Bess of Hardwick - The Other Elizabeth

Gallus Girls and Wayward Women

Rising from humble origins during a brutal and turbulent period of British history, Bess became the second most powerful woman in England after the Queen. She used her skills to navigate the risky world of the Tudor court and outlived monarchs and husbands along the way, as well as bearing 8 children and building an empire. Few royal courtiers would climb as high as Bess did, and she made some enemies in her lifetime, and probably due to this, many early biographers (male) have portrayed Bess as a hard, scheming and proud woman who worked her way through four husbands and managed to get her hands on all their fortunes when they died. But OF COURSE there's more to Bess than this.

Opening music by Stefan Kartenburg, featuring Dimitri Artmenko on strings, and it's from dig.ccMixter. All other music used in the show is from copyright free music sites.