"Alison Weir is one of our best popular historians and one, moreover, with an impressive scholarly pedigree in Tudor history." --Frank McLynn, Independent
     Royal Tudor blood ran in her veins. Her mother was a queen, her father an earl, and she herself was the granddaughter, niece, cousin and grandmother of monarchs. Some thought she should be queen of England. She ranked high at the court of her uncle, Henry VIII, and was lady of honour to five of his wives. Beautiful and tempestuous, she created scandal, not just once, but twice, by falling in love with unsuitable men, which led to the passing of the first Act of Parliament to regulate royal marriages. Fortunately, the marriage arranged for her turned into a love match. Throughout her life her dynastic ties to two crowns proved hazardous. A born political intriguer, she was imprisoned in the Tower of London on three occasions, once under sentence of death. She helped to bring about one of the most notorious royal marriages of the sixteenth century, but it brought her only tragedy. Her son and her husband were brutally murdered, and there were rumours that she herself was poisoned. She warred with two queens, Mary of Scotland and Elizabeth of England. A brave survivor, she was instrumental in securing the Stuart succession to the throne of England for her grandson.
     Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, was a prominent and important figure in Tudor England, and yet today, when her Tudor relations have achieved almost celebrity status, she is largely forgotten. Her story deserves to be better known. This is the biography of an extraordinary life that spanned five Tudor reigns, a life packed with intrigue, drama and tragedy.

Alison Weir, PhD, is an associate professor, teaching stream statistics at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM). She obtained her bachelor of mathematics from the University of Waterloo, her master of science degree in statistics from the University of London, UK, and her doctor of philosophy degree in statistics from the University of Toronto. Her interests include applied statistics, particularly modern non-parametric methodologies. She is also interested in statistical literacy, an increasingly important advantage for professionals operating in today’s technological data-heavy world. Dr. Weir designed and implemented a UTM course in statistics for forensic sciences and she has helped numerous forensic science students with their fourth-year projects. Dr. Weir has a passion for assisting lawyers in understanding the statistics underlying the forensic sciences. She enjoys working as a consultant and hopes that her future work with legal professionals will help to strengthen statistical literacy in the court system.

Alison Weir's profile page