Please can we have discussions more like this on this channel. This was a fantastic collection of historians, the only one missing was Lucy Worsley. Her input would have been very interesting. I think she might have had something to say about Anne Boleyn! Fabulous video and I hope for more! Glad it didn’t come to blows! There were boxing gloves on the wall and I wondered if there was going to be fisticuffs! Brilliant, more please!
I was very disappointed to not see Lucy Worsley on the panel. The other historians were great, after all it’s always fun to see Suzie Lipscomb and Eleanor Janega. Lucy is a specialist of British royal history though…
The thing that was most missing was everything outside of Europe, and for the most part anything outside of England.... I mean everything else is very interesting but the elephant in the room is!
If we're talking about queens of the British Isles, my absolute favorite is Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians (lovely title too btw). The daughter of Alfred, she played a huge role in the unification of England, personally leading armies against the Vikings. I love her. And she, albeit briefly, passed the crown of Mercia to her daughter, which is unprecedented in all of western history: a queen that is succeeded by another queen. Now that is Girl Power!
That's the slightly disappointing thing about this conversation, though: this is a discussion about the greatest queens in British history, not in history: not even counting Eastern, African, and American history, there have been several queens/empresses who could have been included here but weren't.
Aethelflaed and her daughter predate Elizabeth and Mary by about 1000 years. At the time that Aethelflaed passed her crown to her daughter such a succession had never happened before, therefore yes, it was an event without precedent.
I really loved that and honestly would watch an entire hour dedicated to this discussion. Absolutely fascinating to have the dynamic of differing opinions in a positive intellectual conversation. I was definitely left with wanting more.
Please! It's Elizabeth I. Pampered Victoria never had to put up with half the court intrigue, threat of invasion, and lack of health care that Elizabeth did. Elizabeth was a cutthroat rockstar who survived in a male dominated brutal world. V1 for a close second but E1 all day long...
I Totally agree Elizabeth the first, was a brilliant Politician she never married for a reason. I wonder how many of these historians would have lasted as Queen if they were in her shoes.
I mean... Elizabeth I never lost a husband, she didn't lose a child, she wasn't pregnant for nearly a full decade while ruling. She didn't live in the early years of mass media or photography. I don't think it's a fair comparison at all.
@@emmavink Your right the paparazzi aren't likely to abduct you lock you up in the tower of London torture you for a false confession & then behead you. Elizabeth lived in fear of that happening for quite some time. Her predecessor was called Bloody Mary for a reason. When Elizabeth came to power she could have done the same but didn't she had to walk a fine line between 2 different groups of religious fanatics. That was one of the main reasons that she never married. Hence why I think she was a brilliant politician
Would also like their opinion about Empress Maud/Matilda. She was unsuccessful in her war with Stephen, but was definitely one of those queens who was trying to hold the succession together for her son Henry.
Literally all they did was say how special all the incompetent queens throughout history have been while Dan told them how women are better than men to make them feel good about themselves. Trash discussion, no facts. All feelings.
I just loved that. Great discussion without being dragged down wiith facts and figures. Rather each had opinions based on their studies and that is why they are all simply brilliant. Love it - please, please have more discussions like this. So wonderful and this cast of characters was perfect. Well done all.
If we go back to the Saxons I would argue for Aethelfled of Mercia, daughter of Alfred.. She played a huge part in ending the Danelaw South of the boarder, She liberated the Midlands, and if not for her their may have never even been an England.
@@R08Tam it's my favourite time and place to learn about.. The island of seven kingdoms (or eight).. A time of magic and dragons.. The magic and dragons weren't real but in there minds they were. And then of course there's King Alfred..My favourite king.
Even though I'm mad at the writers for veering so far away from the actual history and who she really was, I love that she had a major role in The Last Kingdom and more people could learn about her. The reenactment of her funeral that Gloucester did a few years back was cool too. Nice to see the Lady of the Mercians get some of the love she deserves.
I just discovered this channel the other day and I already want to be besties with Dr. Janega. I could watch this panel for hours and not get tired of this. I'm currently watching while I'm supposed to be writing a paper on museum collections ethics, but this is much more fascinating lol
I can't believe this is only 19:32, I need this as a weekly 1h show at least! Absolutely amazing idea to have this wonderful women talking about female monarchs, bravo!!
What? No mention of Æthelflæd? Alfred the Great's daughter, who actually DID pass her power to her daughter and was probably the greatest 'queen' no one ever seems to remember.
AHH, thank god someone mentioned Aethelflaed. I'm getting tired on some people mentioning Boudicca being great which is isn't that great at all, not even top 10 🤦🏽
Hear, Hear, she was the truly badass queen. Leading men into battle against the Viking horde. Overshadowed her husband King of Mercia. Daughter of the greatest Anglo-Saxon King who laid all the ground work Britain become England.
