Education
PhD (2024), History, McMaster University.
Dissertation: Courting Death: Aristocrats and the Symbolism of Dynastic Authority at Habsburg and British Royal Funerals, 1694-1780.
MA (2017), History, McMaster University.
Research Project: Death on Display: Piety and Performance at the Funeral of Emperor Leopold.
BA (2016) (Hons) History, Political Science, Redeemer University.
Courses
- A World at War: The Turbulent 20th Century (HIS-108)
- Western Culture & Tradition I (HUM-110)
- Early Modern Europe: 1450-1789 (HIS-241)
- Medieval Europe (HIS-340)
- Tudor-Stuart England (HIS-343)
About
Dr. Justin Vovk is an Adjunct Professor in History at Redeemer and a member of the Advisory Board for the Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada, Massey College, University of Toronto. He earned a Ph.D. in Early Modern History from McMaster University. He was previously a Doctoral Teaching Fellow at McMaster from 2022 to 2024. His research interests and publications focus on royal history; medieval and early modern political science; ritual culture; and the history of death, commemoration, and memory. As a royal historian, Dr. Vovk provides frequent scholarly analysis regarding the history and evolution of the Crown. Since 2022, he has been featured in hundreds of international media interviews and programs, including the BBC, CBC, Al-Jazeera, The London Times, The Washington Post, and The Globe and Mail. He is often called upon to evaluate major royal events, including the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II (2022), the coronation of King Charles III (2023), and the King’s state visit to Canada and opening of Parliament (2025). A comprehensive list of Dr. Vovk’s contributions to television, radio, and print media is available here.
Research Interests
- The political and cultural role of monarchy in Canada and abroad
- Comparative royal history, particularly (but not limited to) the British and Habsburg monarchies
- The history of royal and elite funerals
- Parliamentary and constitutional governance
- The rituals, pageantry, and theatre of politics
- Dynastic politics, state formation, and religious culture in Europe, c. 500 to 1991
- Public memory, commemoration, and constructing identity
Select Publications
Books
Vovk, Justin. The Funeral of Queen Mary II: Political and Religious Rhetoric in Later Stuart Britain. New York: Palgrave Macmillan (forthcoming).
Vovk, Justin. Imperial Requiem: Four Royal Women and the Fall of the Ages of Empires. Bloomington: iUniverse/Penguin, 2014.
Articles
Vovk, Justin. “Farewell to Arms: The Royal Household’s Influence over British Monarchical Funerals, 1685-1760.” In The Court Historian (forthcoming).
Vovk, Justin. “The King’s speech: The world will be watching when Charles opens Canada’s Parliament.” The Conversation. May 7, 2025.
Vovk, Justin. “How King Charles is sending subtle signals of support for Canadians.” The Conversation. March 19, 2025.
Vovk, Justin. “King Charles’s coronation: Can the British monarchy shed its imperial past.” The Conversation. March 23, 2023.
Vovk, Justin. “Hail and Farewell: The Funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh.” In European Royal History Journal 24.1, no. 129 (Spring 2021): 1-14.
Vovk, Justin. “Deathly Rites: Mourning and Court Rituals at the Funeral of Emperor Leopold I.” In European Royal History Journal 23.1, no. 125 (Spring 2020): 20-7.
Vovk, Justin. “Retiring from Royalty: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Escape the Spotlight.” Active History. January 2020.
Vovk, Justin. “Prince Albert, Britannia’s Champion.” In European Royal History Journal 22.4, no. 124 (Winter 2019): 1-6.
Vovk, Justin. “Hitler’s Monarchist Agenda.” In European Royal History Journal 22.2, no. 122 (Summer 2019): 17-24.
Vovk, Justin. “The Last Journey: Ritual and Commemoration at Empress Zita’s Funeral.” In European Royal History Journal 22.1, no. 121 (Spring 2019): 1-9.
Vovk, Justin. “From Empire to Nation States—The Last Days of the Habsburg Monarchy.” In European Royal History Journal 21.4, no. 120 (Winter 2018): 1-8.
Vovk, Justin. “Queen Isabel of Castile and Gendered Monarchy in Early Modern Spain.” In European Royal History Journal 21.3, no. 119 (Fall 2018): 34-40.
Vovk, Justin. “The July Crisis: Austria-Hungary’s Road to War.” In European Royal History Journal 17.3, no. 99 (June 2014): 17-20.
Vovk, Justin. “The Woman Behind the Kaiser: Augusta Viktoria, The Last German Empress.” In European Royal History Journal 17.2, no. 98 (April 2014).
Research Funding
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship, 2018
Mildred Barrett Armstrong History Fellowship, 2018
Edith M. Wightman Travel Scholarship, 2018
Awards and Certificates
- McMaster University Doctoral Teaching Fellowship, 2022
- Ezio Cappadocia Graduate Prize for European History, 2017
- Foreword Clarion INDIES Book of the Year Bronze Medal for Women’s Studies, 2015