British History: Royals, Rebels, and Romantics
196 episodes - English - Latest episode: 14 days ago -Weekly podcast, British History: Royals, Rebels, and Romantics, available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. Meet famous and infamous characters, walk with playwrights and peasants, and wander through castles and cathedrals. New episodes every Wednesday. Have a question about British history, something you’ve always wanted to know? Just ask! Let’s explore history together.
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Episodes
Victoria and Albert: Passion and Politics in Royal Marriage (ep 43)
February 17, 2021 05:00 - 23 minutes - 15.8 MBVictoria decided she was ready to be married after all. Just a few days after Albert’s return to England, Victoria wrote to Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister, to inform him of her decision to marry Albert. Melbourne supported the choice. As Queen, Victoria was the one to propose. On October 15, she sent for the Prince and asked him to marry her. She was thrilled when he accepted. The wedding was a triumph. Lord Melbourne declared, “Nothing could have gone off better.” The Queen’s wedding t...
Jane Austen: What's Love Got to Do with It? (episode 42)
February 10, 2021 05:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBMore than 200 years after her death, which was marked by an explosion of celebrations and books and merchandise and movies and television specials in 2017, Jane Austen continues to be one of the most popular authors and most widely-read authors in the world. So what is it about Jane Austen? Why does she remain so popular? Jane Austen novels are all about families. There are some brothers and many sisters. There are parents. There are children. Families fall apart. Families come together. ...
Royal Romance: Henry VIII and True Love (episode 41)
February 03, 2021 05:00 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBIn honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re celebrating love stories this month. And I thought I’d start with someone who certainly should have been an expert, someone who would have personally supported chocolate and flower vendors had he lived in another time—Henry VIII. So I asked my people, fellow Tudor fans and enthusiasts, some important questions: Which wife did Henry VIII love most? Who was his favorite? Who loved him most? And, in this quest to find Henry VIII’s true Valentine, I have heard...
Your Question: Was Jane Grey Really Queen of England? (ep 40)
January 27, 2021 05:00 - 24 minutes - 16.6 MBShow Notes: Here are some great sources if you want to learn more! Nicola Tallis, Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey Suzannah Lipscomb, The King is Dead: The Last Will and Testament of Henry VIII Helen Castor, England's Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey (video) Imagine the moment in 1553. King Edward VI is dying. He has spent his reign dedicated to the cause of religious reform. The efforts have been dramatic and wrenching for many in the country: n...
Questions about British Monarchy: The Beginning! (ep 39)
January 20, 2021 05:00 - 28 minutes - 19.5 MBPart 1, the Romans Before there were Kings of England, there was Roman occupation. In fact, you might think of the first monarch of England as being the Roman Emperor. Britain was officially discovered when Julius Caesar made to expeditions in 55 and 54 BC. He did not successfully invade England; that job was left to his successor Plautius in 43 AD. From that time, Britain was part of the Roman Empire. Part 2, King Arthur It’s at the Battle of Badon Hill where reports of a famous warrior or...
Queen Charlotte, History, and Netflix: What's Real? (ep 38)
January 13, 2021 05:00 - 23 minutes - 16.1 MBWhat was the Regency really like? That’s a question we can answer only in parts. We can learn something from the music and literature, something from the architecture. We can know something of the elite and powerful. We can learn from reports that praise national leaders and from caricatures that poke fun of those in power. Because this time is full of people, the Regency (like today) is complicated. That’s true of the people who filled the streets and shops of London. It’s true of the peopl...
Your Questions about Queens, Consorts, and Coronations (ep 37)
January 06, 2021 05:00 - 36 minutes - 25.2 MBToday we’ll be looking at your questions regarding Queens and Consorts. Recently I posted a trivia questions on Facebook: Who was crowned in the SEVEN Tudor coronations? This raised a host of questions about Tudor Queens and Consorts, so I thought this would be a good time to jump right into that Queen versus Queen Consort question. And we’ll also take a quick look at those Tudor coronations. A regnant Queen is a woman who inherits and reigns in her own right. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I...
