Join us at The History Festival at Hever Castle for a captivating journey through one of the most dramatic and transformative periods in history, with your favourite historians and authors. This year, we are exploring Tudor and Stuart history, bringing the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries to life with an exciting programme of talks, Q and A’s, and book signings from an incredible line up of speakers.   

Our festival offers a unique opportunity to explore the people, power struggles, and cultural shifts that shaped the modern world. Whether you’re a lifelong history enthusiast or newly curious about this fascinating era, come and be inspired, informed, and thoroughly entertained.  

The Festival Theatre are hugely grateful for the support from the Hever Castle curatorial team, Dr Owen Emmerson and Kate McCaffrey for programming these events.

Each event is a double-bill, with two talks given by two or more historians in our relaxed theatre setting. You are welcome to enjoy the castle gardens between events or book a joint castle gardens and theatre ticket to enjoy the estate for longer. Castle entry tickets can be purchased on the day of your visit.   

The Stolen Crown: Treachery, Deceit and the Death of the Tudor Dynasty

Prof Tracy Borman OBE

Two Sisters’ Theatre

In March 1603, Queen Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch, lay dying at Richmond Palace. The queen’s ministers clustered round her bedside, urging her to name her successor – something she had stubbornly resisted throughout her reign. Almost with her last breath, she whispered that James VI of Scotland should succeed her. She died shortly afterwards and the throne of England passed peacefully from Tudor to Stuart. Or so we’ve been led to believe. But, in this illustrated talk based on her new book, bestselling author, historian and broadcaster Tracy Borman will reveal the shocking truth behind one of history’s best-kept secrets.  

In the weeks and months that followed the demise of the Tudors, history was literally re-written on the orders of the new Stuart dynasty. Newly discovered documents in the British Library even hint that James plotted to have Elizabeth murdered.  

And the lie that began James’s rule in England went on to have devastating consequences. The Stuart regime rapidly descended into turbulence and uncertainty, conspiracy and persecution, witchcraft and gunpowder – culminating in the destruction of the monarchy in the English Civil War. 

Dr Tracy Borman OBE studied and taught history at the University of Hull and was awarded a PHD in 1997. She went on to a successful career in heritage and has worked for a range of historic properties and national heritage organisations, including the Heritage Lottery Fund, The National Archives and English Heritage. Tracy is now Chief Executive of the Heritage Education Trust, a charity that encourages children to visit and learn from historic properties through the Sandford Award scheme. She is also joint Chief Curator for Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that manages Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, the Banqueting House, Whitehall and Hillsborough Castle. In July 2022, Tracy was nominated Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln. In 2024, I was awarded an OBE for services to heritage in the King’s Birthday Honours. 

Tracy often appear on television and radio, and is a regular contributor to history magazines, notably BBC History.  

Books available at this event: 

Tracy is proud to be a trustee of The Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust, an Ambassador for The National Archives, as well as a Patron of Lavenham Library, the Friends of Marble Hill House and the Chalke Valley History Festival, and Patron (Historical) of the Vectis Archaeological Trust. In 2017 she was awarded an honorary degree (DLit) from the University of Hull; in 2020 made an Honorary Fellow in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Queen Mary University of London; and in 2021 she was made an Honorary Professor at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln. Tracy am also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. 

MOTHERLAND

A Journey through 500,000 Years of African Culture and Identity with Luke Pepera 

Two Sisters’ Theatre

Motherland is a ground-breaking exploration of African culture and identity, told via Luke Pepera’s journey through 500,000 years of history to connect with his extraordinary heritage. Pepera tackles the questions many people of African descent ask – Who are we? Where do we come from? What defines us? And how might knowledge of deep history affect our understanding of our identity? 

With illuminating examples, Pepera explores aspects of African identity from nomadic culture and matriarchal society to beliefs about the afterlife and the tradition of oral storytelling. We meet an array of characters including Mansa Musa, the wealthiest man who ever lived, Queen Amanirenas, who defeated the Romans, through to contemporary figures like Kool Moe Dee, who pioneered the rap battle, and Dexter Bristol, a member of the Windrush generation. 

Interwoven with Luke’s own experiences of exploring his Ghanaian family history, this is a comprehensive, relevant and beautifully told account of the stories that have shaped Africa. 

