RSJ Feature: Cluster on Queenship and Cross-Confessional Identity

The Royal Studies Podcast

In this episode, Dr Amy Saunders and Dr Johanna Strong join Susannah to speak about their Royal Studies Journal Cluster, “Queenship and Cross-Confessional Identity”. The Cluster features in the December issue of the Royal Studies Journal and is available open-access through the RSJ website.

Guest Bios:

Amy has recently completed a PhD in early modern history and heritage at the University of Winchester, supervised by Dr Ellie Woodacre and Dr Simon Sandall. Her research examines the representation of Stuart royal narratives in modern heritage sites, exploring the reconstructed narratives of James VI & I, Anna of Denmark, Charles I, Henrietta Maria, Charles II, and Catherine of Braganza. Confessional and national identity are central themes in Amy’s research and are relevant in both her work on the seventeenth century and the modern heritage sites she examines. Her forthcoming book chapter, “Curating a Conduit: Elizabeth Stuart, Motherhood and National Identity in Heritage Sites”, explores how James and Anna’s daughter Elizabeth has been repositioned as the ideal ‘English’ royal woman in modern heritage sites in England.

Johanna completed her PhD at the University of Winchester under the supervision of Drs Ellie Woodacre and Simon Sandall. Her thesis focused on how narratives of religion, national identity, and gender influenced the creation and perpetuation of Mary I’s legacy in the dominant English historical narrative from 1558 until 1660. Her research has been featured on a variety of podcasts and informed Winchester Cathedral’s 3-part series on Mary I and Philip II’s wedding at the Cathedral. Her first published chapter appeared in Valerie Schutte and Jessica S. Hower’s award-winning volume Writing Mary I: History, Historiography, and Fiction and her first monograph is forthcoming. Johanna is the Digital Seminar Series Coordinator for the Royal Studies Network and is the Social Media Coordinator for all things RSN. You can follow Johanna and her research on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and her website.