A NEW ITV drama will explore the sensational theory Queen Elizabeth I was trans.
And bosses want “actors who identify as transgender women” to play the role of the royal in Majesty.
The drama is set in the court of Elizabeth’s father Henry VIII. It explores a “profound secret”, which some argue is her gender.
Elizabeth, known as the Virgin Queen as she had no children, ruled from 1558 to 1603.
She is known for having traits associated with a male monarch.
On the eve of the Spanish Armada invasion in 1588 Elizabeth famously said: “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king.”
Some have speculated she had male pseudohermaphroditism — known as testicular feminization.
Others are obsessed with the Bisley Boy myth, where Princess Elizabeth died in her youth and was replaced by a local boy with red hair.
A TV insider said: “Most historians dismiss the claims as misogyny motivated by the idea no woman could be as strong or capable without actually being a man.
“But it’s a theory which captures the imagination and appears to answer a lot of other questions around the unique queen.
“Though it’s almost guaranteed to anger many viewers, who view her as one of the greatest women in British history.”
The six-part series was announced at the end of 2024 but will only start filming this summer and isn’t expected to be on screens until next year
At the time the writers said Majesty would be: “A contemporary-feeling alternate history about how three outsiders try to stay alive while hiding a secret that, if discovered, would rock England to its foundations.” ITV declined to comment.
