The Royal Studies Podcast

RSN
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Education
  • Updated Monthly

This podcast is connected to the Royal Studies Network and the Royal Studies Journal and covers topics related to monarchical history as well as featuring new research and publications in the field of royal studies. Join us for interviews, roundtable discussions and more covering all things royal studies and highlighting the latest and greatest in the field! The views, information or opinions expressed on the podcast, by the hosts and/or guest contributors are solely the views of the individuals involved. The Royal Studies Podcast does not accept responsibility or liability for the views of guest contributors and their appearance on the podcast does not imply an endorsement of their views or the entities that they represent.

  1. May 22

    Interview with Alfred Hawkins: Historic Royal Palaces

    In this episode, host Megan Barber interviews Alfred Hawkins, curator at Historic Royal Palaces on his work at the Tower of London. The interview explores the many faceted role of the Tower as a palace, fortress and prison, its rich history and what royal life there was like in different eras. Guest Bio: Alfred Hawkins is a historian, buildings archaeologist, curator, and broadcaster with a decade of experience working in the commercial archaeology, heritage, and museum sectors. As Curator of Historic Buildings for HM Tower of London, and Cathedral Archaeologist at Salisbury & Portsmouth Cathedrals, he helps to conserve, research, and share the histories of some of Englands most important sites. Alongside overseeing numerous large scale development and conservation projects he regularly makes on screen appearances on various documentaries including Channel 5’s Inside the Tower, Discovery Channel’s Unearthed and BBC’s Digging for Britain. Select Publications:  Hayward, K. M. J., Hawkins, A. R. J., ‘The Spiral Stair in the Norman Flamsteed Turret within the White Tower at HM Tower of London: An Architectural and Petrological Examination’ Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society (Forthcoming, 2026) Hawkins, A. R. J., Faillace, K., Madgwick, R., & Sidell, J. (2025). Life, death and worship at his Majestie’s Tower of London: excavations outside the Chapel Royal and Royal Peculiar of Saint Peter ad Vincula. Archaeological Journal, 182(1), 3–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/00665983.2025.2491919Alfred Hawkins ‘The Peculiar Case of a Royal Peculiar: A Problem of Faculty at the Tower of London’ in, Ecclesiastical Law Journal, Vol 24 (3) pp. 1-19Follow Alfred/HRP on Social Media:  alfredrjhawkins.bsky.social (BlueSky)Alfredrjhawkins_history (instagram)ARJ_Hawkins (X)HistoricRoyalPalaces on InstagramHRP_Palaces / TowerofLondon on Xhistoric.royal.palaces on TikTok.

    45 min

  2. May 8

    Interview with Elizabeth Eltze on Amannote-erike, ancient King of Kush

    We are joined by Dr. Elizabeth Eltze to discuss the reign of Amannote-erike, ancient King of Kush. Elizabeth is an early career researcher in ancient northeast African studies – primarily Nubiology. Originally from South Africa, she moved to Auckland, New Zealand some years ago, and completed her studies in Ancient History at the University of Auckland with a doctoral degree in 2019. Guest Bio: Liz continues to research ancient Egypt and Sudan, and has recently moved into museum and heritage studies, focusing on African collections in museums and in Africa and the repatriation debate. She is passionate about researching and teaching African history and the intersectional identities at the heart of African heritages. Currently working at the Auckland University of Technology in Research Support, and generally being a nuisance to museums and other researchers around the globe, Liz publishes as frequently as her neurospiciness will allow her to. See some of her publications below: Eltze, Elizabeth. “Putting your best foot forward: Two votive offerings of feet at Temple T at Kawa.” Der Antike Sudan. Mitteilungen der Sudanarchäologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin 29 (2018): 97-105. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/mittsag/article/download/90583/85199 Eltze, Elizabeth. “‘Nom de Guerre’ or Misnomer? Brief considerations regarding the titularies of Amannote‐erike*.” KUSH 1 (2014): 1-13. Follow Elizabeth on academia.edu For more on Queens of Kush: Lohwasser, Angelika. “Queenship in Kush: Status, Role and Ideology of Royal Women.” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 38 (2001): 61-76. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40000552  Lohwasser, Angelika and Jacke Phillips. “Women in Ancient Kush.” In The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia, edited by Geoff Emberling and Bruce Beyer Williams, 1015–1032. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.

