Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: New Books Network
Episode: Tracy Borman, "The Stolen Crown: Treachery, Deceit and the Death of the Tudor Dynasty"
Host: Dr. Miranda Elcher
Guest: Tracy Borman
Air Date: November 12, 2025

Episode Overview

In this illuminating conversation, Dr. Miranda Elcher interviews author and Tudor historian Tracy Borman about her groundbreaking new book, The Stolen Crown: Treachery, Deceit and the Death of the Tudor Dynasty. The discussion delves into the turbulent and often misunderstood transition of power from Elizabeth I to James I, challenging centuries-old assumptions regarding the succession and revealing explosive archival discoveries that upend the established historical narrative. Borman explains why this moment matters, how recent research has changed the story, and what it teaches us about history, power, and the control of narratives.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tracy Borman’s Background and Motivation for the Book

• Tudor Obsession: Borman describes herself as a lifelong “Elizabeth obsessive” whose fascination with the Queen was foundational to her career as a historian.
  • "[Elizabeth's] probably the number one obsession. And really, I think it's not overstating it to say the reason I became a historian." (03:15, C)
• The Discovery Trigger: While writing another book, a newsflash about the British Library’s findings on the Elizabethan succession stopped her cold, revealing that “everything we thought we knew... was a complete lie. It was fabricated on the orders of the new king, James I.”
  • "...the British Library had just published some research that proved that everything we thought we knew about the Elizabethan succession ... was a complete lie." (03:59, C)
• Urgency of New Scholarship: Publishers allowed her to pause her existing project:
  • "It was just astonishing. And really, I think the most important discovery about Elizabeth... in at least a generation." (04:36, C)

2. Succession in the Tudor Era: What Was Supposed to Happen?

• Primogeniture & Patriarchy: Crown typically passed by blood, ideally to eldest surviving son.
• Henry VIII’s Complications: Henry VIII’s many marriages and shifting successions, his determination for a male heir, and legal actions (declarations of illegitimacy, restoring his children late in life).
  • "He... married six times...because he needed a male heir, because there was hardly any precedence for a female monarch." (07:02, C)
• Elizabeth’s Unexpected Reign: Elizabeth, once low in the line, became queen “against all odds.” As an unmarried female, she refused to marry or name an heir, creating major anxiety.
  • "Her first duty...was that she would marry and she would have heirs and spares to secure the Tudor dynasty. So imagine the consternation when...Elizabeth declared, I will live and die a virgin." (09:08, C)
• Political Sensibility: Elizabeth’s reluctance to name a successor was strategic self-preservation; naming one “creates a rival.”
  • "She knew the minute you name a successor, you create a rival who could be a danger to you." (10:25, C)

3. Who Could Succeed? The Contenders, Their Claims, and Problems

Legal & Dynastic Obstacles

• Henry VIII’s Will: Explicitly barred Scottish (Stuart) claimants, favoring descendants of his younger sister Mary, including the Grey family.
  • "What he said is that no stuart, no King of Scots or Queen of Scots will ever sit on my throne." (11:25, C)
• The Grays: Should have produced the legal heir in Edward Grey, but their candidacy faltered for various reasons.

The Main Rival Claimants

• Mary, Queen of Scots: Closest blood claim, but Catholic and personally rivalrous with Elizabeth.
  • "Mary, Queen of Scots was Henry VII's great granddaughter and Elizabeth was his granddaughter...but she was Catholic...intense personal rivalry." (18:11, C)
• James VI of Scotland: Son of Mary, Queen of Scots; Protestant but a Scot, which was fraught for the English.
• The Grey Sisters and Their Sons: Protestant, legal claimants, but effectively sidelined by Elizabeth’s personal antipathy and political imprisonments.
• Henry Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon: Plantagenet blood, but little interest himself.
  • "Poor Henry, he didn't want anything to do with the throne..." (19:37, C)
• Arbella Stuart: English-born Stuart, raised to expect real power, but naïve and politically unsavvy.

Risks of Candidacy

• Taboo on Succession Talk: Elizabeth introduced a law banning all public succession debates “on pain of death.” Even Parliament could not ignore the matter (“80% of the debates” concerned succession). (16:32, C)
• Punishments:
  • "She hated the Grey sisters...imprisoned them...persecuted them relentlessly." (19:00, C)

4. The James-Elizabeth Correspondence: Signals and Implications (22:59)

• Unprecedented Duration: Over three decades, one of the longest monarch-correspondences in history (“from 1572 to 1603”).
• Advice and Calculated Favour: Elizabeth never named James, but “showed James favor that she showed none of the other candidates” and offered advice on English monarchy and political theatrics.
  • "Elizabeth is trying to help James. She’s trying to counsel him as to what makes a good monarch in England..." (24:10, C)
• James’s Disregard: Despite “playing lip service,” James ignored her advice—especially about working with Parliament and performing royal pageantry.
  • "James disregards every scrap of advice that Elizabeth gives him...and that would have really devastating consequences." (25:12, C)
• A Willing Accomplice?:
  • "Although the title of my book is quite provocative, it's The Stolen Crown. You could say Elizabeth had a hand in that theft." (26:42, C)

