At the Tudor court there was a cast of characters who have been little

consulted by historians but who served as intimate witnesses of the lives of

Henry the 8th Queen's. These were intimate witnesses of the lives of Henry VIII's Queens.

These were their ladies in waiting,

their gentle women, their maids of honor.

We should not mistake these for 19th century servants.

These women were high-born, even if they performed menial tasks,

and many of them were educated,

which means that they could write, and they did.

Maria de Salinas, who served Catherine of Aragon,

wrote letters describing her experience.

Another of Catherine's ladies, Francesca de Cacherez, may have been a spy for the Spanish state.

Anne Berlin and Anne of Cleves' ladies played a role in their downfalls and a lady from each of their

households became Henry's next wife. The power that ladies in waiting had as

intimate informants could be used for and against each queen.

This is the discovery of Dr. Nicola Clark, whose new book, The Waiting Game, the untold story

of the women who served the Tudor Queens explores the

limits and possibilities of the lady in waiting and considers what such ladies

have to tell us about the hidden world of court politics.

Dr. Nicki Clark, welcome to not just the Tudors.

Welcome to not just the Tudors. Welcome back I should say. Thank you.

Nice to be here. We're talking about the subject of your new book which is called

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