Who stole the Tudor crown?

Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History magazine. On her deathbed, Elizabeth I named the Scottish King James VI as her successor, ensuring a smooth transition from the Tudor to the Stuart monarchies. That, at least, is what we've long believed. But an explosive new discovery cast doubt on this version of events, suggesting that the Stuart succession was far less secure than we may have thought. In her book, The Stolen Crown, historian Tracy Bormann draws on this research to paint a vivid new picture of these turbulent years, and in today's episode she explores the subject further, in conversation with Rob Atar.

Could we please begin with something that happened at the British Library recently? Yes. There was a discovery made that could transform our understanding of the Stuart succession. Could you please explain what was found out? Absolutely.

This is groundbreaking research by the British Library and working with a PhD student, Helena Rutowska, who was studying William Camden and his Annals of Elizabeth. So William Camden was Elizabeth I's earliest. biographer. His account has been used by historians for 400 years since it was published. And what Helena was doing was to look at the original manuscript of Camden, 4,000 pages of it.

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