Noble Blood - The Kennedy Marchioness
Episode Date: December 2, 2025One of the most glamorous members of the Kennedy clan, Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy dazzled and scandalized British society. But her story would ultimately end in tragedy. Support Noble Blood: — ...;Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon— Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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This is an I-heart podcast.
Guaranteed Human.
Readers, Katie's finalists, publicists.
We have an incredible new episode this week for you guys.
We have our girl Hillary Duff in here,
and we can't wait for you to hear this episode.
They put on Lizzie McGuire at 2 a.m.
Video on Demand.
This guy's bobo-bubim.
2 a whatever time it is.
Lizzie McGuire.
And I'm like, the paper view.
It was like a first closet moment from me where I was like,
I don't feel like she's hot, like the rest of that.
No, no, no.
I was like, she's beautiful.
But I'm appreciating her.
in a different way than these boys are.
I'm not like,
but listen to Los Coleristas on the Iheart radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcast.
Hi, I'm Iris Palmer, host of the Against All Odds podcast.
Every week, I'm sitting down with exceptional people
who have broken barriers, even when the odds were stacked against them.
Like chef Victor Villa of Villas Tacos.
You know the taquero from the Bad Bunny halftime show?
It was great.
It was a big moment.
It was special.
And I felt like I was really representing my family.
You know, my brand, my city.
I was representing all taqueros,
not only of like, you know, the U.S.,
but of Mexico and beyond.
All the taqueros of the world.
Listen to Against All Odds on the IHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
Hey there, folks, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes here.
And we know there is a lot of news coming at you these days
from the war with Iran to the ongoing Epstein fallout,
government shutdowns, high-profile trials.
And what the hell is that Blake Lodagh?
lively thing about anyway. We are on it every day, all day. Follow us, Amy and T.J. for news updates
throughout the day. Listen to Amy and T.J. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to podcasts. Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of IHeart Radio and grim and mild from
Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. A small private aircraft tears down a runway. Visibility is
low, which makes flying difficult. The plane's passengers were advised against traveling under such
conditions, but these warnings were dismissed. You see, there's a Kennedy on board, and it's
generally a bad idea to try and tell a Kennedy what to do. The plane carrying the Kennedy and their
romantic partner takes off into the uncertain sky. Little do they know that this is the last
flight they'll ever take. Think you know who this episode is about? Think again. Before John F.
Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Beset Kennedy's tragic last flight, there was another Kennedy who lost her
life in a surprisingly similar way. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood. The so-called
Kennedy Curse is a favorite conversation topic, and with good reason. The
Kennedys are the closest thing 20th century America had to royalty,
and their legacy continues on today, for better and worse.
The dual assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and his little brother, Robert,
would have been more than enough.
But the Kennedy family tree is heavy of tragedies, big and small.
Take JFK's eldest sister Rosemary, who sustained brain damage during
birth that resulted in the family lobotomizing her and eventually hiding her away from the public
eye. Or JFK's eldest brother, Joe Kennedy Jr., the namesake full of promise who was killed in
action during World War II. But there's another sister who made quite a splash in her day,
whose life was defined and ultimately ended by her relationship with two different British nobleman.
Kathleen Agnes Kennedy, often called Kick, was born on February 20th, 1920, the fourth of Joe and Rose Kennedy's nine children.
She was born into a rocky relationship. Rose had actually left Joe while she was pregnant with Kick,
finally fed up with her husband's chronic infidelity. Joe Kennedy was larger than life, with an insatiable appetite for power, money,
women. Rose, a devout Catholic and former first daughter of Boston, wouldn't stand for it.
But she went back to her husband before Kicks' birth and channeled her energy into raising the
perfect brood to carry on the Kennedy name.
Nine children eventually filled the Kennedy household, and Kick took on the role of eldest daughter.
Today, Rosemary's condition would have been handled differently, but a hundred years ago, it was just more natural for the family to hand off big sister duties to the next girl in line.
Money was never a concern. Joe Kennedy built a staggering fortune through a variety of shrewd and sometimes shady business deals, including a stint in Hollywood that earned him millions of dollars and an extremely public mistress.
screen legend Gloria Swanson. Throughout the Kennedy children's young lives, Joe's fortune kept growing,
as did his appetite for power. Against this backdrop of wealth and dysfunction, Kick flourished.
No one called her Kathleen. She was always Kick, a tiny dynamo who refused to be left behind by her
brothers. She wasn't the beauty of the family, but she had an irresistible spirit and a natural charm
that drew people to her. The mythos of the family name was baked into the Kennedy children from birth.
They were Kennedy's first, individuals second. Joe demanded his children look polished and American.
Rose governed the household like a general commanding the troops. That meant weekly well,
with the results meticulously logged.
Meal plans were scrutinized, activities scheduled, all in the name of creating perfect children
befitting the Kennedy brand.
Affection was scarce.
Rose's hands were more likely to deliver punishment than comfort.
But Joe's love was never in question.
Joe had a soft spot for kick that everyone could see.