Books available at this event: MOTHERLAND A Journey through 500,000 Years of African Culture and Identity £22 

Luke Pepera is a writer, broadcaster, historian, and anthropologist dedicated to sharing his passion for African history & cultures. He was born in Ghana, and has a degree from St Peter’s College, Oxford, where he read Archaeology & Anthropology and studied ancient and medieval African history. Since graduating he has worked at the Pitt Rivers Museum, The Times, and Tatler, and has written and presented Africa: Written Out of History, a documentary for Dan Snow’s History Hit. 

 ‘An essential read.’ Simon Sebag Montefiore 

‘Magisterial, brilliant, capacious and transformative.’ Kate Williams 

Interpretations and Perceptions of the Tower of London: The Making of Englands Most Famous Fortress. 

Alfred Hawkins 

Two Sisters’ Theatre

The Tower of London is one of the most infamous sites in the world: well known as a place of imprisonment, torture, and execution, alongside being the site of sensational intrigue, murder, and of course ravens – but why, and how, do these perceptions colour so much of the fortress’s varied history? From the works of Victorian Architects Anthony Salvin and John Taylor to the burial place of Anne Boleyn, and the way in which we now tell the history of the Tower, this talk will discuss the creation of the current perception the fortress both in terms of its architectural development, and of the myths and stories that we know so well. 

Alfred Hawkins is a historian, buildings archaeologist, curator, and broadcaster with a decade of experience working in the commercial archaeology, heritage, and museum sectors. As Curator of Historic Buildings for HM Tower of London and the Banqueting House, Whitehall (Historic Royal Palaces) and Cathedral Archaeologist at Portsmouth Cathedral he helps to conserve, research, and share the histories of some of Englands most important sites. 

Keepers of the Royal Wardrobe: connecting lives through objects across 500 years  

Dr Eleri Lynn  

Two Sisters’ Theatre 

Eleri’s talk will focus on her first acquisition for Historic Royal Palaces, that of a 16th century silk hat known as the ‘Bristowe’ hat, said to have given to one Nicholas Bristowe by Henry VIII himself after the Siege of Boulogne. The provenance of the hat, and the family lore surrounding its origins, led out into research questions that both illuminated overlooked lives at the Tudor royal court and showed the continuity of care for objects down the centuries .  

Dr Eleri Lynn is Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces. 

Eleri is an experienced curator, museum leader, and award-winning author, specialising in Tudor fashion and textiles. She has curated and overseen exhibitions and galleries at Historic Royal Palaces, and previously at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales. Eleri is a Trustee of the Royal School of Needlework.  

Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy 

Dr Elizabeth Norton    

Two Sisters’ Theatre 

Female kings have always been a rarity, an oddity, or an undesirable outcome. In almost all places on the globe a male ruler was preferred to a woman, with female inheritance vanishingly rare and frequently disputed. In spite of this, women have secured crowns – or fought for them – over several millennia.  

Some are household names, such as Elizabeth I, who vied with her rival, Mary Queen of Scots or Cleopatra VII whose reign brought pharaonic Egypt to an end. Others, such as the eight reigning empresses of Japan or the queens of Navarre are almost forgotten. In this talk Elizabeth Norton will look at the female kings: women who risked everything, sometimes unwillingly, to find a place in a man’s world. 

Books available at this event: Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy £25. 

The Lives of Tudor Women £10.99 

The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor £8.99 

Dr Elizabeth Norton is a London-based historian specialising in the queens of England and the Tudor period. She has a double first class degree from the University of Cambridge, a Masters degree from the University of Oxford and a PhD from King’s College London. She has taught History at King’s College London and RADA. Her academic research has been published in several peer reviewed journals. 

 Elizabeth’s most recent books are the critically acclaimed ‘The Lives of Tudor Women’ and ‘The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor’. She is also the author of a biography of Margaret Beaufort and four of Henry VIII’s wives, amongst other titles. She regularly writes for magazines, including BBC History magazine, All About History, History Revealed and Who Do You Think You Are? magazine. 

 Elizabeth frequently appears on television, including Danny Dyer’s Right Royal Family (BBC1), Digging up Britain’s Past (Channel 5), Secrets of Great British Castles (Channel 5), An American Aristocrat’s Guide to Great Estates (Smithsonian), Flog-It (BBC2), Bloody Tales of the Tower (National Geographic) and Queen Victoria in her own words (Channel 5). She also appears as an expert on BBC London News and on international television, radio and podcasts. She has live commentated events for television, including royal weddings and the Trooping of the Colour. In addition to these television appearances, Elizabeth has worked as a historical consultant on a number of non-fiction and fiction historical films and television. 

