The English Civil Wars stemmed from a conflict between Charles I and Parliament over an Irish insurrection. Northern and Western England, together with much of Ireland stood for the King, while the southeast, London, the Royal Navy and Scotland stood for Parliament.
Raleigh's meteoric rise was followed by a slow and tragic fall from grace, which would ultimately end with the Orinoco disaster and death on the executioner's block. His story is inextricably linked to the dark intrigues and political maneuvering that characterised the close of Elizabeth I's reign.
The Queen Mother's personality and determination made a remarkable difference to the war effort as did her fight to improve the British people's morale during the second world war. Her insistence that the royal family remain in London was so much more than a reassuring statement.
Writer Tracy Borman explores the life of Elizabeth I, looking into her relationships with her closest attendants and her attitudes to, and treatment of, other women as well as her erotically charged love affairs and her love of tooth-rotting sugar.