    34 min

  3. Apr 24

    Interview with Matthieu Mensch on Marie-Thérèse Charlotte

    In this episode, host Dr Ellie Woodacre interviews Matthieu Mensch on his book Marie-Thérèse Charlotte of France: Daughter of Marie-Antoinette and Almost Queen, which will be published in May 2026 in Routledge's Lives of Royal Women series. We discuss the trials and tribulations that Marie-Thérèse experienced during the French Revolution and her vital role, in the ever shifting landscape of monarchy in 19th century France. Guest Bio: Matthieu Mensch is a PhD graduate of the Universities of Strasbourg and Federico II of Naples. His research focuses on queenship studies, court studies and the iconography of royal women in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He is currently a research associate at the ARCHE Laboratory in the Faculty of Historical Sciences at the University of Strasbourg. He published Les femmes de Louis XVIII at Perrin in 2024 and he is working now on the exile of the queens and princesses of France between 1789 and 1866. His last paper "The Duchess of Berry, royal widow and symbol of hope, between tradition and innovation" published in the Rivista dell'Istituto di Storia dell'Europa Mediterranea is now avalaibale on line. Connect with Matthieu: Instagram : matthieu.menschLinkedin : Matthieu Mensch

    31 min

  4. Apr 10

    Interview with Tia Caswell: Marie Antoinette and Queen Victoria

    In this episode, the second of our Marie Antoinette related trio, host Dr Ellie Woodacre interviews Tia Caswell on her comparative study of Marie Antoinette and Queen Victoria. We discuss the rationale for bringing these two queens together and what we can learn about both women and queenship from this study. Guest Bio: Tia Caswell successfully defended her doctoral thesis at the University of Nottingham in December 2025, titled: Marie-Antoinette l'Autrichienne and Victoria the German Queen: Negotiating Gender and Foreignness in Satire and Portraiture. Tia also holds an MRes in Modern Langauges, from the University of Nottingham, and a BA Joint Hons in French and German from Nottingham Trent University. Tia's MRes thesis explores: "Queen Victoria and Prince Albert: Constructing a Sustainable Monarchy and Negotiating Gender and Foreignness Under conditions of Precarity".  Links: LinkedinReview of Tate Britain Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain, 1520 - 1920 - BSECSStyle and Society: Dressing the Georgians - BSECSCrown to Couture: The Fashion Show of The Centuries - BSECSLunchtime Lectures: Queen of Style or Scandal? Negotiating Queenship, Identity, and Politics in the Portraits of Marie-Antoinette - V&A Academy Talk at V&A South Kensington · V&A

    19 min

  5. Mar 27

    Interview with Sarah Grant: Marie Antoinette Style Exhibition

    In this episode, host Ellie Woodacre interviews Dr Sarah Grant, lead curator for the V&A's incredibly popular 'Marie Antoinette Style' exhibition. We'll discuss the exhibition, the inspiration behind it and what it tells us about Marie Antoinette and her legacy. Guest Bio: Dr Sarah Grant is a Senior Curator in the Department of Art, Architecture, Photography & Design at the V&A. Sarah holds a doctorate in eighteenth-century French art from the University of Oxford and a Masters in eighteenth-century French decorative arts from the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her books include Marie Antoinette Style; Female Portraiture and Patronage in Marie-Antoinette’s Court; Toiles de Jouy: French printed cottons 1760–1830 and Style and Satire: Fashion in Print 1777-1927. Her exhibitions include Marie Antoinette Style; Modern Masters: Matisse, Picasso, Dali & Warhol and Fashion Fantasies. If you missed the exhibition, you can still order and enjoy the exhibition catalogue! Follow Sarah on Instagram: @sarahgrantcurator