Thomas More: Man, Myth and Mystery: A Discussion with Dr Joanne Paul 

Dr Joanne Paul in conversation with Dr Owen Emmerson 

Two Sisters’ Theatre 

Saintly scholar, zealous persecutor, ambitious statesman – who was the ‘real’ Thomas More? Drawing on new archival research from her biography of More, Dr Joanne Paul will separate the man from the myth to discover the real Thomas More. Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of the sixteenth century to separate fact from fiction and uncover the enduring legacy of one of history’s most enigmatic and divisive figures. 

Books available at this event: 

Thomas More £30 

The House of Dudley £12.99 

Dr Joanne Paul, BA, MA, PhD (Queen Mary, University of London) is an acclaimed historian who has published her research on the Renaissance and Early Modern periods widely. 

Her work focuses on the political, intellectual and cultural history of the Renaissance and Early Modern periods, with an attention to Tudor and Stuart England. Her first trade book, The House of Dudley, was published in March 2022 by Michael Joseph (Penguin) to great acclaim. She has appeared on a variety of television, radio and podcast programmes and served as a consultant for historical documentary and drama. 

Joanne is Honorary Associate Professor in Intellectual History at the University of Sussex, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She also a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker for 2017. 

Joanne has published her research widely, both in academic presses and for a general readership. Her book on the thought and writing of Thomas More was published with Polity in 2016, and led to publications in History Today, History Extra, Juncture, Prospect and elsewhere, as well as speaking engagements at BBC History Weekend, the Battle of Ideas and other events around the UK and Europe. In 2013 she was awarded the Sir John Neale Prize in Tudor History by the Institute of Historical Research. 

Counsel and Command in Early Modern England was published by Cambridge University Press in 2020. Her work has been published in leading academic journals including Renaissance Quarterly, Renaissance Studies, Hobbes Studies and Notes & Queries. You can read more about her publications here. 

She has extensive experience sharing her work with general audience through television, (BBC Two, BBC Four, Channel 5), radio (BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service) and podcast programmes (HistoryExtra, Not Just the Tudors Dynasty, Talking Tudors, etc). She wrote and presented the Youtube Series Dangerous Minds, which has garnered more than 50k views, and her Break it Down episode for Penguin has had more than 400k views. You can see a playlist of appearances here. Recently, Joanne has expanded her consultancy work and is available as a historical adviser for both historical drama and documentary.

Dr Owen Emmerson & Kate McCaffrey 

Hidden Hever: Uncovering the Past, Inspiring the Future 

Two Sisters’ Theatre 

Join Kate McCaffrey and Dr Owen Emmerson for a fascinating exploration of newly uncovered research that is reshaping our understanding of this iconic 14th-century castle and its most famous residents. This talk will reveal how recent discoveries have transformed the accepted history of Hever Castle’s origins and offer us exciting new insights into the lives of Anne Boleyn and Anne of Cleves. The talk will reveal how the Boleyn family used the castle, including the extraordinary survival of their recently refurbished private living quarters in the west wing. It was in these very rooms that Anne Boleyn made her fateful decision to marry Henry VIII, and where she stayed during key moments such as the Sweating Sickness outbreak of 1528. The talk will also shine a spotlight on Anne of Cleves, revealing her significant contributions to the castle’s architecture, including the creation of iconic spaces such as the Long Gallery and Entrance Hall. These discoveries, backed with archival records, suggest Hever became one of her principal residences following the annulment of her marriage to King Henry VIII. Kate and Owen will also share how these findings are shaping the future of Hever Castle, revealing how over the coming years visitors will see changes in the castle’s interiors and displays to better reflect its history. 

Books available at this event: 

Dr Owen Emmerson is a social and cultural historian, co-author of four books, and an expert contributor to several television documentaries. He work part-time as an Assistant Curator at the stunning Hever Castle in Kent as well as working as a historical consultant, most recently on the BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light. Owen is also a co-founder of The Tudor Trio Patreon. 

