Royal Mothers and Their Ruling Children ― Wielding Political Authority from Antiquity to the Early Modern Era

Meddling mothers, or maternal mentors? This collection focuses on queens and elite women who were at the political heart of their respective realms and examines the often tense political dynamic between these royal mothers and their offspring. This volume describes a wide range of case studies from the first to the seventeenth century to illustrate the volatile and sometimes controversial combination of motherhood, ambition, and political authority. These essays take a fresh look at the timeless issues of the 'woman behind the throne' and reveal how royal mothers could provide key support for their children both to gain and retain a throne through illuminating studies of both well-known royal mothers, such as Agrippina the Younger, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Catherine de Medici, and less familiar figures including Juana Enriquez and the regents of the Khitan Liao in China.

Carey Fleiner is Senior Lecturer in Classical Studies and Early Medieval History at the University of Winchester. Her areas of interest include Julio-Claudian women, popular culture in imperial Rome, and 'HollyRome' depictions of the empire in popular culture. She also works on topics of popular music in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the 20th century with a specialist interest in the music and performance of the Kinks.

Elena Woodacre is a specialist in medieval and Early Modern queenship and a Lecturer in Early Modern European History at the University of Winchester. She has published a monograph on the queens regnant of medieval Navarre and has also edited two recent collections on the practice of both male and female rulership.