From My Blog
The naughty Prince Regent – read all about him in my article in today’s Sunday Express
The king ruled by his excesses. Historian Lucy Worsley examines the life of George IV, both Britain’s worst monarch and the man who brought showbiz sparkle to royalty. When English Heritage ran a poll to discover Britain’s Worst Monarch, the winner was George IV. Profligate, drunken and lazy, he sets us a shining example of
I interview the third best jouster in the world
Have you ever seen the effigy of William Marshall (born 1146), knight, jouster, mercenary and ultimately Regent of England, in the Temple Church in London? You might have noticed his prostrate body in the background as Tom Hanks whisked through the church in the film of The Da Vinci Code. If you’ve stopped to look,
Henry VIII’s enemas
A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of crushing a pig with a quarter-ton weight to demonstrate the possible injuries caused in Henry VIII’s jousting accident of 1536. I must reassure you that THE PIG WAS ALREADY DEAD, as was the animal used in this week’s piggy fun. I had the chance to
I’m hanging up my red Regency dress…
…having finally finished filming for a new TV series about the naughty Prince Regent and his age. Back in January, when we started, I loved my red dress, a design which fortuitously turned out to be called ‘The Beau’ (as in Brummell). By July I was sick of the sight of it. (Before you ask
At the ministerial urinal
At the awarding of the Art Fund Prize the other night at Tate Britain, I was surprised to hear Jeremy Hunt (Secretary of State for Culture) reveal in his speech that he and the prize-winner Neil MacGregor (Director of the British Museum) had been chatting before the ceremony – in the gents. I know I
My first job as a curator
After my last post about getting a first job in museums or historic houses, my thoughts have been wandering back to my own experience… Here’s a magazine article I wrote at the time about my own early years of work (including, in the bottom left, there a very old photo!) Please excuse the jejeune enthusiasm,
How to get a job as a curator
I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that most days, someone, somewhere sends me an email asking how to get a job as a curator. So here are my suggestions for what to do … (NB these are my personal views, not necessarily those of Historic Royal Palaces!) 1. Do a relevant undergraduate degree –
I meet the Child Catcher
This is the view from the teetering tip-top of the Swingletree mail coach as we trotted through the Suffolk lanes the other day. I had the treat of a ride while researching Regency coach transport. John Parker, its owner and driver (you can see his foot to the right of mine), is a great and internationally
Marvellous fan mail
Ladies and gentlemen, may I proudly introduce Emily, who says she is ‘maybe’ my No. 1 fan? (Note it’s only ‘maybe’, Emily is playing hard to get.) Anyway, Emily has not only written me this cute letter, she has also sent drawings of me in outfits from the Middle Ages, the Tudors, the Victorians and the
A tour of Kensington Palace
In this picture I’m taking journalist Judith Woods from the Telegraph on a tour of Kensington Palace, we’re standing very near to the spot where William III died in the King’s Gallery. Read Judith’s article about Kensington Palace here.