    28 min

  6. Mar 13

    Interview with Brooke Newman: Monarchy and Slavery

    In this episode, host Victoria Barlow interviews Dr Brooke Newman about her recent book The Crown's Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy and Slavery in the Americas. A story hereto relatively unknown to the public (though largely accepted in academic circles), the discussion delves into how, throughout the centuries, the British monarchy heavily invested into and greatly profited from the Atlantic Slave Trade. Dealing with such a contentious but important topic, Brooke explains why she wrote it for wider audiences, and the significance that this decision might have for the royal family.  Guest bio: Dr. Brooke Newman is an Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She specializes in the history of early modern Britain and the British Atlantic, with a focus on slavery and its legacies. She is the author of the award-winning book, A Dark Inheritance: Blood, Race, and Sex in Colonial Jamaica (Yale, 2018), and The Crown's Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy and Slavery in the Americas (Mariner, 2026). Her writing and research have been featured in the Guardian, the Washington Post, Der Spiegel, and Smithsonian Magazine, and she has served as a historical expert for HBO's Last Week Tonight, Vox, the BBC, and NPR, among others.  Follow Brooke Newman on social media:  @drbrookenewman [instagram] @brookenewman.bsky.social [Bluesky]

    51 min

  7. Feb 27

    Interview with Miranda Johnson on Chiefly Women

    In this podcast we delve into the story of female sovereignty and chiefly women in Aotearoa New Zealand via the story of Meri Te Tai Mangakahia and Queen Victoria. Our guest speaker Dr. Miranda Johnson is a historian of colonialism and decolonisation, focusing on issues of settler identity, race, indigeneity, citizenship, and the politics of writing history. Her research focuses on Anglophone settler societies of the South Pacific and North America. Her first book, The Land is Our History: Indigeneity, Law and the Settler State (Oxford University Press, 2016) examined the wide-ranging effects of legal claims of Indigenous peoples in the settler states of New Zealand, Australia, and Canada in the late twentieth century. It won the W. K. Hancock Prize in 2018 from the Australian Historical Association. She is currently finishing a book tentatively titled: Redeemer Nation: Myth, History, and the Limits of Biculturalism in a Settler Colonial Society. This book examines the fraught imaginary of ‘biculturalism’ in Aotearoa New Zealand, between the 1970s-2020s, paying particular attention to history-making and changing historical consciousness over the past five decades. With Associate Professor Paerau Warbrick she is collating a collection of Māori petitions to the colonial New Zealand and British imperial governments in the nineteenth century, funded by a University of Otago Research Grant. You can find Miranda’s chapter related to this podcast under the title: "Chiefly Women: Queen Victoria, Meri Mangakahia, and the Māori Parliament." In Mistress of Everything: Queen Victoria in Indigenous Worlds, 228-245 (Manchester University Press, 2016). For Miranda’s full list of publications, see: https://www.otago.ac.nz/history/our-people-in-history/associate-professor-miranda-johnson

    29 min

  8. Feb 13

    Le Grand Dauphin (1661-1711) Exhibition

    In this episode, host Victoria Barlow interviews Lionel Arsac about the recent exhibition at the Palace of Versailles: The Grand Dauphin (1661-1711). Son of a king, father of a king and never king. This exhibition shines a light on the relatively unknown life and career of Louis of France (son and heir of the famous Louis XIV). Their discussion outlines the importance of remembering this interesting figure and explores the organisation of such an extraordinary exhibition.  Guest Bio: Lionel Arsac has been curator of sculptures at the Palace of Versailles since 2017 and, since 2019, head of preventive conservation of the collections. In addition to numerous articles on the sculptures of Versailles, Lionel has taken an interest in subjects as diverse as the uses of oriental carpets at Court, Proust and Versailles, and, more recently, the sculpture collections of Ange Laurent La Live de Jully. Lionel has curated several exhibitions at the Palace of Versailles: Rediscovered Masterpieces. Zephyr and Flora and Abundance (2022), Louis XIV by Bernini, Genius and Majesty (2025) and, recently, The Grand Dauphin. Son of a king, father of a king and never king.  Follow Lionel on Instagram: @lionelarsac

    35 min
See All (97)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

This podcast is connected to the Royal Studies Network and the Royal Studies Journal and covers topics related to monarchical history as well as featuring new research and publications in the field of royal studies. Join us for interviews, roundtable discussions and more covering all things royal studies and highlighting the latest and greatest in the field! The views, information or opinions expressed on the podcast, by the hosts and/or guest contributors are solely the views of the individuals involved. The Royal Studies Podcast does not accept responsibility or liability for the views of guest contributors and their appearance on the podcast does not imply an endorsement of their views or the entities that they represent.

Information

  • Creator
    RSN
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    97
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Royal Studies Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Royal Studies Podcast

You Might Also Like