Owen’s most recent book, entitled Holbein’s Hidden Gem: Rediscovering Thomas Cromwell’s Lost Book was published in 2023. It tells the story of the ground-breaking discovery made by Owen, Kate McCaffrey, and Alison Palmer of the Book of Hours depicted in Hans Holbein’s painting of Thomas Cromwell. Dr Tracy Borman has dubbed our efforts as ‘The most exciting Thomas Cromwell discovery in a generation – if not more’. 

Other books include; The Boleyns of Hever Castle, co-authored with the historian Claire Ridgway, Becoming Anne: Connections, Culture, Court co-authored with the historian Kate McCaffrey and Catherine and Anne: Queens, Rivals, Mothers , co-authored with historian Kate McCaffrey and Curator Alison Palmer. 

Owen has also written for BBC HistoryExtra, The Daily Mirror, Jacobin, The Telegraph, The Express, and Radio Times and appeared in seventeen documentaries about the Tudor era, including “Blood, Sex, and Royalty: Anne Boleyn” (Netflix, 2022); “The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family” (BBC2, 2021); “Who Do You Think You Are? Josh Widdicombe” (BBC1, 2021); “Walking Tudor England” (C5, 2021); “Lady Rochford” (C5, 2021); “Henry VIII and the King’s Men” (Smithsonian, 2020). 

Kate McCaffrey is the Castle Historian and Assistant Curator at Hever Castle in Kent, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. She is currently undertaking her CHASE-funded PhD at the University of Kent. 

Kate is an expert in Anne Boleyn’s Books of Hours (personal prayerbooks). Her MA thesis with the University of Kent uncovered ground-breaking new evidence about Anne Boleyn’s printed Book of Hours, gaining national and international press attention. In 2023, as an extension of her original research, she was part of the team who re-discovered Thomas Cromwell’s lost Book of Hours – a story which also hit international headlines. 

She has co-curated two exhibitions at Hever Castle (‘Becoming Anne’ and ‘Catherine and Anne’), co-authored three books (Becoming Anne, Catherine and Anne and Holbein’s Hidden Gem), and lead an exciting re-interpretation project at Hever Castle, called ‘The Boleyn Apartment’, in June 2024. This was the Castle’s most significant change in a generation. 

She has written for many outlets including the TLS and BBC History, and has appeared as a guest expert on documentaries (for ‘History Hit’), television shows (for the BBC and ITV Meridian) and podcasts (e.g. ‘Talking Tudors’, ‘Not Just The Tudors’).  

In August 2024, she was chosen as one of BBC History Extra’s ’30 under 30′. 

Kate is also a co-founder of the popular Patreon and events company, ‘The Tudor Trio’, alongside Dr Owen Emmerson and Dr Nicola Tallis.

Son of Prophecy: The Origins of the Tudor Dynasty  

Nathen Amin  

Two Sisters’ Theatre

As England’s most celebrated dynasty, it’s often overlooked that the Tudors have their origins in rural Wales, far from the centres of English power where they dared to become great. 
When Henry Tudor won the crown by defeating Richard III, he was a stranger to those he now ruled, an ‘unknown Welshman’ in the words of his defeated foe. At home, however, Henry had long been championed as the Son of Prophecy, a foretold national messiah who would free his oppressed people from their misery. 
Son of Prophecy deftly explores how one family thrived during lean years of political chaos and inter-generational bloodshed to leave behind a complex legacy that changed the face of England and Wales forever. The Tudors, before they became THE Tudors… 

Books available at this event: 
‘Son of Prophecy: The Rise of Henry Tudor’ (2024); £25 
‘Henry VII & Tudor Pretenders’ (2021); £10 
‘The House of Beaufort’ (2017), £10 

Nathen Amin is an author from Carmarthenshire, West Wales, who focuses on the 15th Century and the reign of Henry VII. He wrote ‘Tudor Wales’ in 2014 and ‘York Pubs’ in 2016, followed by the first full-length biography of the Beaufort family, ‘The House of Beaufort’ in 2017. His fourth book, ‘Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders; Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick’, was released in 2021, followed by ‘Son of Prophecy: The Rise of Henry Tudor’ in 2024, named a BBC History Magazine Book of the Year. 

Nathen is an experienced public speaker, presenting talks on the Beauforts, Wars of the Roses, and Henry VII, for more than one hundred societies and book festivals, including the BBC History Weekend, Windsor Castle, HistFest, British Museum, Gloucester History Festival, Cirencester History Festival, Alison Weir Tours, Lichfield Literature Festival, Oundle Festival of Literature, Lancaster Historical Writing Festival, Bosworth Medieval Festival, Barnet Medieval Festival, and the Richard III Society. He has also featured on British, Australian and German radio and television, as well as in print and online media across the UK. As of 2020, he is a trustee and founding member of the Henry Tudor Trust, and in 2022 was elected a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. 

