Kate Williams (historian)

Kate Williams
Williams at theRoyal Albert Hallfor the 2014BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
Born	(1974-11-30)November 30, 1974
Nationality	British
Partner	Marcus Gipps
Children	1
Academic background
Education	Somerville College, Oxford,BA andDPhil Queen Mary, University of London,MA Royal Holloway, University of London,MA
Academic work
Discipline	History
Institutions	University of Reading

Kate Williams(born November 30, 1974) is a Britishhistorian,author, andtelevision presenter.She is a professor of public engagement with history at theUniversity of Reading.

Early life and education

Williams grew up inStourbridge.Her father, Gwyn, was a solicitor and her mother, Margaret, was a teacher.Her paternal grandparents were from theConwy Valley.She was educated atEdgbaston High School for Girls,Birmingham. She studied for her BA andDPhilatSomerville College, Oxford,where she started as a college scholar and received the Violet Vaughan Morgan University Scholarship. She has MAs fromQueen Mary, University of LondonandRoyal Holloway, University of London.She began researchingEmma Hamiltonwhile studying for her doctorate.

Career

Williams has lecturedMAdegreestudies inCreative WritingatRoyal Holloway, University of London.In the summer of 2015, Williams took up a role as Professor of Public Engagement with History at theUniversity of Reading.

Journalism and other work

Williams writes articles on history for British newspapers includingThe Daily Telegraph,and reviews forBBC History,History Todayand theFinancial Times.

In 2010, she was a judge for the Biographer's Club Tony Lothian First Biography Prize,the Book Drum Tournament 2010,and the Litro/IGGYInternational Young Person's Short Story Award.

A short story, "The Weakness of Hearts", was published in issue 104 ofLitroliterary magazine.

Television and radio

Williams appears frequently on radio and TV as a presenter and expert, specialising in social, constitutional and royal history. She commented extensively on the2011 Royal Weddingand appears often onBBC Breakfast,Newsnight,The Review Show,Sky News,BBC News 24,theToday programme,Broadcasting House,Night Waves,Woman's Hour,Channel Fiveand various American channels, discussing history and culture and reviewing the news. She covered the Queen's Address to Parliament onBBC Onein 2012 and the Queen's Speech forBBC Parliament.

Williams was the social historian on theBBC TwoseriesRestoration Home,which aired from 2011 to 2013.She presentedTimewatch:Young VictoriaforBBC Two,acclaimed byThe Guardianas "telly history at its best"andThe Secret History of Edward VIIforChannel Five.She appears often on documentaries, discussing history, literature and culture, includingFaulkson Fictionand all three series ofThe Great British Bake Off,as well as documentaries on subjects includingQueen Victoria,Balmoral,Sherlock Holmes,Jack the Ripper,Nelson'sTrafalgar,Elizabeth IIandHidden Killers of the Victorian Home.

She wrote and presented the documentaryThe Grandfather of Self-Help,aboutSamuel Smiles,forRadio 4.She is also the presenter of a Radio 4 documentary on the history of the smile, broadcast in June 2012. Williams was the historian in residence inFrank Skinner's 2014 radio showThe Rest Is History.Williams was a regular panellist onThe Quizeum,which began airing onBBC4in spring 2015. Williams was the winner ofCelebrity Mastermind whichscreened on 2 January 2016.

She also featured on episodes ofInsert Name Herebroadcast on 4 and 25 of January 2016 on BBC Two, and again in four episodes of the second series ofInsert Name Herecommencing with the Christmas Special on 21 December 2016.Williams appeared in the online mini-seriesInside Versaillesbased on the BBC Television seriesVersailles.She also appeared in an episode of BBC One comedy panel showWould I Lie To You?in 2016. She was in Dictionary Corner onCountdownfor five shows starting 6 October 2016. On 13 December 2016 she appeared as a contestant onCelebrity Antiques Road Trip,partnered with Catherine Southon, againstSuzannah LipscombandDavid Harper.