@@swymaj02 Love her push for vaccinations, the first real organized attempt to prevent the horrific smallpox outbreaks Russia was experiencing. Putting herself and her HEIR on the line really did a lot to give people belief in the process. And feeding them didn’t hurt!
Amazing stuff, absolutely fascinating. Would like to see a whole hour of this, or a whole series! Admittedly, this should probably be titled 'Greatest British Queens', but great stuff nevertheless.
I "discovered" Elizabeth I as a little girl in the U.S. My mother told me her side of the family was descended from a Stuart, which I have verified in subsequent years. I started out learning about Mary, Queen of Scots, but that effort led me to ER I. I never looked back. Although I studied the lives of many English/British queens, NONE OF THEM can hold a candle to Elizabeth I, given what challenges and dangers she faced throughout her life. Elizabeth inspired me, and at the age of nearly 67, I give her much of the credit of being a role model to help me develop the strength, confidence, and preserverence to achieve what I consider to be a successful life.
Elizabeth the I has been overexaggerated. She copied most of what to do and not to do to stay in power from other queens such as her sister Queem Mary I. She was the one that invented the "Mother of the Nation" idea that Elizabeth hold on to, as well as making economic reforms that would pay off in Elizabeth's reign. Elizabeth was a master of Propaganda and knew how to present herself properly. I am sorry you built up your inspiration on a highly fictional elaborated exaggeration of the actual true Elizabeth I. Not saying she wasnt strong or anything but far from being what she's always zealously idolized for.
Catherine of Aragon, although not English was a great support to Henry VIII in a way that his other queen's (apart from Katherine Parr) did. She was his Regent during Flodden and she had learnt from her mother Isabella of Castile. Her only failure is that she did not have a son.
Great! If we're allowed to be a bit loose about our fave queens for this and that, then I'd DEFINITELY be interested in going down the pub for a few snakebites with Cleopatra.. Or how about Boudicca, Queen of The Iceni? That'd be something. But my real favourite English Queen has to be our reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth ll.. An outstanding exemplar of duty, service and continuity in our wacky world. Happy Jubilee everyone! 🇬🇧👍
But was Boudicca a queen? She was a tribal chief in a part of East Anglia which isn't quite kingdom sized by todays standards. So perhaps she was the equivalent of a princess regnant or even a duchess?
Dude,, Budica was obviously awesome but we know hardly anything about her. So she has no right being named our greatest queen.. Especially as she lost and had her land conquered
Compare to other great gorgeous queens, Boudicca isn't successful and ain't a queen at first. She lost terribly in fact, the worst tactician, commander, and they killed alot of Roman citizen which in fact their own people
for a bar fight you might want Isabella the She-Wolf of France, Mary I or Margaret of Anjou... there were plenty of tough queens and queen consorts out there. Just make sure you stay on their good side... lol
Wow, I loved this. Any chance of more discussions with these panel of esteemed professors and Doctors? Is there any chance that Dan you could do something on Force Viper(Burma) and the Royal Marine Boom Patrol Detachment?
Yeah, I clicked expecting to hear people arguing for like Hatshepsut, Wu Zetian, and Tamar the Great. This is still interesting, but the title is a bit misleading.
Elizabeth I is my hero and has been since I was in grade school and read "Young Bess." I've learned a lot more about the queen in the years since, and my admiration has only grown. She was so clever, brave, and intelligent! She made translations from Latin, among other things. I think there's something to the idea that Elizabeth feared childbirth. Look at the various stepmothers she had! Elizabth II had no education in the sense that we think of it these days. She was tutored at home and simply didn't have a normal childhood or young adulthood.
Not my favourite. Elizabeth I had Mary Queen of Scots executed. She also wanted to end the Tudor lineage by not having children. Perhaps "revenge" against her Tudor father, Henry VIII, who executed her mother Anne Boleyn.
The Red Queen Margaret Beaufort is pretty hard to beat. Tudors wouldn't have been a thing without her. Look up everything she did if you don't know yet. She left me open mouthed in awe.
Ironically, I listened to this podcast earlier today, then ran across the video. Both excellent, but it is fun to watch the non-verbal communication. I also gained a whole new perspective on Elizabeth I.
I turned in expecting to get a discussion in thee greatest queen in history. Was is it Margarete I? Was it Katherine the Great? Was it Hatshepsut? Was it queen Elizabeth or queen Isabella? Nothing. I got nothing. It's just greatest BRITISH queens.
Okay Estaban we get it. You're an ally. I hope she sees this bro. The title says "female" because they were specifically chosen due to that little thing women have between their legs.
