The many courtships of the woman who became Elizabeth I began when she was an infant, displayed before foreign ambassadors who considered her as a possible clause of a contract between England and France. From such an unromantic beginning, Elizabeth grew to see her father marry multiple times and experienced frequent changes in stepmothers and status in the family. Eventually, she became the most eligible woman in Europe. From start to finish, her marriage prospects were as much political as they were personal.

When she came to the throne in 1558, the primary question facing everyone from foreign monarchs to English nobles and ministers was which of her many suitors would finally win her hand. Through the longest Tudor reign, Elizabeth used courtship as a tool to consider foreign alliances, hold ambitious English courtiers in check, and navigate her role as a woman ruler in a world that considered her unnatural without a man at her side.

Elizabeth was, in fact, always the ‘Virgin Queen’, from the early days as a twenty-five-year-old presenting herself as a potential royal bride to her final years as an ageing and unmarried woman who was destined to end the Tudor dynasty. Ultimately, she became the only monarch in England to rule as an adult and never marry. Through it all, as friends and potential lovers faded away, she clung to the one true love of her life: England.

The Tudors by the Numbers provides a statistical approach to looking at the dynasty we think we know so well.

The Tudors by Numbers is a fresh look at a well-known dynasty — through its numbers. Take a new look at old friends by learning the complicated path to 1 possible king symbolized by 1 rose, viewing the extraordinary 42 percent of the dynasty under the rule of 2 women, and considering the impact of 4 English language translations of the Bible printed in England.

The Tudors by Numbers takes you behind the scenes through a different path and reveals new ways of seeing the Tudors.

The most important moments in life involve big decisions, big events, and big opportunities--and those involve other people. 

Relationships make our lives work, and as it turns out, they improve our health and happiness as well. When we have good ones, they help pick us up when we stumble and fall, but they don't just happen. 

Carol Ann Lloyd-Stanger, who has built a career helping people build personal and professional relationships that create success, shares steps and strategies so you can: 

- start conversations that lead to meaningful relationships;
- take a positive approach to the people in your life;
- listen effectively and understand others and their ideas;
- adapt your conversation style to increase connections; and
- manage difficult conversations to achieve positive outcomes. 

Any conversation can be the one that changes everything, but you need to know how to navigate them. Take the first step to enjoying game-changing relationships and build the life you want--one conversation at a time. 

We have conversations every day, but how many of those can be considered effective? The right conversation can help establish strong relationships, solve problems, create new opportunities, and build communities. The right conversation can change everything.

But how does one prepare to have a conversation in an effective way?

In 10 lectures for self-development, professional communications coach and speaker Carol Ann Lloyd teaches the best ways to communicate and listen, including how to focus on understanding, how to overcome barriers and distractions, and how to clarify intentions. When listeners step back to hear what makes conversations successful, they will learn that each component of a conversation is a piece of a larger puzzle, which only fits together when thoughtfully considered and executed.

Conversations that matter take effort, and every conversation can be R.E.A.L. (Relevant, Effective, Affirming, Legitimate.) Carol Ann Lloyd also shares the three pitfalls in tough conversations and shows how to avoid them. By the end of this course, listeners will have a new understanding of the way people communicate. What’s more, they’ll develop the confidence to live the life they want to live—one conversation at a time.