About Us
Dr Hazel Pierce
Dr Hazel Pierce
Hazel is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Arts and Humanities, Bangor University. She gained a first-class honours degree at Bangor in 1992 and her PhD ‘The Life, Career and Political Significance of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, 1473-1541′ was conducted under the supervision of Professor David Loades.
Between 2014 and 2016, Hazel followed the Pharos and Society of Genealogists intermediate certificate: Family History Skills and Strategies, which she passed with Distinction.
Hazel is an elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Member of AGRA (Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives).
Hazel’s Publications
Books
Edward IV’s Fatal Legacy: The Restoration and Ruin of the Courtenays, 1479-1558 (Pen and Sword Books, November 2025).
See here for more details.
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, 1473-1541: Loyalty, Lineage and Leadership (Cardiff University Press, 2003).
See here for more details.
Journal Articles
‘Margaret Courtenay, Lady Herbert: Edward IV’s Elusive Granddaughter’, The Ricardian, Vol. 35 (September 2025).
‘A Remembrance of the Sons of Edward IV by their Sister Katharine Courtenay, Countess of Devon’, The Ricardian, Vol. 35 (September 2025).
‘The King’s Cousin: The Life, Career and Welsh Connection of Sir Richard Pole, 1458-1504’ The Welsh History Review, vol. 19, no 2, (December 1998).
Contributions to Other Works
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2004)
Pole, Margaret, suo jure countess of Salisbury (1473–1541)
Pole, Arthur (1531/2-1570?)
Loades, D.M., (ed.), Reader’s Guide to British History (London, 2003)
The Plantagenets (1154-1485)
Cardinal John Morton
The Lambert Simnel Rebellion (1487)
The Perkin Warbeck Conspiracy (1490s)
General Interest
Wolf Hall: Princess Mary was not so alone in her fight against her father, Henry VIII, as the TV series would like you to believe. The Conversation, 15 November 2024.
TV and Media
Watch Hazel being interviewed by award-winning historian and broadcaster, Dan Snow, for National Geographic’s TV series How the Tudor’s Lost Their Heads showing on Sunday evenings at 8.00pm on National Geographic and Disney +.
Hazel appears in the last episode on 11 October 2026: Margaret Pole: The Last Plantagenet.
See trailer below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3XKxluiMjo
Listen to Hazel’s contribution to this podcast about Gwen Ellen Jones, who was brutally murdered in Holyhead, North Wales on Christmas Day 1909.
As a result of Hazel’s research into Gwen for the History Points project, History Hit, which specialises in making award-winning history documentaries and podcasts, produced an episode on Gwen for its popular ‘After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds and the Paranormal’ series, hosted by historian, actor and broadcaster Anthony Delaney and award-winning author and historian Madeline Pelling.
https://shows.acast.com/after-dark-history-of-myths-misdeeds-the-paramormal-1/episodes/christmas-day-strangler-the-murder-of-gwen-ellen-jones
History Points
Hazel is a contributor to the pan-Wales not-for-profit HistoryPoints project, which brings Welsh history to mobile phones on the spot via more than 2000 QR Codes.
Please see this page for Hazel’s contributions.
Brian Robbins
Technical and IT support
Brian Robbins
Brian has considerable experience in the field of information technology and management. As such, he ensures that all the digital requirements of our clients are met.
