Tracy Joanne Borman OBE FRHistS FSA[1] (born 1 January 1972)[2] is a historian and author from Scothern, Lincolnshire, England. She is most widely known as the author of Elizabeth's Women, a portrait-gallery of the powerful women who influenced Queen Elizabeth I.

Tracy Borman
Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University
In office
1 July 2022
Preceded byJudith Mayhew Jonas
Personal details
Born
Tracy Joanne Borman

(1972-01-01) 1 January 1972 (age 52)
Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England
Alma materUniversity of Hull
Occupation
  • Historian
  • author

In July 2022 Borman was made Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln.[3]

Early life and education

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Borman was born in 1972 in Lincoln, and brought up in the nearby village of Scothern. She was educated at Scothern Primary School (now Ellison Boulters Academy), William Farr School, Welton, and Yarborough School (now Lincoln Castle Academy), Lincoln.[4][5] She studied and taught history at the University of Hull, where she was awarded a PhD in 1997.[5] Her doctoral thesis was titled Sir Francis Vere in the Netherlands, 1589-1603: a re-evaluation of his career as Sergeant Major General of Elizabeth I’s troops.[6]

Career

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Elizabeth's Women was serialised and became a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week in September 2009.[7] Borman appeared on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, also in September 2009.[8]

In 2013, she was appointed Joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces alongside Lucy Worsley.[9] In 2024 she became Historic Royal Palaces' Chief Historian.[10]

In 2021, Borman also authored an immersive audiovisual step inside a story walking tour for Kensington Gardens entitled Tales of a Mistress in the Georgian Court on the BARDEUM mobile app.[11]

Honours

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In February 2021 Borman was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.[12] On 14 June 2024 Borman was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the King's Birthday Honours for services to heritage.[13]

Personal life

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She and her husband, whom she married at the Tower of London, live in New Malden, southwest London.[14]

Published works

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Fiction

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  • The King's Witch (2018)
  • The Devil's Slave (2019)
  • The Fallen Angel (2020)

Non-fiction

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  • Henrietta Howard: King's Mistress, Queen's Servant, Jonathan Cape and Vintage (2007)
  • Elizabeth's Women: The Hidden Story of the Virgin Queen, Jonathan Cape and Vintage (2010)
  • Matilda: Queen of the Conqueror, Jonathan Cape and Vintage (2011)
  • The Ring and the Crown: A History of Royal Weddings 1066–2011 (with Alison Weir, Kate Williams and Sarah Gristwood) (2011) ISBN 978-0-09-194377-6
  • Witches: A Tale of Sorcery, Scandal and Seduction, Jonathan Cape and Vintage (2013)
  • The Story of the Tower of London, Merrell
  • Thomas Cromwell: The Hidden Story of Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant. Hodder and Stoughton (2015)[15]
  • The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain's Greatest Dynasty, Hodder and Stoughton (2016)
  • Henry VIII: And the Men Who Made Him, Hodder and Stoughton (2019)
  • Crown and Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II, Hodder and Stoughton (2021)
  • Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History, Hodder and Stoughton (2023)

References

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  1. ^ "List of Fellows (February 2024)" (PDF). Royal Historical Society. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Borman, Tracy". Who's Who. Vol. 2017 (November 2016 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 29 November 2017. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ "Chancellor & Vice-Chancellor | Bishop Grosseteste University". www.bgu.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  4. ^ General Register Office of England and Wales, Births, March quarter 1972, Lincoln, Vol 3b, page 983
  5. ^ a b Chapman, Kate (January 2014). "In time with the Tudors…". Lincolnshire Life. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Tracy Borman". Historic Royal Palaces. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Tracy Borman: Elizabeth's Women". Book of the Week. BBC Radio 4. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
  8. ^ "Elizabeth I's attitude to women". Woman's Hour. BBC Radio 4. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  9. ^ "Biography". Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  10. ^ "@TracyBorman: "I'm delighted to announce that I've been appointed Chief Historian for @HRP_palaces Looking forward to uncovering many more stories from the palaces' incredible history"". X. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  11. ^ "Tracy Borman". BARDEUM. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  12. ^ "18 February Ballot Results". Society of Antiquaries of London. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  13. ^ "Birthday Honours List 2024". UK Government. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  14. ^ Hancock, Alice (18 August 2016). "My favourite antique: Tracy Borman". Homes & Antiques. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  15. ^ See review in The Economist
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