Hello and welcome to the Renaissance English History podcast, a part of the Agora podcast network.

I'm your host, Heather Tesco, and I'm a storyteller who makes history accessible because I believe it's a pathway to understanding

who we are, our place in the universe, and being more deeply in touch with our own humanity.

Amid the sprawling tapestry of English history, some figures, though draped in royal lineage,

and standing at a crossroad of dynastic change still remain largely in the shadows, and

our Bella Stewart is one such figure. Born at a time of political upheaval and religious discord,

her very existence was a testament to the tangled web of the Tudor bloodline and looming question

of succession. The absence of a direct air from Elizabeth I threw the country

into a quagmire of conspiracies, power plays, and anticipation. And our Bella Stewart was right

at the center of that. And that's who we're going to talk about today. Before we get started,

though, your reminder about TudorCon. So you can't buy tickets to come in person anymore. I'm very sorry. I have closed those

ticket sales. But you can come through the magic of the internet with the streaming ticket.

And the streaming ticket is awesome. We've got some really cool stuff planned, including a Tudor

cook-along video with Brigitte Webster, who has a new book out called Eating with the Tudors.

Also, we will be having an exclusive

showing of Michael Raddy's musical The King's Legacy. So that's for streaming tickets, too.

So it's going to be super cool. Englandcast.com slash TudorCon online to learn more about the

streaming ticket. Again, Englandcast.com slash

tutor con online. All right, let's get into Arbela Stewart. Within the swirling vortex of

courtly intrigue, the name Arbelis Stewart surfaced again and again. Here was a young woman

whose veins carried the legitimate tutorudor blood through her grandmother

Margaret Douglas, a direct descendant of the House of Tudor. Yet, how many of us have actually

...