He loved her fearlessness.
her drive, her refusal to back down, no doubt because those qualities reminded him of himself.
Like most royals, Kicks' childhood as structured and emotionally disconnected as it was,
was also full of privilege, with magical summers on Cape Cod and the finest education money could
buy. But then, in 1938, everything changed. Franklin Roosevelt named
Joe Kennedy, the ambassador to Britain, a job Joe had aggressively lobbied for. The family
sailed for London that March, greeted by hordes of photographers, hungry for pictures of America's
most photogenic political family. One magazine joked that Britain had received 11 ambassadors
for the price of one. The British media couldn't get enough of the Kennedys and their clean-scrubbed
American charm, but Kick quickly became their particular obsession. Fresh from her 18th birthday,
she had arrived to participate in the London season when wealthy families paraded their daughters
before eligible bachelors in hopes of securing a match. Think Bridgerton. But the Kennedys hadn't
bought in all the way. Joe and Rose wanted to let Kick get some aristocratic polish, then bring her home
to marry an appropriate American Catholic boy.
Peter Grace, heir to a shipping fortune,
was already circling with intentions to propose.
But Kik was never one to do what was expected of her.
Part of Kicks' appeal lay in her contradictions.
Years of running around with her big brothers
and their college friends made her confident
and socially fearless and comfortable with risque humor.
Yet, convent schools had shaped her faith into something deep and genuine.
She never missed Mass and rigorously prayed for her friends and loved ones.
Kick broke every unspoken rule of British debutante culture.
She cracked jokes, told stories, and laughed at herself,
behavior that was practically revolutionary among the buttoned-up aristocracy.
One of her new friends would later say that Kikk,
possessed a rare gift. She made everyone around her feel more alive. Her coming out was predictably
extravagant, leading the Society magazine Queen to name her, quote, America's most important
debutante. It seemed as though every man who met Kick fell in love with her. But one nobleman managed
to break through the adoring crowd.
William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington,
or Billy, as everyone called him,
was every bit the formal Brit to Kicks Brash American.
As heir to a dukedom,
he was considered such a catch
that people had floated his name as a match
for the future Queen Elizabeth II.
He fell hard for Kick,
who initially did,
dismissed him as just another stuffy aristocrat.
But Billy surprised her.
Yes, he was thoughtful and serious.
He was set to inherit a serious title and took that responsibility gravely.
But he also had a gentle, self-effacing humor that delighted kick.
Then September 1939 arrived and with it the Nazi invasion of Poland.
Joe Kennedy, worried for his family's safety,
ordered the family to head back to America,
and Kick and Billy started to seem like a case of what might have been.
Back in America, Kick volunteered for the Red Cross
and got a job at the Washington Times Herald.
But her heart remained in England.
Of all the Kennedy children,
Kick was the most passionate Anglophile,
and couldn't wait for the day she could finally get back.
Finally, in 1943, she made her way back across the pond
and found that Billy Hardington hadn't forgotten her.
They picked up where they left off and made up for lost time.
Their friends didn't understand the pairing.
Even Jack and Joe Jr. were baffled by their sister's choice.
Kick, having watched her father's endless affairs
and her mother's silent suffering,
said she valued Billy's kindness and restraint,
and Billy was completely entranced by Kicks' vitality,
by her humor, her passionate interest in politics and ideas.
Around her, Billy seemed to shed his natural reserve
and become more himself.
But there was one problem, and it was a big one.
Billy came from one of the most stridently anti-Catholic families in England,
and it didn't get more Catholic than the Kennedys.
Kick remained a devout Catholic and agonized over what this union would mean for her family.
Billy's parents eventually succumbed to Kicks' charms and advocated in support of their son's proposal.
But Kick remained conflicted, until Billy's attempt to add a political,
career. Billy ran for a parliament seat and Kick was there every step of the way. Politics were in her
blood and her time around her brother, Jack, during her U.S. return, had piqued her interest. She was invigorated
by that experience and looked forward to more of those similar experiences at Billy's side.
Kick decided to follow her heart and she accepted Billy's proposal. Despite loud objections from her
parents, especially Kicks' mother, Rose, Kick married Billy Hardington on May 6, 1944, in a civil
ceremony attended by his family. She wrote to her family to let them know it was happening,
but when the day came, only Joe Jr. was in attendance. On Kicks' ring, Billy had inscribed,
I love you more than anything in the world. Clearly, the outspoken American had had had
a positive effect on the buttoned-up Brit.
They set off for their honeymoon,
knowing that Billy would soon be shipped back out to the front,
but they didn't care.
They were flush with the glow of knowing
they had the rest of their lives ahead of them.
Of course, the rest of their lives turned out to be much shorter
than either of them could have imagined.
Kick Kennedy was newlywed,
counting down the days until her husband would return home.
She didn't know, of course, that she'd already seen Billy for the last time,
and she didn't know that even that wouldn't be the only tragedy that would befall her family that year.
On August 12th, just three months after Kick and Billy's wedding,
Kick's brother, Joseph Kennedy Jr., was killed when his plane exploded during a classified bombing mission.
