From Heart to History

Meet Max

I’m Maxine, but please call me Max, and I’m the founder and host of Plantagenet Discoveries.

I’m the kind of person who feels things deeply and notices the quiet details others might miss. I’m drawn to meaning, to story, and to the threads that connect us to the past and to each other.

A story is what builds the bridge, and connection is what makes us want to cross it.

That belief has shaped not just my tours, but my life. I love discovering new places and the stories behind them, and I believe travel should be about more than ticking boxes, it should move us, challenge us, and stay with us long after we’ve unpacked our bags.

I don’t do “big and flashy.” I do thoughtful, personal, and quietly unforgettable.

Books were my gateway into the past, and over twenty years ago, Sharon Kay Penman’s The Sunne in Splendour changed everything for me. Her portrayal of Richard III didn’t just teach me history, it opened a door. I stepped through it, and I never really came back. That book sparked a deep love of everything medieval, particularly the Plantagenet era, and sent me down countless rabbit holes of research, across continents, and into the lives of kings, queens, and so many others who lived through this extraordinary period of history.

In 2017, after experiencing a beautifully curated tour of Scotland, I went searching for something similar focused on the Plantagenets, particularly in France. But nothing existed. So, I created it.

That’s how Plantagenet Discoveries began. I’m deeply introverted (just barely!), endlessly curious, and I feel life intensely. I believe history isn’t just names, dates and castles, it’s human. And if you let it, it can really change you.

If you're the kind of traveller who’s not just looking to see the past, but to feel it, to walk where they walked, and to truly wonder who they were… then welcome. I’ve been saving you a seat.

Max