Was Elizabeth I a man?

Summary

Podcast Summary: History's Greatest Conspiracy Theories Episode Title: Was Elizabeth I a Man? Host: Rob Attar Release Date: July 7, 2025

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Introduction to the Bisley Boy Theory

Timestamp: 01:48

In this episode of History's Greatest Conspiracy Theories, hosted by Rob Attar, the focus shifts to one of the most intriguing and outlandish theories surrounding Queen Elizabeth I: the possibility that she was, in fact, a man masquerading as a woman. Joining Rob is Tudor historian Tracey Borman, who delves deep into the Bisley Boy conspiracy theory.

Understanding the Bisley Boy Conspiracy Theory

Timestamp: 02:33

Tracey Borman introduces the Bisley Boy theory, which suggests that in 1542, a nine-year-old Elizabeth, then not yet queen, fell gravely ill while staying at Overcourt House in Bisley, Cotswolds. According to the theory:

• The Illness and Swap: Elizabeth became severely ill—possibly due to the plague—and her attendants, fearing King Henry VIII's impending visit, decided to swap her with a local red-headed boy who bore a resemblance to her.

• The Aftermath: The real Elizabeth was purportedly buried in the garden of Overcourt House, while the boy continued to live as Elizabeth I, thereby explaining her lifelong bachelorhood and the absence of heirs.

• Advantages of the Theory: This swap would ostensibly account for why Elizabeth never married or had children, fitting the narrative of the Virgin Queen.

Origins and Bram Stoker’s Influence

Timestamp: 02:33 - 06:15

The theory gained significant traction thanks to Bram Stoker, renowned author of Dracula. Stoker's involvement began when his friend, Henry Irving, was searching for a house in the Cotswolds and learned about Overcourt House. In 1910, Stoker published "Famous Imposters", where the Bisley Boy legend featured prominently. Key points include:

• Discovery of the Skeleton: In the 1800s, the vicar of Bisley, Thomas Keble, discovered a stone coffin containing a skeleton of a nine-year-old girl dressed in Tudor attire. Keble believed this was Elizabeth's remains.

• Lack of Contemporary Evidence: Tracey emphasizes that there is no evidence from Elizabeth's time supporting this theory. The narrative largely stems from Keble's imaginative interpretation rather than historical facts.

Arguments Supporting the Theory

Timestamp: 06:15 - 08:31

Supporters of the Bisley Boy theory argue that:

• Sexuality and Gender Perceptions: Elizabeth's contemporaries, including her tutors and secretary Robert Cecil, remarked on her possessing "the heart and stomach of a king," suggesting male-like characteristics.

• Victorian Misogyny: During the Victorian era, when Stoker propagated the theory, societal views were steeped in misogyny, making the idea of a competent woman ruling effectively uncomfortable. The theory provided a facile explanation for Elizabeth's successful reign.

• Elizabeth’s Unique Position: Elizabeth's ability to govern alone without marriage or offspring was unprecedented and baffling to observers of both the Tudor and Victorian periods.

Counterarguments and Refutations

Timestamp: 13:02 - 16:01

Tracey Borman presents strong arguments against the plausibility of the Bisley Boy theory:

• Lack of Contemporary Evidence: There are no records or rumors from Elizabeth's lifetime suggesting any such swap or conspiracy.

• King Henry VIII’s Recognition: Although Henry VIII had limited interactions with Elizabeth, it's implausible he wouldn't recognize his own daughter had such a dramatic change occurred.

• Extensive Court Presence: As queen, Elizabeth was always surrounded by attendants and dignitaries. Maintaining such a significant secret would have been virtually impossible without detection.

• Biological Evidence: Detailed records, including observations of Elizabeth's menstrual cycles and examinations by doctors, confirm her biological femininity.

Modern-Day Relevance and Misogyny

Timestamp: 17:31 - 20:11

The conspiracy theory persists into modern times, reflecting ongoing issues with misogyny:

• Enduring Fascination: The theory remains popular, with numerous blogs and discussions continuing to explore the idea that Elizabeth was actually a man.

• Gender and Sexuality Speculations: Modern conversations often revolve around Elizabeth's gender identity and sexuality, suggesting that her exceptional capabilities were either a result of male characteristics or undisclosed relationships.

• Scientific Speculation: Tracey cautiously mentions conditions like Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, which could theoretically explain some of Elizabeth’s reputed traits, though there is no evidence supporting this in her case.

