14th October, 2024 in Biography & Memoir, History, Women in History

Ask the author: Emily Murdoch Perkins on rewriting royal history

By Emily Murdoch Perkins

Emily Murdoch Perkins discusses her new book Regina: The Queens Who Could Have Been, a feminist ‘what if’ history looking at what would have happened if firstborn daughters had been crowned instead of firstborn sons. 

Where did the idea for the book come from?

It all started when Queen Elizabeth II died, in 2022. I was watching the spectacle that is crowning a new monarch, and realised that Princess Anne—the queen’s eldest daughter—had lived a life of restricted royalty, but without the direction that her brother, the heir, had always had. It made me wonder what her life could have been if she had been the heir instead.

Which is your favourite Queen that you talk about in the book?

Ohhhhh, a tough one! I think probably Isabella, the eldest daughter of Edward III. She lived a bold life in the 1350s when women had very few rights at all, and she was under the control of the most powerful man in the country: her father. And yet she refused to be married off, instead gaining for herself an independent income—I think the first princess to do so—and eventually marrying, for love, in her thirties. What an icon!

What was your biggest challenge while undertaking the research?

Honestly, the fact that there simply aren’t that many records of princesses in the early medieval period! Take William the Conqueror, for example. He began his reign in 1066, and there are plenty of contemporary lists of his children—that is, lists made during his lifetime. The trouble is, none of those lists agree with each other. Not a single one is the same! So we don’t exactly know how many children he had, what their birth order was, or even what their names were. Not exactly helpful!

Where did you gather your information from and what was the research process like?

I’m really fortunate that, thanks to my university, I have access to JSTOR which has hundreds of thousands of academic articles and reports of research. I also gained access to my local university library, including some primary sources, and I used my county’s integrated library network too. I was really fortunate!

The research process was really enjoyable, even though it was a little frustrating at times. I’ve loved history all my life, I have two history degrees, and yet there were many queens who could have been that I had never heard of. It was so exciting discovering them.

Was there anything especially surprising that you found in your research?

Most definitely; just how bold so many of these princesses were! Although their boldness has to be contextualised—boldness in the 1500s looks different to boldness now—it was astonishing how much agency these princesses were not given, but demanded.

How would you describe the book in one word?

Feminist.

What is your favourite chapter in the book? Why?

I’m a medievalist at heart, and so I had a huge amount of fun with the Edward queens. They lived during the height of the medieval era, from around the 1270s to 1370s. So much changed during that time, and the royal princesses had a front-row seat…and at times, were influencing those changes.

Have you learnt any life lessons from these women?

I think to be more bold! To be more open with what I want out of life, where I want to go, what I want to do. There’s nothing like the limitations on my life compared to theirs, and they still pushed forward to make joyful adventures for themselves. They are just so fascinating, and I can’t wait for people to read Regina and discover them.