Elizabeth Anna Norton is a British historian specialising in the queens of England and the

Tudor period In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...

. She obtained a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, being awarded a Double First Class degree, and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in European archaeology from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. She is the author of thirteen non-fiction books.

Biography

Norton grew up in

Steyning Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham District, Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, north of the coastal town of Shoreha ...

, West Sussex, and attended

Steyning Grammar School Steyning Grammar School is a coeducational comprehensive day and boarding, senior school and sixth form, located in Steyning, West Sussex, England. The school has two lower school sites catering for Years 7 and 8. The original site was located ...

. She studied archaeology and anthropology at

New Hall, Cambridge New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, and later completed a master's degree in European archaeology at

Hertford College Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

, Oxford. She was a member of a university research group led by Jeremy Keenan to the Algerian Sahara which surveyed prehistoric rock art and travelled with the

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...

people. The anthropologist Mary Ann Craig was also a member of this group. Norton has also carried out archaeological fieldwork in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Her television appearances include ''Bloody Tales of the Tower'' (National Geographic), ''The Book Show'' (

Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, films, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...

), '' Flog It!'' (

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

) and ''

BBC Breakfast ''BBC Breakfast'' is a British television breakfast news programme, produced by BBC News and broadcast on BBC One every morning from 6:00am. It is also broadcast on the UK feed of BBC News channel on weekends. The simulcast is presented live, ...

'' (BBC One). She regularly appears as an expert on '' BBC London News'' and is often featured on radio, including ''The

Robert Elms Robert Frederick Elms is an English writer and broadcaster. Elms was a writer for '' The Face'' magazine in the 1980s, and is known for his long-running radio show on BBC Radio London and his 2006 book, ''The Way We Wore''. Early life and educ ...

Show'' on

BBC Radio London BBC Radio London is the BBC Local Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London. It broadcasts on FM broadcasting, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Broadcasting House in Langham Plac ...

. In 2019, she completed a Doctor of Philosophy at King's College London. Her thesis was titled ''The Blount Family in the long Sixteenth century'' and she was supervised by Hannah Dawson and Lucy Wooding. Norton lives in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

with her husband and sons.

Published works

Elizabeth Norton is the author of thirteen non-fiction works: *''She Wolves, The Notorious Queens of England'' (

The History Press The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

, 2008) *''

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

, Henry VIII's Obsession'' ( Amberley, 2008) *''

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...

, Henry VIII's True Love'' (Amberley, 2009) *''

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...

, Henry VIII's Discarded Bride'' (Amberley, 2009) *''

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr ( – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort o ...

'' (Amberley, 2010); *'' Margaret Beaufort, Mother of the Tudor Dynasty'' (Amberley, 2010) *''Anne Boleyn, In Her Own Words and the Words of Those Who Knew Her'' (Amberley, 2011) *''England's Queens: The Biography'' (Amberley, 2011) *'' Bessie Blount: Mistress to Henry VIII'' (Amberley, 2011) *''The Boleyn Women: The Tudor Femmes Fatales Who Changed English History'' (Amberley, 2013) *'' Elfrida: The First Crowned Queen of England'' (Amberley, 2013) *''The Tudor Treasury'' (Andre Deutsch, 2014) *''The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor'' (Head of Zeus, 2015) *''The Hidden Lives of Tudor Women – a Social History (''Pegasus, 2017) She is also the author of a number of articles, including *"Anne of Cleves and Richmond Palace" (''Surrey History'', 2009) *"Scandinavian Influences in the Late Anglo-Saxon Sculpture of Sussex" (''

Sussex Archaeological Collections ''Sussex Archaeological Collections'' is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering archaeological topics. The journal is published by the Sussex Archaeological Society and was established in 1848. History The Sussex Archaeological Socie ...

'', 2009).The article is online: She regularly writes for history and family history magazines, including ''

BBC History ''BBC History'' is a British magazine devoted to both British and world history, and aimed at readers of all levels of knowledge and interest. There are thirteen issues a year, one each month and a Christmas special. The magazine is published, ...

'', ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' and ''Your Family Tree''.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Elizabeth 1986 births Living people Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Alumni of New Hall, Cambridge British women historians British writers English historians People educated at Steyning Grammar School People from Steyning Royal biographers Tudor historians Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Alumni of King's College London Academics of King's College London Academics of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art