University of Sussex homepage

Dr Lucy Worsley

Lucy Worsley is an historian, curator, author and television presenter. She is currently Joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, an author of history books and a presenter of BBC television series on historical topics.

Worsley began her career as an historic house curator at Milton Manor near Abingdon. She then became an Inspector of Historic Buildings for English Heritage in the East Midlands region.

In 2001 she was awarded a PhD from Sussex for a thesis on ‘The Architectural Patronage of William Cavendish, first Duke of Newcastle, 1593 – 1676’. The thesis later became her book Cavalier: A Tale of Chivalry, Passion and Great Houses.

In 2003 she took on her current role as Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity looking after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace State Apartments, the Banqueting House in Whitehall and Kew Palace in Kew Gardens.

She is best known for her TV work including Elegance and Decadence: The Age of Regency (2011), Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History for Girls (2012), and Dancing Cheek to Cheek: An Intimate History of Dance (2014).