Sibling relationships can often be fraught, but when religious divides, succession disputes and capricious fathers are added to the mix, it’s no wonder when they fall apart. This was the backdrop to the young lives of Mary and Elizabeth, who would both come to rule England, but suffer a great deal of heartbreak along the way. In Nicola Tallis’s cover feature (page 20), she shows how their personal feuds shaped the course of Tudor England.
Elizabeth went on to become one of England’s greatest queens, but did she spend her reign harbouring an astonishing secret? That’s the contention of people who believe in the tale of the Bisley Boy, whereby the young princess died in childhood and was replaced by a small boy of similar appearance who would masquerade as Elizabeth for the rest of her life. This curious story is one of the subjects I explore in my article on conspiracy theories on page 46. From the legends of the Knights Templar to the assassination of JFK, what is it that makes people so keen to believe in alternative versions of the past?
There are few bigger fans of historical conspiracy theories than film-makers – Oliver Stone’s JFK being perhaps the best-known example. But cinema plays with history in other ways, too, as Robert Bartlett reveals in his article on page 38. Focusing on a century of medieval film, he examines how the likes of Braveheart and Monty Python and the Holy Grail have reimagined the Middle Ages for the masses.

Rob Attar
Editor

Download from:

NitroFlare

• BBC Science Focus Magazine – February 2024
• Harper’s Bazaar India – January-February 2024