Top 10 Royals, Rebels, and Romantics (episode 36)
December 30, 2020 05:00 - 34 minutes - 23.8 MBIn just about six months, we’ve started exploring British history together. So I thought it would be fun for the end of the year to look back at the Top Ten royals, rebels, and romantics. I’ve looked at likes, comments, popular episodes, questions on social media, and here are YOUR top 10! Number 10: Romantic Couples Number 9: Underwear! Number 8: John of Gaunt’s Love Life and the Wars of the Roses Number 7: Queen Victoria Number 6: John Gerard, Spy Extraordinaire Number 5: Richard II...
The Windsor Winter Wonderland (episode 35)
December 23, 2020 05:00 - 17 minutes - 12 MBIn 1800, Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, erected the first known Christmas tree at Windsor Castle. She hosted a party for the children of Windsor families. According to Dr. John Watkins, who wrote a biography of Queen Charlotte, the large yew tree stood in a tub in the middle of the drawing room at Queen’s Lodge. The branches were decorated with “bunches of sweetmeats, almonds, and raisins in papers, fruits and toys, most tastefully arranged, and the whole illuminated by small wax candl...
Creating a Very Victorian Christmas (episode 34)
December 16, 2020 05:00 - 20 minutes - 14.3 MBWhen Victoria and Albert married in 1840, they consciously set about improving the image of the monarchy. Creating a family Christmas, with children gathered around the tree, was an essential part of this. With their Christmas tree as a centerpiece, the royal family was ready to create a picture-perfect Christmas. In 1848, the Illustrated London News featured a drawing of the royal family celebrating around a decorated Christmas tree. Eager to share the image of family-centered royals, espec...
Twelve Days of Treats, Tournaments, and Tudors at Christmas (ep 33)
December 09, 2020 05:00 - 19 minutes - 13.1 MBFor the Tudors, Christmas was a highlight of the year. It was a time of feasting on especially grand dishes, of dancing and singing, of enjoying the antics of the Lord of Misrule and special holiday revels and entertainments, and of showing off. Oh, and of course going to church. The Tudors certainly made the most of these traditions. Families in Tudor times carried on decorating their homes with holly and ivy. They brought in mistletoe and often shaped it into the double ring under which ...
Mischief and Merrymaking: A Medieval Christmas (ep 32)
December 02, 2020 05:00 - 16 minutes - 11.4 MBUnlike today, Medieval Christmas decorations did not start going up mid-October! In fact, because of Advent, the 40 days before Christmas were pretty bleak. Once noon passed on December 24, decorating homes and churches could begin. Family members wrapped up warmly and headed outside to gather the holly bows, ivy, red berries, pine branches and cones, and other greenery they would use to decorate their homes. There weren’t Christmas trees in homes in Medieval England. Instead, the center of...
Strolling through Stratford with Shakespeare (ep 31)
November 25, 2020 05:00 - 17 minutes - 12 MBLet’s take an imaginary trip to see the Birthplace, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, farmland, Tudor schoolrooms, Dr. Hall’s house and medicinal garden, Tudor streets, Holy Trinity Church, a world-class theatre, and swans on the river. In other words, let’s go strolling through Stratford with Shakespeare! As you get off the train at the Stratford Station, you can wander through the city, seeing the Town Square, Henley Street, High Street, and more on your way towards the River Avon and the Visitor ...
Hang Out with Henry VIII at Hampton Court Palace (ep 30)
November 18, 2020 05:00 - 20 minutes - 14.3 MBI’m taking you time-traveling again! Just a short train or boat ride from the heart of London is one of England’s most famous pleasure palaces: Hampton Court Palace. From the heyday of Henry VIII to Shakespeare’s performances in the Great Hall, and from plans for the King James Bible to huge renovations under William and Mary—Hampton Court Palace has been at the heart of the British monarchy. In fact, during the Hanoverian reigns, it was the site of a queen fleeing while in active labor and ...
Take a Walk into History in Winchester (episode 29)
November 11, 2020 05:00 - 12 minutes - 8.95 MBI’m recording this in the final months of 2020. It’s been quite a year. We’ve faced an international pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of souls lost to a relentless illness. We’ve lived through political upheaval and social unrest. We’re faced with the daunting task of battling a deadly virus, mourning loss of loved ones, rebuilding trust and communities, overcoming economic challenges, creating new ways of conducting and growing businesses—and doing it all in ways that allow us to take c...