Anne Boleyn and The French: An Important Part of Her Story? 

Dr Estelle Paranque 

Two Sisters’ Theatre 

Join Dr Estelle Paranque as she explains to us why she chose to write Thorns, Lust and Glory. Estelle will explore why Anne’s relations with France is unique and finally what happened at the end and how the French reacted to the news of her death. 

Books available at this event: 

Thorns, Lust and Glory: The betrayal of Anne Boleyn 

Blood, Fire and Gold: The story of Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici 

Dr Estelle Paranque is an Associate Professor in History at Northeastern University London as well as an Honorary Research Fellow within the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance at the University of Warwick. She earned a PhD in Early Modern European History from University College London in 2016. She has participated in international historical TV documentaries including the BBC TWO dock-drama ‘The Boleyns’ (2021) ‘Secrets d’Histoire’ (France, 2015 and 2016) and ‘Elizabeth and Mary’ (Japan, 2018), as well as the history podcasts ‘On The Tudor Trail’, ‘HistoryHit’ and ‘Not Just the Tudors’. 

Estelle is a historian who is truly passionate about history and her areas of expertise: Elizabethan and royal studies. She is the author of the first full-length study on Elizabeth and the French monarchs, entitled Elizabeth I of England Through Valois Eyes: Power, Representation, and Diplomacy in the Reign of the Queen, 1558-1588, recently published by Palgrave Macmillan. She has published co-edited collections on Remembering Queens and Kings in Early Modern England and France (2019), Colonization, Privacy and Trade in Early Modern Europe: The Roles of Powerful Women and Queens (2017) and Forgotten Queens in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Political Agency, Myth-making, and Patronage (2018). She has published several essays and academic journal articles on Elizabeth I of England, Henri III of France, Catherine de Medici and other female European leaders. 

Her research has been featured in the Sunday Telegraph and she has been interviewed by The Telegraph, The Times, BBC Scotland (Radio), among others. Estelle’s article on Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I will be published in December by History Scotland. 

Her latest book, Blood, Fire and Gold: The story of Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici, was published by Ebury Press on 30 June 2022 and by Hachette Group on 6 December 2023 (US). It was named The Times Book of the Week, The Times Best Books of Summer 2022, History Today Books of the Year 2022, Smithsonian Magazine 10 Best History Books of 2022, Amazon, Editor’s Pick for Best History Books of the Month (December 2022). 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8sy6OzVpLilRp6JuU7vYdg?app=desktop 

1000 Tudor People – a fascinating insight into the life and times of the Tudor era. 

Melita Thomas  

Two Sisters’ Theatre 

1000 Tudor People – join us for fabulous insight into vibrant Tudor life. 

Author, historian and scholar, Melita Thomas, gives a vivid insight into some of the fascinating characters who populate her new book, 1000 Tudor People – a compelling look at Tudor lives across all social classes. Monarchs, military and religious leaders, Lord Chancellors, Knights of the Garter, philosophers, merchants, gardeners, musicians, rebels, witches, exorcists and trailblazers all leap from the pages of her critically acclaimed compendium of Tudor personalities. 

Books available at this event: 

1000 Tudor People (£40 hardback) 

The King’s Pearl (£20 hardback)  

House of Grey (£20 hardback). 

Melita Thomas is the co-founder, editor and principal content provider for Tudor Times, the popular web site for all things Tudor and Stewart, 1485 – 1625. She has a Master’s in Historical Research from the Institute of Historical Research and is currently a doctoral candidate at University College London (UCL), working on the social and political networks of Mary I. Melita is the author of history books The King’s Pearl and The House of Grey. Her latest book is 1000 Tudor People, described by Dr Alison Weir as ‘a gold standard in Tudor scholarship’, and by Dr Elena Woodacre of the University of Winchester as ‘an absolute treasure trove and a must for anyone working on or interested in the Tudor period.’  

Together with her co-founder at Tudor Times, she wrote the Tudor Times Book of Days, the Tudor Book of the Garden, the Queen Elizabeth I Book of Days, and the Mary, Queen of Scots Book of Days.  

