The mini series within the Royal Studies Podcast on Monarchy & Money is hosted by Charlotte Backerra from the University of Klagenfurt in Austria, and Cathleen Sarti from the University of Oxford in the UK. In these Monarchy & Money episodes, they are talking with scholars on why economic questions are important to understand monarchical rule, and how royals are interacting with the economies of their kingdoms and beyond their territories. They are also always happy to hear about research into economic, financial, and business activities of monarchies and dynastic rulers of all kind.

Guest Bio:

Veronika Hyden-Hanscho holds the prestigious Elise-Richter Fellowship awarded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). The topic of her current project is “Income, Management and Economic Thinking. Noble Entrepreneurship in the Eighteenth-Century Habsburg Monarchy” and focuses on the Habsburg aristocracy as a driving force for economic development. She is Assistant Professor at the University of Klagenfurt. In 2011, she earned a PhD at the University of Graz (Austria). She was Lecturer for Austrian Studies at the University of Wrocław (Poland) and Research Associate at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna from 2013 to 2023 as well as visiting scholar at the University of Ghent (Belgium). She is the author of ‘Reisende, Migranten, Kulturmanager. Mittlerpersönlichkeiten zwischen Frankreich und dem Wiener Hof (1630–1730)’ (Stuttgart, 2013) and co-editor of ‘Formative Modernities in the Early Modern Atlantic and Beyond. Identities, Polities and Glocal Economies’ (Singapore 2023).

The mini series within the Royal Studies Podcast on Monarchy & Money is hosted by Charlotte Backerra from the University of Klagenfurt in Austria, and Cathleen Sarti from the University of Oxford in the UK. In these Monarchy & Money episodes, they are talking with scholars on why economic questions are important to understand monarchical rule, and how royals are interacting with the economies of their kingdoms and beyond their territories. They are also always happy to hear about research into economic, financial, and business activities of monarchies and dynastic rulers of all kind.

Guest Bio:

Katia Wright completed her PhD at the University of Winchester in 2022 with her thesis regarding five English queens across the fourteenth century as landowners, and more specifically their dower lands. Katia has worked on several joint projects and publications including co-editing a special edition of the Royal Studies Journal and her chapter on understanding the dowers of England’s medieval queens. She is part of the project on the Examining the Resources and Revenues of Royal Women in Premodern Europe (also known as the Queen's Resources). Katia is also the Assistant Curator (Archives) of the AGC Museum, Winchester.

In this episode, host Ellie Woodacre interviews the editor of the cluster ‘Diplomacy as Performative Politics in the Early Modern Courts’, as featured in the December 2025 issue of the Royal Studies Journal (issue 12.2). We discuss the inspiration behind this theme and delve into the contents of the cluster and its original and innovative approach to early modern diplomacy, rulership and courts.

Guest Bio/Info:

Dr Kristen Vitale Engel is an early modern historian who specializes in the early Tudor state, performative politics, and late medieval and early modern European court culture. She successfully defended her doctoral dissertation (thesis), titled “Henrician Spectacle: Courtly Festivity as Performative Politics in Early Tudor England, 1485-1533” in April 2025 at the University of Connecticut. She is a Visiting Assistant Professor of History in the School of Graduate, Online and Continuing Education at Fitchburg State University. Kristen is the Submissions Editor for the Royal Studies Journal, the Editor-in-Chief of “The Court Observer” for the Society of Court Studies, the International Ambassador (US) for HistoryLab+ in partnership with the Institute of Historical Research, a podcast host for the “Early Modern History” channel on the New Books Network, and an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Forthcoming publication of interest: “The Performance of Power Relations: Early Henrician Courtly Dance,” in eds., Janet Dickinson and Diana Lucia Gomez-Chacon, The Embodied Court in the Premodern World; Understanding the Physicality, Performativity and Lifecycle of Bodies at Court in Europe and Beyond, 1400-1800, in series Courts and Courtiers in a Global Context Comparative Approaches to the Study of the Mechanisms and Personalities of Pre-Modern Court Cultures, vol. 4, Brepols, 2026.