Tudor Spies: A Special Repeat Journey to the Heart of Elizabethan Spiery (episode 28)
November 04, 2020 05:00 - 15 minutes - 10.9 MBNovember 2020 seems like the perfect time to travel once more to a time of intercepted and hidden messages, foreign interference, transfer of power, betrayal, and...spies! Travel back in time to the birthplace of modern espionage: the court of Queen Elizabeth I and sneak into the world of Tudor Spies! The chaos in religious policy and its political implications laid the foundation for treachery, betrayal, and deception. And one element made this time, particularly as we move into the reign...
Six Books for the Six Wives of Henry VIII (episode 27)
October 28, 2020 04:00 - 18 minutes - 12.6 MBWhether you know me personally or not, if you’re listening to the podcast you’re probably not surprised to hear I LOVE the six wives! I loved seeing the new musical SIX in London and in New York. I love the television specials. I fell in love with history and the Tudors and began my obsession with Anne Boleyn watching the BBC production from back in the seventies (rebroadcast on PBS here in the US). I am a big six wives fan. It makes sense, then, that I wrap up my focus on books by looking ...
Fighting from Inside: Books about Women and the Wars of the Roses (ep 26)
October 21, 2020 04:00 - 14 minutes - 10.2 MBThe so-called “Wars of the Roses” is one of the most fascinating periods of English history. There is the uber-king, Henry V, vanquishing the enemy in France and inspiring his troops (and Shakespeare!) to a stunning victory at Agincourt. There’s his son, the under-king, Henry VI. Crowed as a child, Henry VI never came anywhere near the ease or effectiveness on the throne his father had. There are the York brothers, Edward, George, and Richard. All sons of Richard Duke of York, the three brot...
Reading Victoria: Books about the Queen and Her Empire (episode 25)
October 14, 2020 04:00 - 17 minutes - 12.4 MBShe was the youngest woman to be crowned Queen of England. She was the second queen to marry while ruling, and the first to have children while on the throne. She oversaw extraordinary changes in the country, as well as the establishment of the British Empire. She became Empress of India. By the time of her death, she had ruled longer than any monarch. With such a long reign, covering decades of world events, there’s no shortage of reading material about Victoria and her time. I’ve chosen a...
Books! Reading about Spies in the Court of Queen Elizabeth I (episode 24)
October 07, 2020 04:00 - 16 minutes - 11.3 MBWhile we all know that Elizabeth ended her reign peacefully, dying in her bed, that outcome was not guaranteed. From the beginning of her reign, Catholics in England and abroad questioned her right to rule. When Mary Queen of Scots came to England in 1568, 10 years into Elizabeth's reign, there was a Catholic option right there! English Catholics, supported by France, Spain, and the Pope, rebelled against Elizabeth and attempted to replace her with Mary Stuart. This period was a time of a...
Top Ten Tudor Scandals...After the Henrys (episode 23)
September 30, 2020 04:00 - 18 minutes - 12.5 MBThe Tudor dynasty changed England, Europe, and the world. And the scandals changed the dynasty! This week we’ll be looking at the top 10 scandals that plagued those who ruled England in the second half of the reign: a boy and two women. That reality was what the Tudors were so desperate to avoid: a child king had been at the heart of the troubles of the Wars of the Roses. Both Richard II and Henry VI had taken the throne as children, and both reigns had ended in disaster. Edward wasn’t ol...
The Scandals that Shook Up Tudor England (episode 22)
September 23, 2020 04:00 - 19 minutes - 13.7 MBThe Tudor dynasty was NOT your average dynasty. For one thing, the so-called “dynasty” lasted just three generations and 118 years. It started with a power grab. It saw a staggering number of executions. It thrust England into years of religious chaos. The wars in France fought over this period were expensive and ultimately disastrous. There were periods of crop failure, economic collapse, poverty, and hunger. The safety net of religious support was eliminated as the monasteries were dissolv...
