Local historian, Roger Powell, has lived in Rushden for 32 years. A native of Luton in Bedfordshire, he developed a passion for history from a very early age.
At the age of 17, he was employed as a research assistant by two of Queen Elizabeth II’s Heralds: Sir Conrad Marshall Fisher Swan, the Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms, later, the Garter King of Arms, and Rodney Onslow Dennys, the Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms.
After a 6-year apprenticeship, he then became a research assistant to Peter Gwynne Jones, the Garter King of Arms, before moving on to become the Director of Debretts Ancestry Research.
Roger then became Sub-Editor of the 107th edition of Burkes Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, which was published in 2003, alongside his Directorship of Burkes Ancestry Research and his Directorship of Worldwide Ancestry Research.
His passion for history resulted in the publication of 2 books on the subject, the first, co-authored with Peter Beauclerk Dewar, in 2008, titled “Royal Bastards” and the second in 2011 on “Royal Mistresses”.
“Royal Bastards” went into 4 editions and is still selling well today.
The success of the first book was due to the discovery of the Royal Stuart DNA by Family Tree DNA, based in Houston, Texas. It revealed that the Dukes of Buccleuch, Grafton, St Albans and Richmond were all descended from Charles II. It also explored the possibility of a Royal Bastard becoming King of England.
The second book explored the role of the English Royal Mistress over the centuries.
During this period of his career Roger also toured the Home Counties for 8 years giving talks on both books and obtained a Bachelors degree in History and a Master of Arts degree in Comparative English and French History. He is currently revi