Author and historian awarded honorary doctorate

Historian and author Dr Alison Weir has described being awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Suffolk this week as “one of the most special days of my life”.

Dr Weir joined graduating students in a ceremony on Ipswich waterfront on Tuesday morning, where she was recognised for her extraordinary writing career which encapsulates more than 40 books, and more than three million copies sold worldwide.

Dr Weir said: “I never dreamed I would be so honoured, so this is, for me, one of the most special days of my life.

“I do feel something of a fraud to be honoured for indulging my life's passion, which is history. I've been incredibly fortunate to become a published author, and to be able to share that passion and the fruits of my research with others.”

The UK’s top-selling female historian, her distinctive career has seen her write both non-fiction and historical novels, with her writing schedule featuring work on her fiction in the morning and writing or research on her non-fiction in the afternoon.

Perhaps uniquely, her non-fiction research inspires her historical fiction, meaning she can keep to the facts as far as possible.

“History doesn't record people's motives, their secrets, their love lives, and there is room for creativity there,” she said.

Much of her work explores the Tudor period, and has included a six-part fiction series on the wives of King Henry VIII, and in 2025 she released a novel on Ipswich born Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, titled The Cardinal: The Secret Life of Thomas Wolsey.

“I did lots of research on Ipswich for Wolsey's childhood and young life. I always felt, though I don't know it well, but a lot is still there today that you could still place him here,” Dr Weir said.

“Sadly, his college is long gone thanks to Henry VIII, but you’ve got a great university instead.

“He was much maligned, and I think he deserved more recognition, because between him and Cromwell and Thomas More, he submerged, he represents the old order, and I think he deserves a higher profile.”

As well as her writing, Dr Weir also runs Alison Weir Tours, which offers high-end historical tours each year. While work is ongoing planning the next tour in Normandy, Dr Weir didn’t rule out the potential for an Ipswich tour in the future.

“We might, you never know,” she said, adding: “I would love to because I know there is a lot of history around here.”

Dr Weir’s love of stories came from discovering libraries as a teenager, and she urged emerging writers to persevere, admitting her own first book was 1,024 pages long, with only one agent writing back to drily suggest that if there was a world paper shortage then she had added to it substantially.

The secret to her success, she suggested, is “you really care about what you write about, and I do, you care about getting it right, but also enjoy communicating your research to others, maybe that informs it.”

Her advice to graduating students is to “never give up and remember that the only thing between you and the top of the ladder is the ladder.”

To find out more about graduation at the University of Suffolk, visit the webpage here.