Secrets of the Six Wives of Henry VIII (episode 21)
September 16, 2020 04:00 - 18 minutes - 13 MBIn September 2020, the government of the United Kingdom instituted the “rule of six” to attempt to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus. It means that, with a few specific exceptions, it is illegal to gather in groups larger than six. This created some wonderful memes featuring images of the Six Wives of Henry VIII, smiling happily, because when they gather there is no room for the King! It echoes the creative team behind the musical SIX, a retelling of the story in fun rather than historical...
Fierce, Feisty Women: Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I, part 2 (episode 20)
September 09, 2020 04:00 - 16 minutes - 11.1 MBIn early September 1533, Anne Boleyn was supposed to be getting ready to give the King a son. The birth of a son would justify the actions Henry VIII had taken—setting aside his first wife, going against the wishes of most of his ministers, breaking with the Pope, and establishing himself as Supreme Head of the Church of England. Henry believed God would reward these actions by giving him the son he had wished for since he came to the throne almost 25 years previously. It seemed God had oth...
Her Mother's Daughter: Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I, pt 1
September 02, 2020 04:00 - 18 minutes - 12.6 MBQueen Elizabeth I is regularly associated with her father, Henry VIII. The least likely heir became the most successful of his children and the longest-reigning Tudor monarch. Elizabeth is described as resembling her royal father, perhaps more than his other two children. And Elizabeth’s fiery temper certainly matched the historic temper of Henry VIII. Elizabeth I and Henry VIII are certainly the most famous Tudor monarchs, and two of the most famous monarchs of all time. Elizabeth is repor...
Her Mother's Daughter: Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I, pt 1
September 02, 2020 04:00 - 18 minutes - 12.6 MBQueen Elizabeth I is regularly associated with her father, Henry VIII. The least likely heir became the most successful of his children and the longest-reigning Tudor monarch. Elizabeth is described as resembling her royal father, perhaps more than his other two children. And Elizabeth’s fiery temper certainly matched the historic temper of Henry VIII. Elizabeth I and Henry VIII are certainly the most famous Tudor monarchs, and two of the most famous monarchs of all time. Elizabeth is repor...
Are Diamonds a Royal's Best Friend? The Impact of Royal Jewelry
August 26, 2020 04:00 - 16 minutes - 11.4 MBAll that glisters is not gold…but some of it is! The elite in society, including and perhaps especially the royals, have always used jewels to sparkle and stand out in a crowd. Whether it’s Henry VIII adding cloth of gold and gold thread to his outfits and adding jewels to his chest and even his hat or Mary I wearing a legendary pearl or Victoria pinning a huge sapphire brooch to her wedding dress or Princess Margaret wearing a tiara in the bathtub…jewels make the royal! Jewels have dazzled...
Are Diamonds a Royal's Best Friend? The Impact of Royal Jewelry
August 26, 2020 04:00 - 16 minutes - 11.4 MBAll that glisters is not gold…but some of it is! The elite in society, including and perhaps especially the royals, have always used jewels to sparkle and stand out in a crowd. Whether it’s Henry VIII adding cloth of gold and gold thread to his outfits and adding jewels to his chest and even his hat or Mary I wearing a legendary pearl or Victoria pinning a huge sapphire brooch to her wedding dress or Princess Margaret wearing a tiara in the bathtub…jewels make the royal! Jewels have dazzled...
Mentioning Unmentionables: A Brief History of Underwear
August 19, 2020 04:00 - 16 minutes - 11.1 MBToday we’re looking at the history of underwear. The first question you might ask is…Why? Why spend time thinking about something so mundane, so personal, so domestic? Because something so personal and utilitarian can give us a real glimpse into the way people lived their most personal lives hundreds of years ago. Throughout history, people responded to changes in climate and technology, to wars and regimes being overthrown, to hunger, to marriage and birth and death in public ways. They a...
Fashion Statement? Political Statement? Or Just a Bad Hair Day?
August 12, 2020 04:00 - 17 minutes - 11.9 MBThe story of royal fashion includes accessories, and that means the accessory we all take with us everywhere, every day: hair. Life in Medieval England was heavily influenced by the Catholic Church. This extended to hairstyles. Around the 10th century, the Church began issuing statements about the appropriate length of men’s hair and the need for women to cover their heads and hair. In 1073, Pope Gregory VII even banned beards and mustaches among the clergy. As the Reformation progressed...
