From Alfred the Great to Victoria: Who Was the Greatest English Monarch?
Debates
•
1h 24m
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.
Up Next in Debates
-
Tony Blair on Trial, with Tom Bower a...
When Tony Blair became prime minister in May 1997, he had a landslide majority, an approval rating of 93 per cent, and he went on to become Labour’s longest-serving premier. At his last PMQs he got a standing ovation in the chamber of the House of Commons. How things have changed. Nowadays all we...
-
Debate Is The West Fundamentally Raci...
On March 29 2021, Kehinde Andrews, academic and self-described Black radical, and Jeremy Black, eminent historian, came to Intelligence Squared to debate the question 'Is the West fundamentally racist?'
The West, Andrews will contend, prides itself on being founded on the three great revolutions...
-
Debate: Let Them Come - We Have Nothi...
When the EU's transitional immigration rules expire on 1st January 2014, numerous Bulgarians and Romanians will be heading for Britain. And we should put out the welcome mat. Yes, it's true that there has been a huge fuss about this in the press, but then xenophobia sells newspapers. The truth is...
