: “Elizabeth I: The Warrior Queen”
Sunday, May 14, 8:00–9:00 p.m.
Lucy Worsley reveals how the image of Elizabeth I as a Warrior Queen was created by a series of myths and secrets about her victory over the infamous Spanish Armada. She explores how Elizabeth I’s iconic image has shaped British national identity for centuries.
Episode 2: “Marie Antoinette: The Doomed Queen”
Sunday, May 14, 10:00–11:00 p.m.
Lucy Worsley finds out why Marie Antoinette is often blamed for causing the French Revolution by saying ’Let them eat cake’ to her starving subjects. She discovers that the doomed Queen was much more than a passive victim and uncovers the myths and secrets that led her to the guillotine.
Episode 3: “Queen Anne: The Mother of Great Britain”
Sunday, May 21, 8:00–9:00 p.m.
Lucy Worsley investigates why Queen Anne’s powerful role in the forging of Great Britain has often been forgotten. This is the inside story of the salacious gossip about Anne’s love life that helped destroy her image and her legacy.