Helen Carr is an historian, writer and presenter specialising in medieval history. Helen’s best-selling book, The Red Prince: John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, was listed in the Times and Sunday Times top five best books of 2021. She is also the co-author and editor of What is History, Now? a follow up to What is History? (1961) by her great-grandfather, the historian and diplomat, E.H Carr. Helen’s most recent book, Sceptred Isle: A new history of the fourteenth century featured on The Times’s ‘Books to look out for in 2025’ and hit the top ten Times bestseller list upon publication in May 2025. Helen has presented several documentaries for History Hit TV including: Edward II – Worst King of England?, Bannockburn: The Battle for Scotland, Captain Cook’s Endeavour and The Trail of Guy Fawkes. Helen has also appeared as an expert on Richard II as...
Helen Carr is an historian, writer and presenter specialising in medieval history.
Helen’s best-selling book, The Red Prince: John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, was listed in the Times and Sunday Times top five best books of 2021. She is also the co-author and editor of What is History, Now? a follow up to What is History? (1961) by her great-grandfather, the historian and diplomat, E.H Carr. Helen’s most recent book, Sceptred Isle: A new history of the fourteenth century featured on The Times’s ‘Books to look out for in 2025’ and hit the top ten Times bestseller list upon publication in May 2025.
Helen has presented several documentaries for History Hit TV including: Edward II – Worst King of England?, Bannockburn: The Battle for Scotland, Captain Cook’s Endeavour and The Trail of Guy Fawkes. Helen has also appeared as an expert on Richard II as part of the Medieval Kings series and presented a documentary for Cambridge University on its history, shared globally.
Helen has been a royal historian for Global News Canada, and during major royal events such as the death of HM The Queen and the Coronation of King Charles she has co-presented special programmes for City TV Canada and worked with CNN, NBC and Sky News on British Royal Family news.
On the radio, Helen is a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4. She has presented and contributed to Great Lives, and appeared on Loose Ends and In Our Time.
Helen previously hosted the chart-topping podcast, Hidden Histories and has hosted podcasts for Intelligence Squared, both live and online.
Helen is passionate about sharing how we study and interpret the past and has been praised for her ability to enthuse and engage the public for various historical subjects. A comfortable public speaker, she has conducted several interviews and delivered various talks at history festivals, schools, and more.
‘Helen Carr is one of the most exciting and talented young historians out there. She has a passion for medieval history which is infectious and is always energetic and engaging, whether on the printed page or the screen.’ — Dan Snow
Helen writes for The Spectator, The Telegraph, the New Statesman, Unherd, the TLS and BBC History. She holds an undergraduate degree in history and history of art from the University of York and a masters in medieval history from the University of Reading. She is currently working on a doctorate in medieval history at Queen Mary, University of London. Helen is an elected fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
