Book of the Week - Elizabeth's Women - Episode 5

Emma Fielding reads from Tracy Borman's biography of Elizabeth I, which explores the relationships she had with the women in her life. These women brought out the best and the worst of Elizabeth, who could be loyal and kind but also cruel and vindictive. They all influenced Elizabeth's carefully-cultivated image as Gloriana, The Virgin Queen. In the final years of her reign, Elizabeth begins to lose her grip on matters at court. This state of affairs is reflected in the loosening morals of her newer and younger Ladies-in-Waiting, who she fittingly terms her 'flouting wenches'.