5. The Succession Crisis: How Smooth Was It? (27:17)

• Darwinian Culling: By the late 1590s, most contenders were dead or sidelined—James’s position grew by default as much as design.
• Dynastic Strengths: James and Anne of Denmark produced heirs (Henry, Charles, Elizabeth)—offering stability after years of anxiety.
• Gender Bias:
  • "The people of England are wishing no more Queensland... it's time we had a man on the throne again." (30:17, C)

6. The Rocky Reign of James I: Reality vs. Propaganda (31:28)

• Initial Relief, Swift Dissatisfaction: General relief greeted his accession, but James quickly upset expectations by being private, neglecting ceremony, and showing preference for male favorites, alienating courtiers and the public.
• Parliamentary Clashes & Unification Disputes: James sought to unite England and Scotland; Parliament firmly opposed.
• Chaos and Plots:
  • The Gunpowder Plot (1605): Catholic plot threatened to “blow the Scottish King to the heavens.”
    • "He persecuted Catholics far more than Elizabeth ever did...They came so close to success..." (32:56–34:03, C)
  • Popular Discontent: Nostalgia for Elizabeth exploded, evidenced in ballads:
    • "'A Tudor. A Tudor. We've had Stuarts enough. None ever reigned like Queen Bess in her wrath.'" (35:22, C)

7. How the History Got Rewritten: Camden, Censorship, and the Cover-Up (36:07)

• James’s Insecurity: Fearing doubt about his ‘rightful’ succession, James commissions historian William Camden to rewrite his already-completed manuscript history with “full editorial control.”
• "...in 1608, he called a meeting with Camden and he ordered him to go back and rewrite certain sections of his history..." (37:05, C)
• Fabrication and Delay: Camden is essentially forced to create a fraudulent account, particularly about Elizabeth’s supposed deathbed nomination of James.
  • "I'm having to rewrite history here on the King's orders. I'm having to fabricate things, I'm having to tell lies..." (38:02, C)
• Unveiling the Truth: Recent British Library research identified 200+ pages ‘pasted over’ in Camden's manuscript; forensic techniques revealed beneath that Elizabeth named no one, directly contradicting 400 years of conventional accounts.
  • “...they were able to see the words underneath. And that's when they got to the truth. And that's when they realized that Elizabeth, contrary to what Camden said…said nothing at all.” (40:16, C)

Notable Change for Mary, Queen of Scots & Other Suppressions (42:35)

• Camden had to paint Mary in a positive light.
• Omitted references to James possibly plotting assassination of Elizabeth.
• Camden’s “ode to truth” in his preface was a cry for future historians not to trust the official narrative.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the Impact of the Research Discovery:

  • "Honestly, this is the most profound discovery I can remember in my sort of 35 years of being a historian. And I just think it's, it is, it changes everything we thought we knew." (41:26, C)

• On the Historic Rewrite:

  • “I'm having to rewrite history here on the King's orders. I'm having to fabricate things, I'm having to tell lies and it clearly tortures poor Camden, but you can't defy the royal command.” (38:02, C)
  • "...Camden is leaving these clues, which we just didn’t see for 400 years. And now I’ve gone back and reread Camden, of course, I can see he’s basically gagged by the king." (45:10, C)

• On Elizabeth’s Approach to Succession:

  • “Actions speak louder than words. Elizabeth remained tight lipped on the succession forever...but she showed James favor that she showed none of the other candidates.” (23:45, C)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:15] Tracy Borman introduces her Tudor specialization and motivation.
• [06:29] Explanation of Tudor succession norms and Henry VIII’s manipulations.
• [11:16] The legal (and personal) bar against Stuart succession.
• [14:38] Succession intrigue, the hazards for claimants, and Parliament’s obsession.
• [18:04] Overview of leading rivals and their obstacles.
• [22:59] The importance and content of the Elizabeth–James correspondence.
• [27:17] The narrowing of claimants and James’s growing advantage.
• [31:28] The “smooth” transition myth versus early Stuart turbulence.
• [36:07] How and why James I orchestrated a rewrite of history.
• [40:16] The British Library’s exposure of the Camden cover-up.
• [42:35] Additional covered-up scandals (Mary, Queen of Scots; assassination plot).
• [45:10] Camden’s cryptic plea to future historians.
• [46:03] Closing reflections and Tracy Borman’s next project.

Final Notes & Future Projects

• Tracy Borman’s next book, The House of Boleyn, is a forthcoming novel on the rise and fall of the Boleyn family (announced here for the first time to a US audience).

This episode serves as both an accessible primer on the Tudor succession crisis and a fascinating account of how the victor’s narrative shaped history for centuries. Tracy Borman’s thorough research and enthusiasm bring this dynastic drama to life, revealing not only the intrigues of the past but also the enduring power of who gets to write history.