John Guy

Diarmaid MacCulloch, a Professor of the History of the Church, Susan Doran, an expert in Early Modern British History, and John Guy, a Fellow at Clare College, delve into the life of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, an influential figure in Elizabethan governance. They discuss his adaptability across Protestant and Catholic reigns, his pivotal role in establishing England's security, and the complex dynamics surrounding Mary Queen of Scots. The trio highlights Cecil's strategies in political maneuvering, his guidance to Elizabeth I, and the lasting impact of his reforms.

In a programme first broadcast in 2017, Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of Mary, Queen of Scots, who had potential to be one of the most powerful rulers in Europe, yet she was also one of the most vulnerable. In France, when she was the teenage bride to their future king, she was seen as rightful heir to the thrones of England and Ireland, as well as Queen of Scotland and one day of France, which would have been an extraordinary union. She was widowed too young, though and, a Catholic returning to Protestant Scotland, she struggled to overcome rivalries in her own country. She fled to Protestant England, where she was implicated in plots to overthrow Elizabeth, and it was Elizabeth herself who signed Mary's death warrant. With David Forsyth Principal Curator, Scottish Medieval-Early Modern Collections at National Museums ScotlandAnna Groundwater Teaching Fellow in Historical Skills and Methods at the University of EdinburghAndJohn Guy Fellow of Clare College, University of CambridgeProducer: Simon Tillotson.