Q&A with Tracy Borman

 

 

 

Tracy Borman is the author of the new book Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Forever Changed British History. Borman's other books include Crown & Sceptre. She is England's joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces and chief executive of the Heritage Education Trust. 

 

Q: Why did you decide to write a book focusing on Anne Boleyn and her daughter, Queen Elizabeth I?

 

A: The short answer is because it had never been done. But it had been a long-cherished ambition of mine.

 

I first came up with the idea while researching my book Elizabeth's Women back in 2007. In that, I covered the lives of about 50 women who influenced my favourite queen.

 

Anne Boleyn was of course the first of these but I could only give her a chapter at most and I'd discovered enough about their relationship to convince me that this was only the tip of the iceberg.

 

Being able to revisit the subject and research it in forensic detail has been an absolute joy. I found enough to fill about three books!

 

Q: In the Washington Independent Review of Books, Allison Thurman writes, “The prevailing view is that Elizabeth seldom mentioned her disgraced mother in favor of emphasizing her status as her father’s heir. Yet in Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I, Tracy Borman masterfully corrects the historical record and highlights both women’s roles in the English Reformation.” What do you think of that assessment?

 

A: I'm delighted with it! One thing that really struck me when researching the book was just how pivotal an influence Anne was on the reformation - and on her daughter's religious outlook. She deserves to be remembered more for that than for her relationship with Henry VIII.

 

Q: What would you say are some of the most common perceptions and misconceptions about Anne and Elizabeth?

 

A: First and foremost that they didn't really have a relationship because Elizabeth was less than three when her mother was executed, so could have had only the vaguest memories of her.

 

The latter might be true, but that's not to say they didn't have a relationship. Anne's influence over her daughter was the most profound of Elizabeth's life, shaping her into the woman - and queen - that she became.

 

Q: How did you research the book, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: So many things. I knew that Elizabeth proved her loyalty to Anne by filling her court with Boleyn relatives when she became queen, but that was just one of many ways that she honoured her late mother.

 

What I found particularly fascinating was trawling the inventories of Elizabeth's possessions and finding out just how many related to her mother.

 

The most poignant of all has to be the “Chequers ring” - a locket ring made for Elizabeth in the 1570s which concealed two tiny portraits: one of herself and one of Anne. It was one of her most treasured possessions and she kept it with her until the day she died.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: The subject is under wraps for now, but suffice to say it's nonfiction and involves a well-known Tudor character! It will be out in the States in Fall 2025.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: My podcast, Six Tudor Queens, is out now: https://www.hrp.org.uk/listen-to-podcasts-by-historic-royal-palaces/#gs.58tntw 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Tracy Borman.