Hello listeners, I'm Tracy Borman, joint chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces, and I wanted to tell you about our exciting new series.

Well, over the next three episodes, I'm going to be leading you on a journey to explore the woman herself, Elizabeth the first, the iconic virgin queen

and the final monarch of the Tudor dynasty.

But I hope that we'll venture a step further than that.

Because throughout her life,

Elizabeth was surrounded by many different examples of female power,

as it existed in the Tudor age. And I believe that it's in examining these relationships

that we can reveal the most about the real Elizabeth. These are the women who shaped a queen.

And this series will follow them throughout Elizabeth's life,

marking how they influenced her and what she learnt from them.

We hope to question what myths have endured about Elizabeth

so that we can understand the queen behind the façade,

the woman under the layers of history.

For each episode, I'll be joined by an expert guest,

and we'll be venturing into the very places where this history unfolded at Hampton Court Palace.

So, join me, Thursday, for the first episode where we'll be exploring the young Elizabeth

before she became queen.