Sadly she isn't quite successful and terribly bad at tactics, just like her generals, so they got all defeated by a random Roman general or commander. Bravery isn't enough, great achievements is needed.
@@eugeneflores6153 it goes deeper than that, she stood in the face of true failure and death, was able to use her skill to unit previously divided and waring tribes against a common enemy. Then seized the opportunity to take key strategic positions including London in the process killing a estimated 50/60k Romans (soldiers and civilians) putting the fear of god into a empire that was on a scale never seen again so much so that they fully contemplated pulling out of the U.K. she lost a key battle yes but the technological difference was immense and only a hand full of people had beaten the Romans through that time period of a few hundred years. She bravely faced death for her people, none of the above mentioned did. She’s a true warrior queen and for me a legend.
@@herb2078 So in short, she died in a grotesque way, and lose almost all of her men to her incompetency and her terrible commanders as well, then during her 1-year reign, she slaughtered lots of civilians her own people that became Roman citizens, and meager roman patrols. Sounds like she isn't progressive and impressive compared to the other queens. Instead of capturing the towns and villages that roman holds, they plundered and pillage. These female historians that have been featured in the video know who is more impressive than the overrated Boudicca.
I wonder if there was some intelligence and reasoning behind Elizabeth failing to produce an heir and instead allowing James I to become king. He was a Protestant meaning that he would appease the the staunchly Protestant English majority while continuing England’s relationships with the Protestant powers on the continent. While at the same time, his being the son of Mary, Queen of Scots meant in Catholic law his claim to the English throne would be officially recognised, therefore ending the plot of putting a Catholic supported heir on the English throne.
She didn't want to risk losing her throne and power. Look what happened to her cousin Mary during the same time, as soon as she got married and had a son her rule and authority collapsed. After seeing what happened to Mary I'm pretty sure so thought to herself that will not happen to me
Couldn't agree more. Best middle ground exemplified in a human being. Yes, Henry VIII was a middle ground in religion too, but James is way more composed.
@@Bigmojojo To be fair, Mary made terrible and disastrous decisions about her chosen marriages. If Elizabeth was as capricious, she probably would have married Robert Dudley regardless of the rumors and had her rep in tatters as well. Just saying. 🤷🏻♀️
This should’ve been titled Greatest British Queens. There are plenty of queens and empresses around the world. Also why is there no mention of Freddy Mercury
My personal view of the topic is that Queen Isabella of Spain was the most influential queen with her support of Christofo Colombo to sail west to get to India. This single act opened the Americas to settlement and the birth of the future superpower the USA.
This is such an amazing discussion and panel. Nothing against the brilliant Dan Snow, but shouldn’t we have had a female moderator? (Lucy Worsley hello!) It almost feels like mansplaining… 😂 I’m just being silly, of course. Anything on this channel with Dan and these historians is fabulous.
Great content as always from History Hit and I think it’s a good thing we are talking about the (mostly) amazing woman monarchs that have ruled. - My only concern is their quickness to lump all kings into the useless/destroying the monarchy box, which is just untrue. It’s important to remember we can celebrate woman’s achievements without bashing men. Rant over 🤣Happy jubilee weekend everyone 👑
Seems easy to put men in that box. But I can see why. A lot of them really are trash, and the few good Kings we had didn't do it on their own. Don't forget, "behind every successful man is a woman".
I love seeing all my favorite historians having real discussions on who is the best and worst, thank you!! I personally have a heart for Queen Elizabeth 2, she never complained and never explained ❤ as for worst, definitely Bloody Mary!!
How about queen Margaret 1 of Denmark (1353 -1412) who united the Scandinavian kingdoms in the Kalmar union in 1397? Henry IV of England's daughter Philippa married her adoptive son Erik.
My thoughts exactly. Very impressive what she achieved, though the Kalmar Union would not last. She kept the Hanseatic League at bay, inherited Norway, kicked Albert II from Sweden, and adopted an heir. All of which she did without a husband. In my opinion she is in the same league as Cnut the Great in terms of Scandinavian history.
@@emiliosgregoriou8943 She was popular and the union would have lasted better if the Danish kings after her and Philippa (especially from Christian I to Christian II) hadn't turned imperialistic. (Christian II treatment of the Swdes is actually very similar to the Englishmen's treatment of indigenious gruops in much of their modern empire.)
And then was defeated by the Romans. She has a great and tragic story but in terms of real significant accomplishments she has none, and made no real dent in England or Britain's history.
@@Bigmojojo "no dent in britains history" what?, we have a huge statue dedicated to her in west london, she's a symbol of british defiance. she defeated a roman legion and almost wiped out roman britain and almosy saved our people from the centuries of colonial servitude, she made a huge impact on british history, shes a hero and a hugely popular person here in britain. That's like saying rome losing three legions in germania never made a dent in their history,
