I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of Margaret Beaufort by @historylauren.bsky.social which launched today. My comments are below: #margaretbeaufort

It was lovely to attend the launch this evening of Margaret Beaufort: Survivor, Rebel, Kingmaker by the fabulous @historylauren.bsky.social A great evening and I’m sure that the book will do really well! #margaretbeaufort

Remember remember the fifth of November 💥 Back in July I had the pleasure of chairing a panel exploding the myths of the Gunpowder Plot with @elegantfowl.bsky.social @misswalsingham.bsky.social Prof Stephen Alford and @enortonhistory.bsky.social at @harvingtonhall.bsky.social History Festival

#otd 1605 Guy Fawkes found attempting to blow up parliament. Plotters wanted to make 9 yr old Princess Elizabeth queen. Perhaps inspired by idea of another reigning queen by reading Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 years of Female Monarchy? Thanks for endorsement… I suppose 😦 #womenwhoruledtheworld

Fishbourne Roman Palace’s Cupid on a Dolphin mosaic, mid 2ndC CE. Saved from plough damage due to subsiding pits dug before the villa was built. Depicts Cupid, holding a trident and riding on a dolphin alongside mythical sea creatures #fishbourne #fishbourneromanpalace #roman #romans #romanbritain

Fishbourne Roman Palace’s Medusa mosaic, which was laid in the early 2ndC CE directly on top of an earlier black and white box and key mosaic, which can be seen in places where the later mosaic is damaged #fishbourneromanpalace #fishbourne #roman #romans #romanbritain

Fascinating to explore Fishbourne Roman Palace, built 1stC CE & one of the grandest Roman residences ever found in Britain. It was excavated in the 1960s following a chance discovery when workmen were digging a trench for a water pipe #fishbourne #romanbritain #romans #roman #fishbourneromanpalace

Come with me to visit Fishbourne Roman Palace in West Sussex #romans #roman #romanbritain #fishbourne #history

1921 film The Queen of Sheba famous for skimpy costumes worn by star Betty Blythe. Less noted for historical accuracy, with the real Queen a warrior Kandake in Sudan & Ethiopia. Blythe should have lent Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy to the writers #womenwhoruledtheworld

Nice to see that Pola Negri was determined to get into character as Catherine the Great in the 1924 silent film Forbidden Paradise. In a plot centred on revolutions, rebellions & romance she turned to Women Who ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy for source material #womenwhoruledtheworld

Halloween tree… too much? 🎃 👻 🧙 #halloween #halloween2025

Parents, make sure you're careful this Halloween! Inside this Snickers we've just found the 1444 map of Boarstall, one of the oldest maps of an English village and a fantastic example of late medieval cartography.

This ghost was photographed in the Queen’s House at Greenwich in 1966. Is that a book they’re holding? Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy, a fitting read for a ghostly queen. Thanks for the endorsement Queen’s House Ghost & Happy Halloween! #womenwhoruledtheworld

#pumpkinpicking #pumpkinpicking🎃 #halloween #halloween2025

The Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire, a highly under appreciated Neolithic/Bronze Age monument. These very much deserve to be better known #rollrightstones #rollrights #prehistoricmonument #henge #stonehenge

The King’s Men stone circle, part of the Rollright Stones Neolithic & Bronze Age megalithic complex in Oxfordshire, are diminutive when compared to other henges, but still impressive & very complete. 33m diameter, stones likely once touched, creating a continuous barrier #rollrightstones #stonehenge

When you’re enjoying a book so much that you fall asleep reading it. Hope you can remember what page you’re on Cleopatra (and thanks for the endorsement for Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy)! #womenwhoruledtheworld

Empress Elizaveta of Russia was renowned for her lively court. But, sometimes, you just want to read & she’s loving Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy. Now, if only she can get everyone to keep the noise down. Thanks for the endorsement Elizaveta! #womenwhoruledtheworld

I’m not sure what happened to Thomas Seymour’s stained glass representation in the chapel at Sudeley Castle, but it looks like a pretty precise hit 😳 #thomasseymour #sudeleycastle #catherineparr #katherineparr

Catherine Parr’s beautiful tomb in the chapel in the grounds of ⁦Sudeley Castle.‬⁩ Catherine’s grave was initially neglected (something of an understatement) but she was eventually given this fine monument in the 19thC #catherineparr #katherineparr #sudeley #tudor

I took my 8 yr old over to Sudeley Castle today for a morning’s archaeological digging (in the rain!) with @digventures.bsky.social The children were helping to dig a series of medieval agricultural buildings. Ianthe had a lot of fun. It’s a great way to get kids into digging #sudeleycastle

Selfie with Catherine Parr at Sudeley Castle today. She looks thrilled to see me 😆 #sudeleycastle #catherineparr #katherineparr #sudeley