Williams and team memberRobin Incewere winners ofPointless Celebritiesbroadcast on 13 January 2018.In 2020 Williams appeared onRichard Osman's House of Games,broadcast on BBC Two,alongsideChizzy Akudolu,Charlie Higson,andTom Allen.

In August 2023, Williams appeared inElizabeth II: Making of a Monarch;a two-part documentary that aired onChannel 4.

Williams was the highest ranked celebrity expert on an episode of the game showThe Wheel,which aired on 21 October 2023.

Personal life

Williams and her partner, publisher Marcus Gipps, have a child.

Bibliography

• England's Mistress,a biography ofEmma Hamilton,was published byRandom Housein the UK and USISBN978-0-09-179474-3.It was short-listed for the Marsh/English Speaking Union Prize for the best biography of 2005–06, was selected as a Book of the Year inThe TimesandThe Independent,and broadcast asBook of the WeekonBBC Radio 4.A film adaptation is in production with Picture Palace.
• Becoming Queen,about the youth ofQueen Victoriaand her cousin,Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales,was published in 2008 by HutchinsonISBN978-0-09-179479-8.It was serialised inThe Sunday Telegraphand was a Book of the Year inThe SpectatorandTatler.The Timesselected it as one of the Top 50 Paperbacks of 2009.
• Josephine: Desire, Ambition, Napoleonlooks at the life ofJoséphine de Beauharnaisand was published in 2013.
• Young Elizabeth: The Making of Our Queen,a biography of the formative years ofQueen Elizabeth IIISBN978-0-297-86781-4.It was published byWeidenfeld & Nicolsonin May 2012. The audio book version is read by Williams herself.
• Rival Queenslooks at the lives of Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of ScotsISBN978-0-091-93670-9.
• The Ring and the Crown: A History of Royal Weddings 1066–2011,co-authorsAlison Weir,Tracy Bormanand Sarah Gristwood, published byRandom House.Serialised inThe Daily Telegraph.
• The Pleasures of Men,novel about a young girl obsessed with a serial killer inSpitalfieldsin 1840, was published (2012) byPenguin Booksin the UK andDisney Hyperionin the US, Canada, Italy, and the NetherlandsISBN978-0-241-95139-2.
• The Storms of War,novel published in 2014 by Orion. Set during the First World War, the novel follows the lives of an Anglo-German family struggling to survive the home front. Once popular with their neighbours, they are now shunned by society which affects each member individually. Despite these differences, their effort towards the war on the British side does not waver and through these war experiences they learn some of the most valuable lessons in life and family relationships. A review inThe Independentoutlines the essence of William's novel, and ends with high acclaim for her second piece of fiction.
• The Edge of the Fall,published in November 2015 by Orion.
• The House of Shadows,published by Orion on 26 July 2018.
• The Royal Palaces: Secrets and Scandals,published byOrionon 27 June 2024.ISBN978-0-71-126939-2
• Royal Women,published byOrionon 7 November 2024.ISBN978-1-47-462135-9

Williams has had academic essays published in various journals and books:

• "The Force of Language and the Sweets of Love: Eliza Haywood and the Erotics of Reading inSamuel Richardson'sClarissa"inLumen.
• (Chapter) "Nelsonand Women "inAdmiral Lord Nelson: Context & Legacy,ed. David Cannadine. (2005):ISBN978-1-4039-3906-7
• "ReadingTristram Shandyin the Brothel "inThe Shandean,16.
• "Passion in Translation: 1720s Amatory Writers and the Novel" inRemapping the Rise of the Novel,ed. Jenny Mander.
• "The Rise of the Novel" inThe History of British Women's Writing 1690–1750,ed.Ros Ballaster.(2010):ISBN978-0-230-54938-8
• (Co-author)The Ring and The Crown: A History of Royal Weddings 1066–2011(2011):ISBN978-0-09-194377-6

External links

• Kate WilliamsonTwitter
• Kate WilliamsatIMDb