Follow Kristen on X: @kristenmvitale

Female Rulers Reimagined in Film and Television – A Royal Studies Roundtable (Part 2)

In this second episode of a three-part series, members of the Royal Studies Blog team, Andrea McMillin, Kurtis Pope, and Elena Teibenbacher, come together for an in-depth roundtable exploring how female rulers are reinterpreted in modern popular culture. This continuing discussion introduces the central theme of the series and examines how portrayals of queens and empresses have evolved on screen, from historical epics to satirical reimaginings. Together, the panel unpacks the delicate balance between authenticity and artistic license, questioning where historical accuracy ends and cultural storytelling begins.

Hosted by contributors to the Royal Studies Blog, a postgraduate-led platform that brings together emerging and established researchers to explore monarchy and its representations across time and media, this episode offers a lively and accessible gateway into the field of queenship studies.

Drawing on their academic expertise and personal passion for royal women, the panelists trace their own paths into this area, from early literary inspirations and family influences to gaming and media analysis. They debate the enduring appeal of historical fiction, the emotional power of costume and performance, and how figures are re-cast to reflect modern social values. Across film and television, these queens emerge alternately as icons of empowerment, objects of desire, or political strategists archetypes that mirror shifting cultural attitudes toward women and power.

The conversation also raises key questions about the ethics of storytelling in visual media. Can historical drama educate as well as entertain? Do inaccuracies matter if they spark curiosity and engagement with the past? From The Crown and The Great to The White Queen and Marie Antoinette, the speakers consider how contemporary creators navigate the tension between scholarship and spectacle. This episode sets the stage for the series’ next installments, which will move beyond the screen to explore representations of royal women in digital gaming and historical fiction.

Featured Media References
Films & Series Discussed: Cleopatra (1963), The Great, The Tudors, The White Queen, Marie Antoinette (2006 & 2022–25), The Crown, Himiko (1974), Tomb Raider (2018), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), The Virgin Queen (1955), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Bridgerton (Netflix).

Read more about the Royal Studies Blog any how to get involved:

www.royalstudiesblog.wordpress.com

Female Rulers Reimagined in Film and Television – A Royal Studies Roundtable (Part 1)

In this first episode of a three-part series, members of the Royal Studies Blog team, Andrea McMillin, Kurtis Pope, and Elena Teibenbacher, come together for an in-depth roundtable exploring how female rulers are reinterpreted in modern popular culture. This opening discussion introduces the central theme of the series and examines how portrayals of queens and empresses have evolved on screen, from historical epics to satirical reimaginings. Together, the panel unpacks the delicate balance between authenticity and artistic license, questioning where historical accuracy ends and cultural storytelling begins.

Hosted by contributors to the Royal Studies Blog, a postgraduate-led platform that brings together emerging and established researchers to explore monarchy and its representations across time and media, this episode offers a lively and accessible gateway into the field of queenship studies.

Drawing on their academic expertise and personal passion for royal women, the panelists trace their own paths into this area, from early literary inspirations and family influences to gaming and media analysis. They debate the enduring appeal of historical fiction, the emotional power of costume and performance, and how figures such as Cleopatra, Elizabeth I, Marie Antoinette, and Himiko are re-cast to reflect modern social values. Across film and television, these queens emerge alternately as icons of empowerment, objects of desire, or political strategists archetypes that mirror shifting cultural attitudes toward women and power.

The conversation also raises key questions about the ethics of storytelling in visual media. Can historical drama educate as well as entertain? Do inaccuracies matter if they spark curiosity and engagement with the past? From The Crown and The Great to The White Queen and Marie Antoinette, the speakers consider how contemporary creators navigate the tension between scholarship and spectacle. This episode sets the stage for the series’ next installments, which will move beyond the screen to explore representations of royal women in digital gaming and historical fiction.

Featured Media References
Films & Series Discussed: Cleopatra (1963), The Great, The Tudors, The White Queen, Marie Antoinette (2006 & 2022–25), The Crown, Himiko (1974), Tomb Raider (2018), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), The Virgin Queen (1955), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Bridgerton (Netflix).

