In the Medieval and Tudor world there was no question in peoples’ minds about the order of God’s creation – men ruled and women didn’t. A King was a warrior who literally fought to win power then battled to keep it.
Yet despite everything that stood in their way, a handful of extraordinary women did attempt to rule medieval and Tudor England. In this series historian Helen Castor explores seven queens who challenged male power, the fierce reactions they provoked, and whether the term ‘She Wolves’ was deserved.

From Matilda, the first woman who came within a hairs breadth of being crowned Queen of England in her own right, to the glorious reign of Elizabeth I, Helen looks at the dramatic, often violent, lives of the women who pursued power between them. These are the stories of Matilda, Eleanor, Isabella, Margaret and the Tudor queens – Jane, Mary and Elizabeth. They are tales of dynastic strife, marriage, motherhood divorce and betrayal but also of courage and struggling to operate in world of double standards. And to explore these extraordinary women’s stories is to see not just how far we’ve come but how little has changed.