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From Alfred the Great to Victoria: Who Was the Greatest English Monarch? with Dan Snow and Guests

History &
Social Policy

Each monarch left a distinctive stamp on their era – but who did most to shape the nation and the lives of its people?
In Partnership With:

When Intelligence Squared and History Hit joined forces on this event, neither company imagined it would take place after the death of Britain’s longest serving monarch. There will be plenty of time to explore the Queen’s legacy and her impact on Britain’s history over the last seven decades, but we do not feel it would be appropriate for this light-hearted – if learned – debate. For now, we would like to take this moment to acknowledge her life-long service to the country.

Dan Snow’s History Hit and Intelligence Squared came together for this live in-person debate. Each of the kings and queens competing for the title left a distinctive stamp on their era – but who did most to shape the nation and the lives of its people? Who was the cleverest? Who was the bravest? Who was the most loved? 

Alfred the Great: King of the Anglo-Saxons who repeatedly defeated the Vikings and laid the groundwork for the birth of England. Henry VIII: the indomitable Tudor who radically changed the English constitution to suit his needs, ignored the authority of the Pope and (arguably) launched Britain’s first Brexit. Elizabeth I: who survived in a man’s world through her shrewd intelligence, religious tolerance and refusal to dilute her power by marrying. Or Victoria: who salvaged the monarchy after a succession of incompetent Georgian kings and who by embracing marriage and motherhood, set an example that our own queen and royal family have followed to this day.

This lively event threw light on the monarchy as an institution, exploring how it has survived the challenges and vicissitudes of the ages. 

Dan Snow chaired the debate with four celebrated historians who will battled it out on behalf of their chosen monarch.

Event Name

From Alfred the Great to Victoria: Who Was the Greatest English Monarch? with Dan Snow and Guests

Intelligence Squared+
Online Event
WATCH ON DEMAND
Speakers for the motion

  • Tom Holland

    Award-winning historian and co-host of The Rest Is History podcast, whose new book is Pax: War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age

Against the motion

  • Tracy Borman

    Bestselling author, historian and broadcaster and author of Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him

Featuring

  • Helen Castor

    Historian of the middle ages and sixteenth century, and author of Elizabeth I: A Study in Insecurity

Chair

  • Jane Ridley

    Historian, biographer, broadcaster and author of Queen Victoria: Queen, Empress, Matriarch

Speakers

Making the case for Alfred the Great

Tom Holland

Award-winning historian and co-host of The Rest Is History podcast, whose new book is Pax: War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age

Award-winning historian, author and broadcaster. His bestselling books include Rubicon: The Triumph and The Tragedy of the Roman Republic, which won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History and was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize; Persian Fire, which won the Anglo-Hellenic League's Runciman Award; Millennium: The End of the World and The Forging of Christendom; In the Shadow of the Sword: The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World; Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar; and Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind. Holland has adapted Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides and Virgil for the BBC. His translation of Herodotus was published in 2013 by Penguin Classics and followed in 2016 by a history of Æthelstan published under the Penguin Monarchs series, and in 2019 Æthelflæd England's Forgotten Founder as a Ladybird Expert Book. In 2007, he was the winner of the Classical Association prize, awarded to 'the individual who has done most to promote the study of the language, literature and civilisation of Ancient Greece and Rome'.  
Making the case for Henry VIII

Tracy Borman

Bestselling author, historian and broadcaster and author of Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him

Bestselling author, historian and broadcaster, specialising in the Tudor period.  Her books include Elizabeth’s Women, Thomas Cromwell, The Private Lives of the Tudors and Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him. She has also written a fiction trilogy, The King’s Witch, based in the court of James I. Her latest book, Crown & Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy, was published ahead of the Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Tracy is also joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces, Chief Executive of the Heritage Education Trust and Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University in her native Lincoln. She has presented a number of history programmes for Channel 5 and the Smithsonian Channel, including The Fall of Anne Boleyn, Inside the Tower of London and Henry VIII and the King’s Men.  She is a regular contributor to BBC History Magazine and gives talks on her books across the country and abroad.
Making the case for Queen Victoria

Jane Ridley

Historian, biographer, broadcaster and author of Queen Victoria: Queen, Empress, Matriarch

Historian, biographer, broadcaster and Professor of Modern History at the University of Buckingham. She wrote an acclaimed biography of King Edward VII, Bertie: A Life of Edward, and this was followed by Queen Victoria: Queen, Empress, Matriarch. In 2021 she published a major new biography, George V: Never a Dull Moment. She has appeared in TV documentaries about royal history and she reviews in publications such as The Spectator. She is the current Chairman of the Biographers’ Club and a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Literature and Royal Historical Society.  
CHAIR

  • Dan Snow

    Award-winning history broadcaster, bestselling author and host of the History Hit podcast

Making the case for Elizabeth I

Helen Castor

Historian of the middle ages and sixteenth century, and author of Elizabeth I: A Study in Insecurity

Historian of the middle ages and sixteenth century, a Bye-Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Her books include the prize-winning Blood & Roses: The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century; Elizabeth I: A Study in Insecurity for the Penguin Monarchs series, and Joan of Arc, dubbed a ‘triumph of history’.   Her book She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth, was made into a BBC TV series and selected as a book of the year by numerous publications. She has presented a range of programmes for BBC TV and radio and Channel 4.    Her introduction to a new edition of William Golding’s Close Quarters was published in April 2022, and she is currently at work on The Eagle and the Hart, a study of Richard II and Henry IV, due to appear in 2023.