41. Why was Princess Elizabeth the girl who should never become Queen?

We investigate why Princess Elizabeth’s sister sent her to prison with the aim of executing the future Elizabeth I. We find out about the coolest way to reply to a marriage proposal that you don’t want. Best of all, we see the smart, charming and cunning girl-power of a princess who they said could never become Queen.

You'll hear about 'Traitor's Gate', and if the word 'traitor' is new to you, it means someone who has switched sides and gone against their country and their queen (or king).

Many thanks to the Tower of London and Hatfield House, where much of today’s show was recorded back in 2017 (you’ll hear James’ cute, squeaky voice!).

Here are 6 questions to test your listening skills:

Henry ended up as Church of England but what type of religion did he follow first? Which gate was Elizabeth brought in through when she was taken to the Tower of London? Why do you think Mary did not want Elizabeth to ever be queen? Give two examples of sources of evidence that we found at Hatfield House. Why did people think a woman could not rule on her own? How did Elizabeth show that she was a clever and strong leader?

Read industry reviews of Dad’s World War II novels, A Chance Kill and The Slightest Chance, at paulletters.com. Available on Kindle, as well as in paperback. Dad’s first wartime novel, A Chance Kill, is a love-story/thriller based on real events in Poland, Paris, London and Prague. The Slightest Chance follows the remarkable true story of the only escape from Japanese imprisonment by a Western woman during World War II.

Please rate and review us wherever you get podcasts. And share our podcast on social media and recommend it to friends – that's how we'll keep going.

We’ll be back on the first Monday of next month!

Podcast cover art by Molly Austin

All music is from https://filmmusic.io and composed by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Sound effects used under RemArc Licence. Copyright 2021 © BBC