Anna Keay


Anna Julia Keay is a British historian, author and broadcaster. Since 2012 she has served as director of the Landmark Trust.

Early life and education

Keay grew up in a remote home in the West Highlands, the daughter of authors John Keay and Julia Keay. She is the granddaughter of Conservative politician and former chief whip Humphrey Atkins.
She was educated at Oban High School in Argyll and the private Bedales School. She then read history at Magdalen College in Oxford.
She subsequently studied for a PhD at Queen Mary, University of London: her thesis, The Ceremonies of Charles II's Court, was completed in 2004.

Career

Keay worked for English Heritage from 2002 to 2012, after seven years as Assistant Curator of the Historic Royal Palaces, responsible for Hampton Court, the Banqueting House, Whitehall, and the Tower of London. As its Director of Properties Presentation, she was involved in the restoration of the Elizabethan Garden at Kenilworth Castle, which featured in a 2009 BBC television series about English Heritage.
She has served as director of The Landmark Trust since 2012.
She appeared on BBC Radio 4's The Museum of Curiosity in October 2014. Her hypothetical donation to this fictional museum was the St Edward's Crown, part of the British Crown Jewels.
She co-presented The Buildings That Shaped Britain on Channel 5. She later appeared on The Coronation and The Queen's Palaces.
Keay is Trustee of the Royal Collection Trust and the Pilgrim Trust.

Personal life

Keay married fellow historian Simon Thurley in 2008. The couple have a daughter and a son, non-identical twins, born in 2008. The family live in London and Norfolk.

Awards and honours