“To wear stays forces you into the elegant, balletic posture of a Georgian minuet-dancer. As with the tight-lacing, there is still great debate about whether stay-wearing, which began in adolescence, actually changed the shape of the skeleton, or was just a cosmetic, temporary, alteration.”

English historian, author, curator and television presenter

Lucy Worsley is an English historian, author, curator and television presenter. From 2003 to 2024, she served as joint chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces. She is best known to UK television audiences for presenting historical programmes on BBC Television and Channel 5. Her work combines public history with broadcasting and writing, and she has built a profile around making the past accessible on screen and in print. Her television films and series focus on historical subjects, especially the people, places and institutions that shaped British history.