In March 1603, Queen Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch, lay dying at Richmond Palace. The Queen's ministers clustered round her bedside, urging her to name her successor - something she had stubbornly resisted throughout her reign. Almost with her last breath, she whispered that James VI of Scotland should succeed her. She died shortly afterwards and the throne of England passed peacefully from Tudor to Stuart. Or so we've been led to believe. In this illustrated talk based on her new book, bestselling author, historian and broadcaster Tracy Borman will reveal the shocking truth behind one of history’s best-kept secrets.

Tracy Borman studied and taught history at the University of Hull and was awarded a PHD in 1997. Tracy went on to a successful career in heritage and has worked for a range of historic properties and national heritage organisations, including the Heritage Lottery Fund, The National Archives and English Heritage. Tracy is currently Chief Executive of the Heritage Education Trust, a charity that encourages children to visit and learn from historic properties through the Sandford Award scheme. Tracy is also joint Chief Curator for Historic Royal Palaces.

Vikki Jenner, our host for this evening, will begin the evening by exploring several churches with an Elizabethan past. We begin in All Saints, Holdenby (Northamptonshire): Linked via Sir Christopher Hatton, Elizabeth I’s Lord Chancellor and favourite, who moved the whole village to build his great Elizabethan mansion beside the church: https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/visit/our-churches/all-saints-church-holdenby-northamptonshire. The second church of today’s talk is St Lawrence's in Snarford: https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/what-we-do/blog/tudor-tombs-the-colourful-monuments-at-st-lawrences-snarford.

Our churches cost on average £2,500 per year to keep them clean, carry out conservation work, conduct maintenance checks, and ensure they are in a safe condition for visitors to enjoy. Please help us to keep our churches open by donating a gift of £5 or £10. You can donate quickly and easily to any of the churches mentioned today by texting the numbers below or visiting our donation page. Your generous donation will help us to protect a beautiful part of local and national heritage.

You can make a donation to these churches by texting the acronyms below to 70191 to give £5, or 70191 to donate £10: 'HOY' for Holdenby or 'SNA' for Snarford. Or donate via this link here: https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/get-involved/donation. Thank you.