Comparisons with Other Tudor Queens

Timestamp: 21:49 - 23:29

When discussing if similar theories exist about other Tudor royals, Tracey highlights:

• Mary I of England: Unlike Elizabeth, Mary was conventional, marrying early and actively seeking an heir. Her fertility issues are documented through medical explanations rather than sinister conspiracies.

• Anne Boleyn: Elizabeth’s mother faced intense scrutiny and judgment based on her ability to produce a male heir, showcasing how female royals were often reduced to their reproductive capabilities.

Conclusion and Implications

Timestamp: 25:08 - 25:08

Tracey Borman emphasizes the danger of such conspiracy theories:

• Distraction from Achievements: Focusing on unsubstantiated theories detracts from celebrating Elizabeth’s true accomplishments and understanding her reign's complexities.

• Reflecting Societal Attitudes: These myths reveal much about the societal discomfort with powerful women and the lengths to which some will go to undermine their legitimacy.

Rob Attar concludes the episode by highlighting the importance of separating myth from history and encourages listeners to critically evaluate such sensational theories.

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Notable Quotes:

1. Tracey Borman at 02:33:

   "The real Elizabeth was buried in the garden of Overcourt House. And then this impostor, this boy masqueraded as Elizabeth and really remained as Elizabeth for the rest of his life."

2. Tracey Borman at 06:20:

   "It's very weird, actually. And obviously he was a vicar with a lively imagination. It was just really then seized upon, because it seemed to, at the time, in the 1800s, explain an awful lot that was still very, very confusing to the Victorian people."

3. Tracey Borman at 13:02:

   "There's no contemporary evidence... It absolutely would have got out."

4. Tracey Borman at 20:26:

   "It's a distraction from what we ought to be studying and finding out more about... it is misleading and we ought to be researching and celebrating Elizabeth for who she actually was."

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Looking Ahead: Next episode, History's Greatest Conspiracy Theories will explore the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, delving into its origins and enduring impact.

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This summary was produced by ChatGPT, synthesizing content provided by History Extra's podcast transcript.

Transcript

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[Rob Attar]

Her most famous speech, delivered on 9 August 1588, Queen Elizabeth I declared that she had the heart and stomach of a king. Was that just rhetoric or could England's iconic Tudor queen actually have been a man masquerading as a woman? Welcome to history's greatest Conspiracy Theories from History Extra. I'm Rob Attar and in today's episode I was joined by Tudor historian Tracey Borman to discuss the bizarre Bisley Boy conspiracy theory that was popularised by the author of Dracula. Tracey, could we please begin with the theory itself? How do believers in this conspiracy theory think that a man came to occupy the throne as Elizabeth I?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Yes, and it has to be one of the most outlandish conspiracy theories in history involving my all time historical heroine. So of course it's been one that's really interested me and I've researched it a lot for a number of my books. But the story goes that in about the year 1542, the nine year old Elizabeth, so she was not yet Queen then, was staying in the Cotswolds in Overcourt House. It's a beautiful house dating back to the 14th century in the village of Bisley, close to Stroud, when she fell gravely ill. Now, she'd been apparently sent to the countryside because there was plague in London, but whether she died of plague or some other cause, she suddenly became ill, feverish and she died. Now, according to this theory, her panic stricken attendants, most notably Cat Astley, her governess, daren't tell King Henry viii, Elizabeth's father, they knew that he was due to visit and so in their panic they searched for somebody else in the village who looked like Elizabeth so they could swap them. Problem was, there were no red headed girls, nobody who looked like Elizabeth. But there was a red headed boy who had quite apparently delicate features and could pass for Elizabeth. So they made the switch. The real Elizabeth was buried in the garden, I think, of Overcourt House. And then this impostor, this boy masqueraded as Elizabeth and really remained as Elizabeth for the rest of his life. Now the advantages of this theory, of course, number one, it explains why Elizabeth never married or had children, because if she'd really been this impostor, this man all along, then, yeah, that would explain the, the Virgin Queen thing pretty well. But I think you can possibly tell from my tone of voice that there are some reasons to doubt this theory as well. It actually gained currency thanks to the famous author, Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, who heard about it and read it, recorded by the vicar of bisley in the 1800s, a man called Thomas Keble, who found an old stone coffin during renovations to Overcourt. And contained within the coffin was the skeleton of a girl, aged about nine, dressed in Tudor clothing. And that really seems to have been the nub of it. And what gave then Keble this idea? I haven't been able to find any contemporary evidence that even Elizabeth was staying there at the time. But Keble was convinced that this Tudor coffin was Elizabeth's and he wrote about it. The story was picked up by Bram Stoker because his friend and fellow novelist Henry Irving was looking for a house in the Cotswolds. And so Bram Stoker was helping him look, he'd heard about Overcourt House and that's how he picked up on it. And then in the year 1910, Stoker published his book Famous Imposters. And the Bisley boy legend was a big part of that book. And he puts all sorts of arguments into it. He's really given it Some thought. So it's Stoker's account that really brought this conspiracy theory to prominence.

