Tudor and Stuart Consorts: Power, Influence, and Dynasty

Queenship and Power

by Aidan Norrie (Editor), Carolyn Harris (Editor), J. L. Laynesmith (Editor)

This book examines the lives and tenures of all the consorts of the Tudor and Stuart monarchs of England between 1485 and 1714, as well as the wives of the two Lords Protector during the Commonwealth. The figures in Tudor and Stuart Consorts are both incredibly familiar―especially the six wives of Henry VIII―and exceedingly unfamiliar, such as George of Denmark, the husband of Queen Anne. These innovative and authoritative biographies recognise the important role consorts played in a period before constitutional monarchy: in addition to correcting popular assumptions that are based on limited historical evidence, the chapters provide a fuller picture of the role of consort that goes beyond discussions of exceptionalism and subversion. This volume and its companions reveal the changing nature of English consortship from the Norman Conquest to today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Tudor Period

396 pages, Hardcover

First published July 20, 2022

Reviews

[Carol-Ann Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting look at the way different Consorts have been portrayed by themselves or others and how those images have shaped our view, whether rightly or wrongly, today.

[Helene Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapters written by Aidan Norrie, Lauren Rose Browne, Courtney Herber, Chloe Fairbanks, Samuel Lane, Valerie Schutte, Nicola Clark, Micheline White, Mitchell Gould, Stephanie Russo, Joseph Massey, Jemma Field, Susan Dunn-Hensley, Emelye Keyser, Sophie Shorland, Lloyd Llwellyn-Jones, Julie Farguson, and Catriona Murray.

I picked this book up for research purposes, working myself on the Tudor consorts. There wasn’t really anything new in this book for me, but it is a solid piece of work on each of the consorts from the Tudor and Stuart periods. I think it could have been beneficial to divide the book into two and have one on the Tudor consorts and one on the Stuart consorts and go into a bit more detail. It feels a little sparse in places.

Each chapter seems to focus on a particular part of idea about each of the consorts, rather than giving a generalised biography. For example, the chapter on Katherine Howard focuses on the question of whether she was a victim, whether Anne of Cleves was the true survivor queen, and whether Henrietta Maria was dangerous. In a book of this length (370 pages), it is difficult to get full biographies of all 15 consorts it explores, so this is a clever way of giving an overview and focusing in on particular parts.

As well as biographies, there are additional chapters on literary afterlives of the Tudor consorts, and representation of the Stuart consorts, which are really interesting, quite possibly the most enjoyable chapters for me, as I have an interest in representation and development of image over time anyway. For those less familiar with how all of the consorts and monarchs of the period interrelate, there are two simplified family trees at the beginning of the book.

It has excellent citations, and there are a few images throughout, though they are heavily weighted into the Stuart side of the book. If you’re aware of the basics of the consorts already, and want to know a bit more detail, then this might be the book for you!