Learn more about the Royal Studies Blog: royalstudiesblog.wordpress.com

In this episode, host Susannah Lyon-Whaley interviews Lorinda Cramer on her research on Queen Charlotte. In this episode they discuss Queen Charlotte's relationship with Britain's global empire, and the queen's deep interest in the flora and fauna of the colonies.

For more on Queen Charlotte, see our earlier interview with Natalee Garrett on her biography of this queen in our series.

Bio:

Dr Lorinda Cramer is a lecturer in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies at Deakin University, Australia. She first explored specimen collections taken by Joseph Banks from Australia in her museum work more than a decade ago. She returned to these specimens as a research fellow in the Gender and Women’s History Research Centre at the Australian Catholic University while working on the Australian Research Council Discovery Project ‘A History of Early Modern Natural Resource Management’, led by Professor Susan Broomhall.

Featured Publication: Cramer, Lorinda. ‘Queen Charlotte and the Colonies: Queenly Agency in Collecting Australia’s Flora and Fauna.’ In Queens, Queenship, and Natural Resource Management in Premodern Europe, 1400-1800, edited by Susan Broomhall and Clare Davidson, 313-334. London: Routledge, 2025.

In this episode, the second of our feature on African Queenship, host Ellie Woodacre interviews Paula Akpan. Our discussion mirrors the same lines as the conversation in episode 1 of this mini-series, drawing deeply on her fantastic new book, When We Ruled (see links below) and the various case studies Paula examined in her research.

Guest Bio: Paula Akpan is a historian, journalist and author. Her writing has appeared in British Vogue, Teen Vogue, The Independent, The i Paper, VICE, GAY TIMES, The Bookseller, DIVA Magazine, i-D and more. Her essays have featured in Loud Black Girls, The Queer Bible and The Black History Book. Paula holds a BA in Sociology and an MA in Black British History. When We Ruled: The Rise and Fall of Twelve African Queens and Warriors is her first book.

Follow Paula on Insta @paulaakpan

This episode is the first of a new part series on African queenship, which will connected with coming episodes on African monarchy which you can look forward to as well.

In this episode, host Ellie Woodacre interviews two scholars who work on African queenship: Professor Nwando Achebe and Lydia Amoah. We discuss the distinctive features of African queenship with many rich and fascinating examples of powerful royal women from across African history from ancient Egypt and Kush to the recent death of the Asantehemaa in Ghana.

Guest Bios:

Nwando Achebe, University Distinguished Professor, Jack and Margaret Sweet Endowed Professor of History, and Associate Dean for Access in the College of Social Science, is a multi-award-winning historian at Michigan State University. She is the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of West African History, an elected member of the Nigerian Academy of Letters and Vice President/President-Elect of the African Studies Association.

Dr. Achebe received her Ph.D. from UCLA in 2000. In 1996 and 1998, she served as a Ford Foundation and Fulbright-Hays Scholar-in-Residence at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Her research focuses on the use of oral history in the study of women, gender, and sexuality in Nigeria.

Achebe is the author of six books including Farmers, Traders, Warriors, and Kings: Female Power and Authority in Northern Igboland, 1900–1960 (Heinemann, 2005), The Female King of Colonial Nigeria: Ahebi Ugbabe (Indiana University Press, 2011)—which won three major book awards and Female Monarchs and Merchant Queens in Africa (Ohio University Press, 2020).

Lydia Amoah just completed a PhD in African Studies form the Institute of African Studies, university of Ghana, Legon. She has a Masters in African Studies and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Arts. Her work focuses on critical areas such as Akan Customary Law and culture, women's agency, and female traditional leadership, with a strong emphasis on customary dispute resolution and peacebuilding in Ghana. Her doctoral thesis titled Akan Queenmothers and Conflict Resolution in Ghana, A Study of the Asantehemaa’s ‘traditional’ Court, examined how Akan Queenmothers use their customary courts for grassroots dispute prevention, resolve disputes and contribute to peace building in their communities.