[Rob Attar]

So was there then no evidence of this conspiracy theory existing prior to the 19th century, then?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

I couldn't find any and I haven't read anybody else's accounts who has been able to unearth anything. So it's quite a leap, isn't it, from Keble finding this coffin, which may or may not have been Tudor to him, then coming up with this theory that Elizabeth stayed there. It must have been her who died and they switched her for a boy. It's very weird, actually. And obviously he was a vicar with a lively imagination. It was just really then seized upon, because it seemed to, at the time, in the 1800s, explain an awful lot that was still very, very confusing to the Victorian people. They could not believe that Elizabeth had ruled so effectively as a woman in a man's world. And so this really helped to explain it, if she'd been a man all along. That's why she was so good at everything. She was described by her tutors at the time. So her actual tutors writing at the time said that Elizabeth had more the understanding of a man than a woman. And I guess there were other things as well. Robert Cecil, her secretary, said that she is more than a man and sometimes less than a woman. So even in Elizabeth's lifetime, or perhaps especially, there were these kind of rumors about her sexuality, her gender. She was seen as somehow an oddity. You simply couldn't have a woman this brilliant, this gifted. She had to have something physically that made her like this. So either she had male. Well, they wouldn't have understood DNA at the time, but some male physical characteristics that explained just why she was so able as queen. Of course, the real reason is she was just a brilliant woman, and we can understand that now, but they couldn't understand it in the Tudor period and they couldn't understand it, I don't think in the 1800s, when Vicar Thomas Keble cooked up this rather outlandish theory.

[Rob Attar]

But that's interesting, isn't it, because they in the 1800s, also had a queen at the time, a queen regnant in Victoria. So there must have been something different about Elizabeth that meant that they could understand Victoria, her position as queen, but they couldn't understand how Elizabeth reigned. What do you think that difference was?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Absolutely. And it's such a good point, Rob, because Victoria, yes, she was another powerful female figurehead. She was sovereign, of course, but she was conventional. She'd married early in her reign, she had nine children. She herself said that she was a wife first and a queen second. So that really conformed to the Victorian ideal. Elizabeth as an unmarried sovereign absolutely didn't. And I think the Victorians were quite deeply uncomfortable with this, just as Elizabeth's contemporaries were.

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[Rob Attar]

So beyond this skeleton in this graveyard, what other evidence do people who support this theory put forward for the idea that Elizabeth was actually a man?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Bram Stoker really got his teeth into this, pardon the pun, author of Dracula. But he did because he claimed that there was a change in Elizabeth's handwriting from 1542 when he said that she died, to 1543. And he's comparing a couple of letters she wrote to Catherine Parr, her last stepmother. And for a start, Catherine Parr didn't even become her stepmother until 1543. But anyway, let's put that to one side. He claims there's a real difference in the style of Elizabeth's handwriting and also in her comprehension. And he points to the fact there's a letter apparently from one of Elizabeth's attendants to one of her tutors, saying, you know, you're going to have to go a bit more slowly in your lessons. She kind of has to catch up. I'm not even aware that's a valid letter. But Stoker talks about it quite vaguely. He also says he has a theory for exactly who the boy was who was substituted for Elizabeth, and he claims that it was an unknown son of Mary Howard and Henry Fitzroy. Now, Henry Fitzroy was Henry VIII's illegitimate son and he was betrothed to Mary Howard, but they were both very young. Fitzroy died before they had any children, so there's no record of any children. But Stoker claims that there was a child. So it kind of adds an extra layer of kind of complexity onto this. But otherwise, Stoker points to and quotes these contemporary Elizabethan sources that say, you know, she was less than a woman and more than a man and she had a male understanding. And for Stoker, that's evidence that's not just 16th century misogyny, as you've already outlined.

