Lincoln born Tracy Borman who works at Hampton Court Palace and The Tower of London shares excitement at discovering something new

Her job may revolve around the study of our past, but for historian Tracy Borman there is always something new and exciting waiting to be discovered.

It is 11 years since Tracy took up her role as joint chief curator for Historic Royal Palaces, the charity which looks after six iconic palaces. Part of her responsibility is bringing to life the history of Hampton Court Palace, The Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, the Banqueting House, in Whitehall and Hilsborough Castle, in Northern Ireland – and it is a role she relishes.

“There’s always something new going on, that’s why it doesn’t feel like I’ve been in the role for over a decade already,” says Tracy, who grew up in Lincoln and studied history at the University of Hull.

“There are always different exhibitions, different projects.

“One of the things I have particularly enjoyed over the last eleven years is filming our Inside the Tower of London series for Channel 5. Our sixth series has just aired – looking back, we did not know if the first series would work, but people are really keen to see behind the scenes and hear about the history, so that has been a real joy.’

More stories like this delivered straight to your inbox every morning - sign up to The Briefing here.

As a historian who specialises in the Tudor period Tracy says working at Hampton Court Palace is a dream come true. This year a new exhibition at the palace will feature some of the original rooms built by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, which are reopening to the public to give visitors an insight into Henry VIII’s early life.

“We have got another exciting project going on at the Tower of London too, where we have a PhD student researching the graffiti on the walls,’ adds Tracy. ‘It is one of my favourite features of the tower; it makes you realise these people were real, have lived there and made their mark on the building. People like George Boleyn, Anne’s brother and the Catholic prisoners.

“This graffiti has never been thoroughly researched before – and that is the great thing, there really is always something new to explore and learn.”

As well as her broadcast work and role at Historic Royal Palaces, Tracy is also an author, with a number of fiction and non-fiction books to her name, including Elizabeth’s Women, The Private Lives of the Tudors and Thomas Cromwell – The Hidden Story of Henry VIII’s Most Faithful Servant.

Her latest book Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History, was published by Hodder & Stoughton last year and takes an in depth look at the relationship between the two women.

“I’d wanted to write this one for a long time; I’d always wanted to explore their mother / daughter relationship, something which many thought didn’t exist because Elizabeth was only three when Anne was executed,’ explains Tracy. ‘It was thought Anne had no influence over her, but I found the opposite. Anne was her greatest influence and Elizabeth spent the rest of her life, and reign, trying to rehabilitate her mother’s shattered reputation, and to honour her.

“It’s definitely been my favourite book to research, and it was also very special returning to my home town of Lincoln to give a talk on it.”

Tracy will have even more reason to visit Lincoln in future because she was appointed chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University in 2022 and presided over her first graduation ceremonies last summer.

She has several more books in the pipeline too, with her next due out in 2025. Its topic remains a closely guarded secret, although she can reveal is it is a non-fiction title about a well-known Tudor character.

For more information about Tracy and her work visit tracyborman.co.uk