Queen Elizabeth I’s greatness was shaped in no small measure by her turbulent childhood and youth. Declared a bastard by her father, Henry VIII, when she was not quite 3 years old, she lost her status, her place in the royal succession, and also her mother, Anne Boleyn. Yet 22 years later, in 1558, Elizabeth triumphantly ascended the throne of England.

The beautiful Katherine Swynford was the mistress, then wife of the charismatic John of Gaunt, the father of Henry IV. Her brother-in-law was Geoffrey Chaucer; she lived through the Hundred Years’ War, the Black Death, and the Peasants’ Revolt. Her children were the direct forebears of the Tudors, the Stuarts, and every British sovereign since 1461.

British historian and author Alison Weir draws on original source material to explore the lives of these two women.

10 a.m. to 12 noon Elizabeth I: Her Perilous Path to the Throne

Elizabeth’s life and complex relationships before her ascension to the throne—years when she came perilously close to the scaffold more than once, and the danger she faced in her 20s during the reign of her fanatically Catholic sister, Mary I.

12 noon to 1:30 p.m. Lunch

Participants provide their own lunch.

1:30 to 3 p.m. Katherine Swynford: Mistress of the Monarchy

Katherine’s reputation and her importance in history; the mysteries and controversies surrounding her. Her marriage to Sir Hugh Swynford and early widowhood. Her scandalous liaison with John of Gaunt and its aftermath.

Weir’s second novel, The Lady Elizabeth, and her new historical biography, Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster (Ballantine Books), are available for signing after the program.

CODE: 1M2-420