[Rob Attar]

This is quite an outlandish conspiracy theory. But what do you think are the strongest arguments against it being true?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

For a start, there's no contemporary evidence. That, for me, is the number one reason for doubt. If this was being circulated at the time, even as a rumour, then that might potentially make it more interesting. But there's so much else. So Stoker points out that Henry VIII hardly saw his daughter Elizabeth. So that's the other obvious hole potentially in the theory. Surely Henry would have recognised that suddenly there's somebody completely different in the place of his daughter. But Stoker says, you know, he hardly saw her. And I think that's why he weaves in Henry Fitzroy, because he said that this boy had a resemblance to Henry VIII and therefore to Elizabeth. So that's why Henry didn't notice. He would have noticed. He didn't see Elizabeth that frequently, but certainly frequently enough to have realised that she'd been swapped for an impostor. So I think that's hard to explain away. And also, as queen, I mean, she was never alone, she was always attended. She would have been dressed by her ladies and a whole army of ladies. You couldn't keep a secret like this, you just couldn't. Even small secrets were found out in the Tudor court and Elizabeth had this Veritable army of attendants. One of them would have said something if they knew that actually beneath these glorious costumes lay the body of a man. It absolutely would have got out. And by contrast, what we have actually are quite detailed records of, for example, Elizabeth's menstrual cycle, because ambassadors were inquiring into this. So we know that she was functioning as a woman because that was valid information to inquire about. For ambassadors who were treating for her hand in marriage, they had to know that she was fertile and she was examined by doctors. You know, this was too big a secret to get away with. There would have had to have been this kind of iron like ring of those in the know surrounding Elizabeth, and there just wasn't. There were just too many people involved in serving her and seeing her divested of her clothes and washing those clothes and the sheets and everything else, that would have really given the game away. It's a theory that I think takes to the extremes, the misogyny that Elizabeth had to deal with, this idea that how on earth did she do it? She's just a woman, yet she is mistress of a kingdom and of an empire, as one of her contemporaries saw it. And this provided the perfect explanation because otherwise it was deeply uncomfortable for her male contemporaries to have to explain that here was a highly competent woman outfoxing them all.

[Rob Attar]

Is this a theory that you still encounter today? You're someone who works on Elizabeth? I. Do people bring this to you? Do people talk to you about it regularly?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

There are a couple of questions that I get asked more than any other when I'm giving talks. For example, top of the list is, was Elizabeth really a virgin queen? That's top. Bisley Boy, I think probably comes second. People love it because they think this explains it and what a neat explanation it would be. So people absolutely are still invested in this, but I would say almost equal, second or perhaps third on the list of most asked questions is, is it true that Elizabeth had Thomas Seymour's child? So for every rumour that there was some physical impediment for Elizabeth to marry and have sex, such as that she's a man, there's one that says she had a lover and that she had an illegitimate child, several illegitimate children, according to some rumors. So where does the truth lie between these two extremes? I think they all boil down to the same point, you know, that she had to be more than just a woman, alone ruling a country. She had to have either a string of male lovers helping and guiding her, or she had to be a Man. But it's fascinating, isn't it, that all of the questions I'm asked more than any other, revolve around Elizabeth's gender and sexuality. And that really is the genesis of this conspiracy theory.

[Rob Attar]

So this must point to much more recent misogyny than just the Tudor age, because this conspiracy theory was born in the Victorian era. It's still believed today. We're talking about modern day misogyny as well here, aren't we?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

We absolutely are. So, yes, Thomas Keble, so he was vicar of bisley from the 1820s all the way through to the 1870s. So that he kind of spanned a few different reigns, but mostly Victoria's reign and then Bram Stoker that was into the. Well, it's the crossover between the reign of Edward VII and then George V. So we're talking early 20th century and the fact it's still being spouted, repeated. When I was preparing for this podcast today, I thought, I'm just gonna Google it and see if, if people are still talking about this. Yes, they are, Rob. I can say there are lots of blogs about this. People are still fascinated today. And the interesting thing is I think it's being kind of debated and posted about more by women than men, actually. So it's misogynistic. But I think people do just love a good conspiracy theory. They love to have come up with this reason that explains apparently so much about Elizabeth. I mean, I do tend to put more credence to theories that, you know, Elizabeth may have had some kind of physical characteristic that gave her more energy, made her more kind of stridently masculine, if you like. I'm really cautious about this, but I think it carries a bit more weight. There's a syndrome called androgen insensitivity syndrome, and people with this condition are born with male XY chromosomes but develop outwardly as female. And women with this condition apparently find sexual intercourse either difficult or impossible. Wallis Simpson apparently suffered from it. They tend to be very slim, actually quite thin. Both Elizabeth and Wallis were and have a dominance of testosterone in their bodies. They tend to be unusually tall, very, very energetic, sort of restless energy. You know, if I'm going to be pushed along the theory of, you know, was there something behind this? Was Elizabeth in some way male? Did she have male characteristics that holds a bit more weight potentially. But really, from what I've read and researched of Elizabeth, I think at heart she was just an incredibly able woman. And that's what people even today struggle with.