A 15thC depiction of the coronation of the Virgin, on display in the Accademia Gallery in Venice. This was a popular motif in medieval European art, with the earliest known example in the 10thC Benedictional of St Aethelwold, an English churchman #accademiagallery #venice #medieval

Gliding through Venice in a gondola #venice #gondola

Another lovely day in Venice #venice

The Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute in Venice, one of the most iconic buildings of the city #venice #santamariadellasalute #venetianhistory

Excited to see Fra Mauro World Map in the Biblioteca Marciana, Museo Correr in Venice today. Created c1450. It’s orientated differently to most modern maps, with Europe in bottom right corner. As everyone does, I looked up where I’m from (Britain) #framauro #worldmap #medieval #museocorrer #venice

A facsimile copy of the will of the great traveller, Marco Polo, drawn up on his deathbed in January 1324, in which he names his wife and three daughters as his heirs. On display in the Biblioteca Marciana in the Museo Correr in Venice #marcopolo #museocorrer #venice

This afternoon, I took a vaporetto over to Murano, an island close to Venice, which is famous for its glass which was perfected in the 1500s and was such a secret that craftsmen were banned from leaving. The island has its own grand canal #murano #muranoglass #venice

Look who I ran into in Venice 😊 the fabulous @regina-saba.bsky.social #venice #historians #historian

Want to see inside the Doge’s Palace in Venice? #venice #dogeofvenice #italianhistory #renaissance

Heading into the Doge’s Palace in Venice #venice #dogespalace #doge

Water taxi into Venice #venice

Priory exploring #boxgrovepriory #monastery

Join me for a walk around Boxgrove Priory in West Sussex. Founded in around 1107 and dissolved by (you guessed it) Henry VIII in 1537. Incidentally, an archaeological dig close to the priory found the oldest hominin remains in Britain: Homo Heidelbergensis #boxgrovepriory #boxgrove #priory

Essex: ‘Marry me Elizabeth!’ Elizabeth: ‘Not likely, I’ve been reading about the husbands of reigning queens in Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy’ (authentic title card from Les Amours de la Reine Elisabeth, a 1912 silent film starring Sarah Bernhardt) #womenwhoruledtheworld

After a long day filming and then British Librarying, dinner at the Oxford and Cambridge Club on Pall Mall #oandc #oxfordandcambridgeclub

Spotted in @hatchards.bsky.social St Pancras, Women Who Rules the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy, alongside the fabulous Economica by @vnbateman.bsky.social #womenwhoruledtheworld #economica

I am thrilled that Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy is featured in the newsletter of the Mortimer History Society edited by @anniegarthwaite.bsky.social ‘This isn’t just history, it’s an inspiring exploration of female vision, courage and power’ #womenwhoruledtheworld

Filming something exciting today. More details to follow 🎥

Sadly The Loves of Mary Queen of Scots, a 1923 silent film is lost. As a result this scene, where Mary shows Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy to courtiers dubious about female rule can only be imagined. Oddly it didn’t appear in later depictions of Mary #womenwhoruledtheworld

It was an absolute pleasure to speak about the historical background to the meeting of the Pope and King Charles III today and the prayers that they shared on the BBC TV News Channel a few moments ago #popeleo #charlesiii #vaticanstatevisit

I’ll be appearing live on the BBC TV News Channel today at around 8pm to discuss Charles III’s State visit to the Vatican and the fact that he prayed publicly with the pope 500 years after Henry VIII broke the English church from Rome. #statevisit #kingcharles #popeleo #henryviii

Getting close to nature #tree #trees #exploring

I'm on the front page of The Scotsman today with my article about why we still love to go ghost-hunting. All front pages should always have a designated spooky corner, I think.

Tiny fragment at Tangmere Church a rare piece of Scandinavian influenced 11thC sculpture in Sussex. Two figures, one with female genitalia. They are holding a sphere & a horn I did my masters dissertation on Anglo-Saxon sculpture of Sussex. This is my favourite piece #anglosaxon #churchmonuments

The wardrobe department really went for it in the first onscreen depiction of Cleopatra (Theda Bara in 1917). Theda got her hands on a (very) early copy of Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy as part of her research for the role of her career. #womenwhoruledtheworld

Crypt exploring in Holy Trinity Church, Bosham. The church is depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry #churchcrypt #holytrinitybosham #bosham

Join me for a walk around a church depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry. #holytrinitybosham #bosham #anglosaxon #bayeuxtapestry #1066

Memorial in Holy Trinity Church, Bosham to a daughter of King Cnut, said to have died in childhood and buried there. It’s a very long standing story, but there’s no evidence of her existence sadly. The memorial was placed there in 1906 #bosham #canute #cnut #holytrinitybosham #anglosaxon