As the Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces, Lucy Worsley spends her days trawling through the archives of the country’s most treasured and storied buildings. She is known to millions thanks to her celebrated TV series on a range of historical topics. Now she has turned her hand to writing novels for young adults, and in April we were privileged to welcome her to speak to Years 7, 8 and 9 in the Clarissa Farr Theatre.

Her latest book, Lady Mary, tells the story of Henry VIII’s first daughter, held captive at Hatfield House as her half-sister, Princess Elizabeth, is lavished with wealth and affection. Girls were invited up onto the stage for a hilarious reenactment of the story, before Lucy read a spell-binding chapter of the book. There were quizzes on Tudor life, a Q&A session about her work as a historian, and, of course, an extremely popular book-signing session in the foyer.

Members of the school’s Media Team were lucky enough to join Lucy for lunch before the talk, and got the inside track on her forthcoming BBC TV special on the Suffragettes, as well as learning more about the secrets of Hampton Court Palace.

We are extremely grateful to Lucy, her publishers, and the team at Chorleywood Bookshop for making this special event possible.