Regina
- Author Kate Williams
- Narrator Esther Wane, Kate Williams
- Publisher Orion
- Publish Date 4 June 2026
- Run Time 15 hours
- Format Audio
- Genre Biography: royalty, General and world history, Social and cultural history.
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What to expect
From Cleopatra to Grace Kelly, an epic new history of royal women that shatters the myths we have built around them.
Stories about royal women form some of our most foundational myths about femininity, and yet their legacies have been almost entirely constructed by the words and images created by men.
In Regina, acclaimed historian Kate Williams leads us deep into a world of queens, empresses, princesses, mistresses and courtiers, uncovering how their ambitions were shaped, celebrated and often thwarted, exposing a tangled web of women and power that spans thousands of years.
Ranging from the ancient civilisations of Egypt and Mesopotamia to the opulent courts of the pre-modern world and the last days of colonialism, Williams delves into the lives of these remarkable women, revealing both their trials and triumphs as they navigate political intrigue, family rivalries and personal sacrifices.
From Hatshepsut and Boudica, through Tudor queens Catherine of Aragon and Lady Jane Grey, to Queen Victoria's contemporaries Yaa Asantewaa of Ghana and Queen Lili'uokalani of Hawaii, and right up to Princess Diana, this is a thrilling, globe-spanning story of queens and royal woman, of female power through the ages that unlocks how we understand women, politics and power today.
Stories about royal women form some of our most foundational myths about femininity, and yet their legacies have been almost entirely constructed by the words and images created by men.
In Regina, acclaimed historian Kate Williams leads us deep into a world of queens, empresses, princesses, mistresses and courtiers, uncovering how their ambitions were shaped, celebrated and often thwarted, exposing a tangled web of women and power that spans thousands of years.
Ranging from the ancient civilisations of Egypt and Mesopotamia to the opulent courts of the pre-modern world and the last days of colonialism, Williams delves into the lives of these remarkable women, revealing both their trials and triumphs as they navigate political intrigue, family rivalries and personal sacrifices.
From Hatshepsut and Boudica, through Tudor queens Catherine of Aragon and Lady Jane Grey, to Queen Victoria's contemporaries Yaa Asantewaa of Ghana and Queen Lili'uokalani of Hawaii, and right up to Princess Diana, this is a thrilling, globe-spanning story of queens and royal woman, of female power through the ages that unlocks how we understand women, politics and power today.
Critics Review
Their stories have been told through the centuries - but all too often filtered through the words of men. In Regina, Kate Williams restores what was lost in a landmark history of royal women, power and the enduring myths we were never meant to question
A fascinating and excellent chronicle of female rulers - some wildly famous, some much neglected - that is effectively a world history told through regal biographies and a guide how to be a queen, wonderfully told by a consummate historian who combines authoritative scholarship with compelling storytelling
One of Britain's most cherished public historians and leading expert of European Elite women strikes again. From the she-king Hatshepsut, the guillotined Marie-Antoinette to the beloved Princess Diana, Williams's magnificent new book Regina takes us on an exhilarating expedition across 3000 years of women's history. Williams's exquisite signature plume confronts inherited and pervasive misogyny across continents while celebrating female monarchs and power broker's ruling methods and unique achievements. Regina is a compelling invitation to embed Women's history more strongly into World and Colonial Histories
In a rich and incisive reimagining of the past, Kate Williams cuts through familiar cliches to offer us a dazzling, globe-spanning procession of queens to show how deeply our histories of female power have been shaped by bias. Regina is as engaging and unsettling - and as indomitable - as the remarkable women it brings to life
Erudite, clever, brilliant, this is a beguiling analysis of the world through the lives of 3000 years of female rulers. Essential reading for all who care about how history is made, and whose story gets to be told. Regina is a triumph
Seductress, maniac, tyrant: just some of the labels attached to queens across the centuries. In Regina, Professor Kate WIlliams cuts through centuries of spin to reveal the often surprising realities of female rule. The result is a vivid, humane and deeply compelling history. A must-read
Brilliant. Yet again, Williams brings history to life in the most sizzling, scintillating way, combining meticulous research with dynamo storytelling. This book is a triumph!
Regina reveals the invisible dynamics behind the careers of history's most visible women. In a grand, ambitious sweep through 3000 years of female power, Kate Williams incisively proves that our understanding of the queens of the past remains a vital element in defining the boundaries which still confine all women today. Forceful and urgent, Regina is also a profound work of scholarship, providing intimate, poignant portraits of both queens we think we know and many whose stories and strategies have been neglected. Kate Williams pulverises the notion that the history of men is about fact, whilst that of women concerns personality. Ruthless, brilliant, scheming, violent, treacherous, noble, these queens are not heroines but something more important: individual rulers whose impact on world history is still overlooked
Regina is a thoroughly engrossing work - full to the brim with fascinating research and impassioned prose. Through an extraordinary variety of artefacts and archival material, Kate Williams demonstrates how images of queenship have been weaponised globally for time immemorial. Rich in detail and depth, vibrant and full of life
This is so much more than a history of female rulers: it shines a dazzling, often unflattering light on how women in power have been viewed by the societies in which they lived. Brilliantly-written, thought-provoking and utterly compelling throughout, it provokes admiration and anger in equal measure. A stunning achievement
An enthralling study - and long-overdue appraisal - of many of history's most intriguing and misunderstood rulers. Though perhaps not the mot juste for a book entirely about Queens by one of our foremost (female) historians, it applies non the less: masterly
Lyrical, rich . . . Williams enlarges our past, transforming out understanding of power. Williams has shown me that our appreciation of the past is incomplete. She writes so eloquently about female power, not to detract from traditional notions of kingship but adding vastly to them to provide a richer, more comprehensive history. Kate Williams is a queen of narrative history
These really are Great Lives. Brilliant, fascinating portraits, told with scholarship and wry humour. I've learned the origin of 'Pharoah' and why no one knows Boudica's real name. This is my historical happy place
Kate Williams tells the lives of women who ruled with both empathy and rigour. this is a tour de force book that will make you rethink everything you know about gender and power
An energetic, in-depth and thought-provoking account of female rulers across space and time. In a style at once entertaining, empathetic and scholarly, Williams untangles the lives of some of history's most extraordinary women from those of the men around them who often tried to control their actions and their legacies. In doing so, she restores the humanity to a host of warrior-queens, queens regnant and female kings. I devoured it
A royal smash. Kate Williams is at the top of her game. She tells the story of queenship with the glitz of a royal ball and the precision of the executioner's axe. If you think you know the history of queens, think again. Kate Williams really is the queen of royal history.
Regina is the crowning achievement of a lifetime of telling women's stories . . . Kate Williams is a woman of great power herself
Terrific . . . absolutely compelling
| Author | Kate Williams |
|---|---|
| Narrator | Esther Wane, Kate Williams |
| Duration | 15 hours |
| Release Date | |
| ISBN | 9781474621380 |
| Format | Audiobook |
| Publisher | Orion |
| Genre | Biography: royalty, General and world history, Social and cultural history |
| Availability | AU, GB, IE |
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