Favourite Queen in History

[Episcopus]

This seemed the most appropriate forum to post this, but if it isn’t please move mods.

Who is your favourite Queen in history? Can be outright Queen (like Elizabeth II) or consort (wife of a king). Can be British or from another country’s monarchy.

I watched the following video on Emma of Normandy recently - twice Queen and twice Queen Mother - hard to beat that!

Who was Emma of Normandy?

[Episcopus]

Hi all! Thought I’d revive this thread as History Indoors have a Queens evening, a livestream on Monday Aug 1st at 5-10pm BST, revisiting all their talks on queens. Running order is in the image attached, but we’ll cover talks on Emma of Normandy, Christina of Sweden and Mary I, as well as how queens have been featured in movies. You can watch on their YouTube and Twitter (both entitled History Indoors).

Hope to see some of you there!

[DesMoulinsRouge]

@Snoopsnoggysnog
I love The Lion in Winter about Henry II and his dysfunctional family. Katherine Hepburn plays Eleanor (as Katherine Hepburn!) and is by turns funny and tragic.
Not historically accurate but has a stellar cast and some great lines.

[LoveItOrListIt]

I’ve just googled Lion in Winter and that’s my Saturday evening viewing sorted! I didn’t know there was a film about the Plantagenets…very excited to watch this. Thanks for the recommendation!

[Viviennemary]

Mary Queen of Scots. What a sad life and the mistakes she made. Especially the men she chose and other mistakes like trusting the wrong people.

Also Eleanor of Aquitane who had a totally fascinsting life. Jean Plaidy wrote some books about her life. Can't remember the titles.

[Snoopsnoggysnog]

Great! Thank you @DesMoulinsRouge

[CaveMum]

I’ve discovered a new podcast - Princess on BBC Sounds. Each episode looks at a princess, some real and some fictional (inc Moana, Elsa and Princess Leia). I found the episode of Caroline of Brunswick fascinating.

I mentioned the “Not Just The Tudors” podcast previously, they’ve recently done an episode on Anne of Cleves and I highly recommend (again) their series of 9 episodes dropped in June focussed on “Queenship”.

[Dontwanttoberudeorwastetime]

The History Chicks is also a great podcast. Completely dedicated to important women in history.

[Episcopus]

Ooo, I’ll definitely try to check out both History Chicks and Princess - thanks for the recommendations!

History Indoors’ livestream about Queens is on now: just about to switch from Christina of Sweden to Mary I. m.youtube.com/watch?v=iSpnwqAgAZY

[felulageller]

Queen Margaret of Scotland did so much good work for the poor she was later sainted.

[Muminabun]

Grace O’Malley for just being terrifying and hard as nails.
eleanor of Aquitaine she led an amazing life and was regent for a while born to lead.
katherine of Aragon was a huge influence on Elizabeth 1st so sexist or say it was Henry VIII.
I have always had a soft spot for Anne Boleyn ‘false vanities my pride hath tricked, oh would I were a child again on blicklings velvet lawn ‘ written in the tower.

[BottlingBurpsForGrandma]

Queen Adelaide, Queen consort of William and a wise counsellor to her niece, Victoria, when she became Queen in 1837. The South Australian city and several rivers, villages etc are names for her. Adelaide lost several children in childbirth and to prematurity and had one child who survived til 3 months only to die of an inflammation of the bowel. How she had the strength to go on, nurse her husband devotedly, and do a range of charity work, while missing out of being Queen Mother (instrad becoming the first Dowager Queen for over 100 years) due to the death of her beloved baby is just outstanding.

[moofolk]

Boudicca

[Iknowitisheresomewhere]

Victoria’s daughter Vicky, Princess Royal of England and Empress Frederick of Prussia.

Semi arranged marriage but definitely a love match, very unfortunately her husband was already terminally ill when he became Emperor, and then she was treated very badly by her son, Kaiser Wilhelm. By all accounts she and her husband would have been much better monarchs (quite a low bar though!). Fascinating to read her long correspondence with her mother - those letters in her possession were smuggled out of Prussia when she died - her son had her under virtual house arrest.