Making Magnificence: The Tudor Royal Wardrobe
August 05, 2020 04:00 - 19 minutes - 13.3 MBTo become a successful dynasty, the Tudors had to create an absolutely unassailable royal image. One of their primary tools was the royal wardrobe. With the numerous times the crown was seized in the 15th century, the notion of looking the part of King was incredibly important. Edward IV was determined to create an image that would reinforce his place on the English throne, wearing the finest clothing, jewels, and furs. Later, after another seizure of power, Henry VII would need to rely on ...
Sibling Squabbles in the Tudor Nursery
July 29, 2020 04:00 - 17 minutes - 12.4 MBHenry VIII was the only King of England to have all three of his children inherit the throne. Typically, all a King’s children would be in the succession until the King died. Not so if the King is Henry VIII! Desperate for a son, Henry actually disinherited both of his daughters. He disinherited Mary when Elizabeth born (the First Succession Act was passed in 1534) because he claimed the marriage to Katherine of Aragon was not valid. He disinherited Elizabeth when killed her mother (the Se...
Mother and Daughter Drama, Starring Queen Victoria
July 22, 2020 04:00 - 20 minutes - 14.1 MBThis week, we’re turning to family dramas between mothers and daughters. Playing the role of both is our friend Queen Victoria! As a daughter, she had a rebellious relationship against her mother, the Duchess of Kent. Becoming Queen meant Victoria was able to shake off her mother’s smothering influence—and she did. As a mother, Victoria had enough children to have all kinds of maternal relationships—good, bad, and in between. For today, we’ll see this range in the relationship to her younges...
King George and Son: Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4
July 15, 2020 05:00 - 18 minutes - 12.7 MBSeveral questions will help us get to know the four King Georges (Kings George?) who ruled Britain from 1714 to 1830. Question 1: How did these guys come to rule England? Answer: Parliament insisted on a Protestant heir, and after the death of Queen Anne it turned out George of Hanover got the job. Question 2: What was George I like as a King of England? Answer: Not good! He preferred Hanover and spoke little English, making him unpopular. His scandalous treatment of his wife didn't help h...
Team Tudor vs Team Stuart: Power and Personalities
July 08, 2020 05:00 - 18 minutes - 13.1 MBIn politics, being neighbors doesn’t mean being friends. The struggles between the Tudors of England and the Stuarts of Scotland shaped the power dynamic of the two countries and affected the politics of Europe as well. The inevitable mixture of power and personality with the key players in this group make their battles a struggle for personal as well as political survival. So choose your side—Team Tudor or Team Stuart—and let’s get ready to rumble. When Henry Tudor took the English throne...
The Exes and In-Laws of Henry VIII
July 01, 2020 05:00 - 18 minutes - 12.9 MBAs Henry made his way through years of various foreign alliances and diplomatic efforts, it was his marital merry-go-round that really shaped his reign. Various family members and wives filled the court and sounded the opposition. In addition to a succession of wives through his reign, Henry VIII also had a wide variety of in-laws. From Kings and Queens to rising courtiers, Henry's in-laws provided him with eager supporters and unwelcome resisters, depending on his relationship with a parti...
Shakespeare, Richard II, and the Essex Rebellion
June 24, 2020 07:00 - 20 minutes - 14 MBLike so many things, playmaking in Elizabethan England was more than it appeared. History plays could promote the message of the Queen’s reign and Tudor dynasty. But Shakespeare was more interested in breaking down leadership and all the expectations people had of leaders. In Richard II, Shakespeare pulls the curtain back on Richard’s thinking. He brings us right into Richard’s mind and heart. We hear Richard speak from his heart. Shakespeare gives Richard some of the most poetic speeches ...
Queen Victoria's Very Bad Year
June 17, 2020 06:00 - 17 minutes - 12.2 MBVictoria was the youngest Queen England has ever known. It had been more than 100 years since last a Queen had been ruler of the country. There was anticipation and speculation about how this young woman would manage her responsibilities. As a single reigning Queen, Victoria was confident. She embraced her opportunity to serve her country, something she had been anticipating for years. She happily cast off the stifling influence of her mother, the Duchess of Kent, and Sir John Conroy. In...
