SHIRLEY Noble presented a lively view of history from the middle ages to Victorian times entitled Kings, Queens and Mistresses. Shirley explained that her talk concerned aspects of history omitted from most school curricula and very often omitted from the history books.

It concerned political power through the ages, through marriage alliances and also mentioned some illegitimate births. Shirley has done some painstaking research with much attention to detail. In her talk she mentioned that we have heard much about Henry VIII and his unfortunate wives and the madness of King George on TV and at the cinema but Shirley also emphasised the long suffering nature and staying power of many queens.

On occasions some kings annulled marriages at will because they had suddenly become conveniently aware of the extreme closeness of the royal bloodline. There were often convenient political ties to be gained through appropriate marriages. There were some examples in the middle ages of marriages being arranged when the bride or groom was as young at 11 or 12. Young queens who were still teenagers gave birth to children. The infant mortality was still high as recently as Victorian times.

This was an insightful and thought provoking talk. Our next talk is on Friday, April 29 at 7.30 pm at Christchurch Hall, Avenue Road, Malvern. Ralph Richardson will be talking about History through the Letterbox.