British women
The women of Britain
The United Kingdom is a place of huge variety - and that includes its people too without doubt. There have been some truly remarkable women in our history. And after all, the lady you see depicted on the left is a personification of Britain - Britannia.
From the warrior Boudicca, who led her people in a rebellion against the Roman occupying forces to the women of today, we have a strong history of a series of pretty powerful females.
We also have (or had) some true characters, bizarre trailblazers and then of course, there's the weirdly eccentric.
Do you have any great articles that would suit this page? Just let me know and I'll include them.
The image of Britannia is from artwork by Tom Purvis and copyright-free via Wikimedia.
Let's start with Her Majesty
There are many British people today, myself included, who have only ever known one monarch. Want to know more about her?
When the Queen was a young woman, she was a fashion icon who inspired British woman and their fashions - somewhat similar to the way in which Diana, Princess of Wales did during the 1980s and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, does today.
Find out more and see plenty of photographs
Did you know that the Queen was shot at when riding in a ceremonial procession?
All the horses were frightened by the shots but the Queen was the first to get her horse under control.
Follow the link below to learn more and see a video of the event.
Interestingly, she is probably the only person in the world whose voice has been regularly recorded throughout her life.
This gives us the opportunity to see how her accent has changed over the years.
Watch - and listen - videos and read more.
Royals past and present
Because we have such a long history, this will be a growing list.
Zara, the granddaughter of the Queen, is one of my favourite royals.
Not only that but she's extremely down to earth and an Olympic horsewoman.
Use the link below to find out more.
Margaret Rose was the sister of the Queen.
She died in 2002 and I find that there are many people who have forgotten all about her.
And yet she had a scandalous life in her younger years and it seems a shame that she has largely been forgotten.
Do you know who this is?
It's Sophie, the Countess of Wessex. She is the wife and the Queen's youngest son, Prince Edward.
She's rarely in the news, even though she's one of the hardest working of the family.
Click the link below to find out why this normally composed woman was reduced to tears on a visit.
The Queen Mother - often referred to as the Queen Mum - was, as the title implies, the mother of Elizabeth and Margaret Rose.
She was a remarkable woman and much loved by her family and the nation.
However, Hitler believed her to be highly dangerous...
She was known as the virgin queen but I doubt that was an accurate description.
Did she have an affair with Robert Dudley?
And more importantly, did they conspire to murder his wife Amy?
There has long been a theory that one of Queen Victoria's daughters gave birth to an illegitimate baby.
It's also thought that the queen knew all about it (I believe that she was a bit more human than lots of people think).
Read about it and made up your mind.
British women in history
Here's a great selection of women from the UK - some you will know and others that may be new to you.
Another story about the scandalous Mitford sisters, this time Diana.
Her life is choc-a-bloc with scandal and notoriety. In the nineteen thirties she divorced her first husband for a married man who happened to be the leader of the British fascists, she was imprisoned during the war - oh, and she was a close friend of Adolf Hitler's...
Have you heard of Lady Hamilton?
I had heard the name but I knew nothing about her.
A prostitute by thirteen years old, how did she become the most famous woman in Britain?
A truly fascinating story.
She was once the most powerful woman in the world.
What was it like growing up with Margaret Thatcher as a role model?
In my opinion, better than the role models than many young girls have these days.
Deborah Mitford was one of the famous Mitford sisters who were the aristocratic darlings of society in the pre-war period.
As the youngest sister, she was often foreshadowed by her somewhat scandalous siblings (and scandalous is putting it mildly).
See the link below to find out more.
Fanny Cradock is one of my favourite eccentrics.
Ostensibly a celebrity chef (the first in Britain, really) she was also a determined bigamist who had some very bizarre habits.
You may not know the face and her name - Julia Stanley - might be unfamiliar to you.
But, although she has been misrepresented in history, this is the story of who she was and who she affected.
Famous for the wrong reasons, Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in Britain.
She had shot her lover in a crime of passion.
Her death was instrumental in the abolition of the death penalty in the UK.
The Prince of Wales was notorious for his affairs.
Some of his mistresses were better known than others.
This one was named Thelma (an unlikely name, I know) but she lost the prince to another, more well-known mistress.
If you're like me, the name of Beatrix Potter is very familiar to you - but how much do you know about her?
I didn't know a thing until I read this fascinating article by DreyaB.
Don't miss the video.
Now this is actually a bit of a cheat because this woman wasn't actually British, although she married a member of the British aristocracy.
This is such a sad and tragic story.
But do you know who her brother was?
Clue - they were American.
This is Unity, probably the most scandalous of the Mitford sisters.
She was close friend of Hitler's prior to the war and some say that she was his mistress.
The question is - did she, as many people believe, have his illegitimate child in England?
Agatha Christie is known as the mystery writer.
But when she was a young woman, she was involved in mystery of her own.
She disappeared and for some time the police suspected that she had been murdered by her husband.
Why did she mysteriously vanish?
This is the story of Lady Diana Spencer and the hardly-known story of the illegitimate baby she had to conceal.
It's truly amazing what aristocracy could get away with in those days.
Click the link below to read the full and fascinating story of this deception.
Personal stories
It's highly unlikely that you recognise the lady pictured here.
She was a piano player working in a pub in an English seaport when she met what today we would call a 'travelling man'.
She left her husband and two children and ran off with him - luckily, or I wouldn't be here.
This is the famous story of Lady Fairpools - a Yorkshire mermaid.
Oh yes.
If you'd like to know more about her, click the link but I'll warn you, her name is an anagram.
Further reading
Read more about a selection of British women
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Formerly Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