Band of Brothers: Edward IV, Richard III...and George
June 10, 2020 13:00 - 20 minutes - 13.9 MBThe story of the York brothers is part of the story of the English throne. I’m so grateful to Thomas Penn for his wealth of research on the relationships of these brothers. We typically think of the Wars of the Roses as a cousins’ war, which at times it was. We think of it as York versus Lancaster, which is part of it. But it’s also the story of the three York brothers, of York versus York, brother versus brother, uncle versus nephew. And I think an important and usually overlooked element...
Eleanor of Aquitaine
June 10, 2020 13:00 - 16 minutes - 11.3 MBEleanor of Aquitaine lived for 82 years, an extraordinary accomplishment for someone living in the 12th century. She was Queen of France, Queen of England, a great patroness of the arts, and instrumental in the legend and success of Richard the Lionheart. She wielded power in a time when most people thought women incapable of doing so. Her influence was felt throughout England and France, and through Europe as well. Eleanor traveled the world, leaving her mark wherever she went. She is burie...
15 Fascinating Facts about Shakespeare's First Folio
June 02, 2020 16:00 - 17 minutes - 12.4 MBDuring the late 16th and early 17th centuries, while Shakespeare was writing his plays, the English language was undergoing many changes. Words were coming in from Greek and Roman texts, as well as words from other languages, came into the language. Exploration of the new world and new discoveries in science and astrology led to new ideas and new objects—all needing to be put into words. Shakespeare and other writers were adopting new words and creating new words to describe the changing wor...
Home Sweet Home: Buckingham Palace
May 30, 2020 20:00 - 16 minutes - 11.6 MBMore than 830,000 square feet of floor space, nearly 800 bedrooms, and 78 bathrooms; nearly 200 years of being the home of the Royal Family--is there more to the story for Buckingham Palace? Queen Victoria, the first British monarch to live in Buckingham Palace, moved in in 1837. The next year, she was the first sovereign to leave from the Palace to travel to Westminster Abbey for her coronation. Buckingham Palace has been the official residence of the Royal family ever since. And the Palac...
The Wars of the Roses and John of Gaunt's Love Life
May 30, 2020 19:00 - 19 minutes - 13.6 MBOne way to look at the Wars of the Roses is how the descendants of the mistress knock the descendants of the first wife off the top branch of the family tree. The Wars of the Roses was about the history of a nation and a monarchy. It's also about a family. What was at stake wasn’t simply a series of battles between York and Lancaster. These events shattered the norms that had held the English monarchy together for hundreds of years. The Wars of the Roses kept asking the same question: Is it...
Tudor Spies
May 30, 2020 19:00 - 15 minutes - 11 MBTravel back in time to the birthplace of modern espionage: the court of Queen Elizabeth I and sneak into the world of Tudor Spies! The chaos in religious policy and its political implications laid the foundation for treachery, betrayal, and deception. And one element made this time, particularly as we move into the reign of Elizabeth I, a hotbed of what was then called “spiery”: that element was literacy. People now had the ability to deliver messages across distances and in large groups. ...
Introduction to Carol Ann Lloyd
May 30, 2020 18:00 - 4 minutes - 2.92 MBLet's explore history together! This podcast is a journey through history. Meet the Tudors and the Stuarts, the Plantagenets and the Windsors. See how the Mums of the Monarchs rocked the cradle and, in some cases, really did rule the world. Look into the dark corners where spies and double agents are hiding. Indulge in the Regency and watch your back in the Wars of the Roses. Explore Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and other Royal Residences. Check out the controversial consorts. And, ab...
Tudor Queens and Coronations
May 30, 2020 18:00 - 17 minutes - 12.1 MBExperience the pageants and ceremonies of the royal coronations of Tudor Queens: Mary I and Elizabeth I! The Tudor dynasty has a high percentage of crowned queens. Never before, and never since, have two back-to-back crowned monarchs been single women. The ceremonies and pageants that made up the coronations of Mary I and Elizabeth I give us great insight into these two half-sisters made and their reigns. History shows us what's possible. @shakeuphistory