The Role of Crowns in the History of the British Empire

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The earliest English crowns have been excavated from Iron Age graves. So, I mean, there seems to be a kind of enormous sort of anthropological sort of universality of the idea that you're doing something special on your head is a way of setting you apart. And we see it in the Middle Ages. Henry III, who was of great long-lived and successful medieval monarch, really lionized his predecessor by several generations. It's an interesting cocktail of history and anthropology and sociology in a way.

Anna Keay is a historian who specializes in the cultural heritage of Great Britain. As the director of the Landmark Trust, she has overseen the restoration of numerous historical buildings and monuments, while also serving as a prolific author and commentator on the country's architectural and artistic traditions. Her book, The Restless Republic: Britain Without a Crown, was one of Tyler’s top picks for 2022.

Tyler sat down with Anna to discuss the most plausible scenario where England could’ve remained a republic in the 17th century, what Robert Boyle learned from Sir William Petty, why some monarchs build palaces and others don’t, how renting from the Landmark Trust compares to Airbnb, how her job changes her views on wealth taxes, why neighborhood architecture has declined, how she’d handle the UK’s housing shortage, why giving back the Koh-i-Noor would cause more problems than it solves, why British houses have so little storage, the hardest part about living in an 800-year-old house, her favorite John Fowles book, why we should do more to preserve the Scottish Enlightenment, and more.

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Recorded February 23rd, 2023

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