In her spare time, Melita enjoys long distance walking. She is attempting to walk around the whole coast of Britain, and you can follow her progress on her blog. 

Queen James: The Politics of Favour and the Power of Love at the heart of the monarchy 

Gareth Russell 

Two Sisters’ Theatre 

As King James I lay dying in 1625, his critics joked that they were about to mourn the death of ‘Queen James’. 400 years on from James’s death, Gareth Russell – author of the acclaimed new book Queen James: The Life and Loves of Britain’s First King – explores the ways in which power, passion, and personality shaped this extraordinary royal life. James went from orphaned boy-King of Scots to becoming the first king to rule over all parts of the British Isles. In the years in between, he participated in witch-hunts, survived the worst storm in living memory, championed a new translation of the Bible, endured multiple assassination attempts, and married a remarkable princess. Along the way, James had six love affairs that are every bit as fascinating as Henry VIII’s six marriages – with a spy, a knight, a guardsman, a Welsh earl, a Highland marquess, and an English duke.  

Books available at this event: 

Queen James: The Life and Loves of Britain’s First King £25 

The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of History at Hampton Court Palace £11 

Do Let’s Have Another Drink: The Singular Wit and Double Measures of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother £11 

Gareth Russell is an historian and broadcaster. Educated at Oxford University and Queen’s University, Belfast, Gareth Russell is also a novelist and playwright. He is the author of “Young and Damned and Fair,” “The Ship of Dreams” (A Daily Telegraph Best History Book, 2019), “Do Let’s Have Another Drink” (A Times Book of the Year, 2022) and “The Palace” (Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best New History, A Waterstones Best Book of 2023, BBC History Book of the Year, Town and Country Must-Read, an Aspects of History Best Book of 2023). He is the host of the podcast Single Malt History and divides his time between Belfast and London. 

The other Queen of Scots: the extraordinary life of Margaret Tudor. 

Dr Linda Porter 

Two Sisters’ Theatre 

Linda will be talking about the dramatic life of Henry VIII’s frequently overlooked and often misrepresented elder sister, Margaret Tudor. She was the first Tudor princess, marrying King James IV of Scotland at the age of just thirteen. Margaret was widowed after the battle of Flodden in 1513 and spent the rest of her life fighting for her rights and those of her only son, King James V. Her sibling rivalry with Henry was an important feature of British politics for many years. Margaret was the grandmother of Mary Queen of Scots and it was her line, not Henry’s, that triumphed in 1603 when James VI of Scotland succeeded Elizabeth I and united the two crowns. 

Books available at this event:  

The Thistle and the Rose: the extraordinary life of Margaret Tudor 

Linda Porter has a B.A. and a D.Phil from the University of York, where she studied under the direction of two inspirational professors, Gerald Aylmer and Gwyn A. Williams. She spent nearly ten years lecturing in New York, at Fordham and City Universities among others, before returning with her American husband and daughter to England, where she embarked on a complete change of career. For more than twenty years she worked as a senior public relations practitioner in BT, introducing a ground-breaking international public relations programme during the years of BT’s international expansion. The attractions of early retirement were too good to miss and she has gone back to historical writing as well as reviewing for the BBC History Magazine, The Literary Review and History Today. 

Her first book, Mary Tudor: The First Queen, was published to critical acclaim by Piatkus in the UK. It is available from St. Martin’s Press in the US under the title The First Queen of England: The Myth of “Bloody Mary”. This is a personal history of Mary I, the eldest

Unallocated Covered Seating (One Event, 2 speakers) 

£34.35

*Festival Friends & Hever Castle, Hever Golf and Wellbeing Club Members 

*Groups, over 10 tickets 

Joint Theatre and Castle Garden entry

Please Note: Ticket prices have remained at 2024 prices. We have however embedded the booking fee for the first time.

Two Sisters’ Theatre

Located on the Two Sister’s Lawn, our theatre has… 

One continuous roof, every auditorium seat is undercover. The roof section over the auditorium is transparent so you will be able to enjoy the full vista, as you watch The Stars on stage!  

We can close our walls for events outside the summer months. The walls are clear so you still feel you are in the beautiful garden just with protection from the weather.  

Please check our     access page for further information. 

The theatre bar will be open before the event and after, if between talks for hot and cold drinks, freshly made crepes, hot sausages rolls and Cornish pasties and ice cream.