Hello, I'm Lucy Worsley, chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces.

You're listening to our podcast that explores the history and stories of our six palaces.

These talks are a collection of some of our best live events.

I really hope you enjoy listening.

History has traditionally taken a negative view of women in power. really hope you enjoy listening.

History has traditionally taken a negative view of women in power.

This series of talks from our archive explores stories of powerful women and how their legacies have been shaped by their gender.

In this conversation, historian Dr. Alice Hunt traces Mary the first's life from her birth as a royal princess

to her ultimate succession and reign as queen.

When Mary was first born in 1516, she was the first daughter.

And there was some disappointment that she was a girl, but also much rejoicing that there was a healthy child.

It had been serious miscarriages before her birth.

And Henry's remained very optimistic and, you know, sons will follow by the grace of God. And she was brought up as a royal

princess. And it wasn't at all she was a teenager that things started to go wrong. And up till

then, she was brought up as a princess, not necessarily as the heir, but as a royal princess

nonetheless. A couple of years later, Catherine delivered a stillborn child,

and after that she didn't conceive again.

So it did become increasingly clear as Catherine got older that she wouldn't be able to deliver a child.

So at the beginning beginning there was the expectation

there would be a boy, but there was no other successful pregnancy.

Acknowledged. How do you think the divorce affected Mary? It affected her very substantially

in the sense that she was demoted. She was no longer princess. She was demoted to Lady Mary. She was

...