[Rob Attar]

So this conspiracy theory, as we've said, is quite A strange one. Some people might find it quite amusing, but do you think there's a pernicious aspect to it, too? Is it dangerous for these conspiracy theories to exist and for people to not take a woman seriously at that time?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

I think it is dangerous, actually, because as well as saying more about the society that spawns these ideas, it takes the spotlight away from what we should be looking at, which are Elizabeth's achievements, also her failures. I'm not just going to be a complete Elizabeth champion here today. It wasn't necessarily just a dazzling golden age, her reign, but it's a distraction from what we ought to be studying and finding out more about, you know, whether it's her foreign policy or her court life, her contribution to English culture. All of these really fascinating subjects, I'm not saying they've been neglected, but it's unhelpful when there is just this obsession with, was she a virgin queen? Was she a man? Did she have secret love children? That's not really the questions we should be answering. So it is. It's very dangerous. I think it's misleading and we ought to be researching and celebrating Elizabeth for who she actually was. And, you know, I have to say, Rob, I've been guilty of it too, because it's interesting, isn't it? Everybody wants to know. I think even today with modern royals, you know, what goes on behind closed doors, what are the relationships really like? We kind of want the gossip, don't we? And I guess it was just the same in the reign of Elizabeth.

[Rob Attar]

Now, interest. Are there any similar theories about Mary? Because she was quite a powerful queen, quite a dominant figure who, again, didn't have any children. Or is it only limited to Elizabeth?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

It's interesting, isn't it, because there are no really similar theories, because Mary was conventional, she was another Victoria. She married very early in her reign. She made it clear that that was what she wanted and that, you know, she was fixated with having an heir. There was no question she was going to rule alone. But in that case, because, of course, we know that Mary did have fertility problems and she suffered what may have been either fertility phantom pregnancies or actually something like ovarian cancer, it would have produced similar symptoms to the ones that Mary experienced when she thought she was pregnant. But historians tend to look at Mary's physical history in a more, I guess, rational, impartial light. So they point to the fact that Mary did have problems, stomach problems, menstrual problems growing up, and they look at those more, as I say, rationally, and more in isolation. And don't try to speculate that, you know, what. Was there something else behind it? Was there something more sinister? And actually, we know as well that Elizabeth had similar problems. I don't know if it's perhaps something they both inherited from Henry. There are all sorts of theories, but Mary hasn't been subject to the same amount of rumour because she did the conventional, the expected thing of getting married and of at least trying to have a child, even though, sadly, that didn't happen for her.

[Rob Attar]

Were there any other queens or Tudor royals for whom there was this same level of attention about their physical bodies and same amount of speculation about them?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

There certainly were, because the primary function of a queen, particularly a queen consortium, not just a queen regnant like Elizabeth and her sister Mary, was to fill that royal nursery, was to produce heirs to secure the dynasty. And that's not just unique to the Tudor period, of course. And so I would actually point in particular to Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn, who, of course, we know an awful lot about her fertility problems because they would cost her her life. Ultimately, she wasn't an adulteress. I'm pretty sure she wasn't a traitor. But she didn't famously give Henry VIII the son that he so desired. So ultimately, this brilliant woman, and I think Anne Boleyn absolutely was that was judged not by her mind or her achievements, her abilities, but by her body. And I think that's what it boils down to with both queen's consort and queen's regnant. If they didn't fulfill the basic female functions, then people almost couldn't get past that. They couldn't really truly appreciate anything else they did. And certainly Henry VIII couldn't appreciate that. So it's interesting, isn't it, that parallel between mother and daughter, their fates were very different in one respect, but in another, they were both ultimately judged by their bodies.

[Rob Attar]

That was Tracy Borman, author of numerous books about the Tudor age. And that's all for this episode. But do join us next time when we'll be exploring the story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Thanks for listening. This podcast was produced by Jack Bateman.