Kick was at the Cavendish estate with her in-laws when the news arrived.
Billy's parents were quietly relieved she was with them, rather than alone, when she received
word that her beloved older brother was killed in action. Desperate to be with family,
Kick flew back to Massachusetts a few days later, as the last Kennedy to have seen Joe alive,
and with her newlywed glow dimmed but not extinguished, Kick brought her grieving family some
measure of comfort. That comfort was to be short-lived. Less than a month later, Kicks' husband was gone as well.
Billy was killed in action September 10, 1944, taken down by a German sniper on the Belgian front.
The Marchioness and Marquess of Hartington had spent fewer than five weeks together as husband and
wife. Since there had been no time for Billy and Kick to produce an heir, Billy's younger brother
Andrew became the next in line for the dukedom. Kick received a modest inheritance and retained the
title of Lady Hardington. Friends later remarked how cruel it seemed that Kick had lost him so close
to the war's end, just when she'd let herself believe he'd survive. But Kick was first
and foremost a Kennedy, which meant that emotions were something to be outran. And what better way
than by throwing yourself into work? She returned to the Red Cross, arranging hospitality for
American servicemen and assisting wounded soldiers. Kick bought a small townhouse near Parliament and
began to establish herself as a political hostess, entertaining great minds like Winston Churchill and
George Bernard Shaw. Kick was a social creature, and her grief hadn't diminished her charms.
She may have been in mourning, but the men of London were more than ready to have her back on the
market. She had more suitors than ever. The trouble was none of them measured up to Billy.
Kick spent the next year and a half immersed in her work, tracking Jack's political career
back in the States and letting the eager bachelors of London try their best at sweeping her off
her feet. Then she met her next great love, one that would prove even more controversial than a
Protestant nobleman. Peter, 8th Earl Fitzwilliam, was a dashing war hero with a fancy pedigree. He was also
a notorious scoundrel, an inveterate gambler and womanizer. He was also married with a young child.
But that didn't stop him from falling head over heels for Kick Kennedy, as had so many men before him.
They met in June of 1946 at a charity ball she helped organize. They danced that night and never stopped.
Their affair began, and London Society recorded.
in horror. Nobody could understand the relationship. Kick was a devout Catholic, whose social circle
was intellectual and politically engaged. Peter was a hard-partying playboy who never met a bet he
didn't take. They made absolutely no sense together. Friends speculated that since nobody could
replace Billy, Kick had found someone much more like her father. They also whispered,
that Peter must have been exceptional in bed.
It was the only way to explain Kik's inordinate attraction
to someone so utterly different
from gentle, principled Billy.
From the start, their romance caused a sensation.
Though they tried staying discreet, word spread quickly.
The following summer, Kik finally confided in Jack during his visit.
He had always been her closest sibling,
so it made sense that he'd be the first to know.
She could trust him with the secret,
but she was terrified of her parents finding out.
After the drama with Billy,
she couldn't imagine what her parents,
especially her mother, would say now.
After months of agony,
the truth finally came out in early 1948
at a family reunion.
As predicted, Kicks' mother Rose was apoplectic.
Another Protestant? This one with a child?
Who was planning to divorce his alcoholic wife?
Rose threatened total disownment.
Kick would lose her family, her allowance, everything.
Rose threatened to leave Joe if he didn't support her position.
Rose even followed Kick back to England,
berating her adult daughter in front of her own staff.
Rose was certain that by marrying Peter,
Kick would be ruining her life. But the Kennedy stubbornness was no match even for Rose. Kicks' only hope was
appealing to her father. After all, she had always been Joe's favorite. They were too alike for him not
to take her side in this matter. She called him and begged him to meet her and Peter while he was in
Harris on business. To her delight and relief, he agreed. Joe, Kick, and Peter would have lunch
at the Ritz Hotel on Saturday, May 15th. Kick and Peter planned a quick French getaway
that would end with the happy couple getting the older man's blessing. On May 13, 1948,
Peter chartered a private plane to Nice, planning a brief refueling stop in Paris.
Peter impulsively called some racing friends to meet for a quick lunch in the city.
A thunderstorm was incoming and the pilot was eager to take off as quickly as possible.
But Peter's penchant for a good time meant that the quick lunch stretched to almost three hours.
The pilot was reluctant to take off, stating that they hit the storm at exactly the wrong moment.
But Lord Fitzwilliam wasn't used to taking no for an answer.
Through a charm offensive and a probable bribe, the plane took off, the happy couple eager to start this new chapter of their lives.
Kick wore her signature pearls and carried her rosary beads.
As she was packing, she had asked her housekeeper to wish her luck on her journey.
Should I cross my fingers? The housekeeper asked.
Yes, replied Kik, both hands.
It wasn't enough.
With poor visibility and loss of radio contact, the small plane flew directly into the center of the storm and went down in a field in the south of France.
There were no survivors.
Days earlier, Kik had spoken with a friend about Billy, about the joy she had felt being married to him.
Being in love with Peter was wonderful, but it hadn't erased the joyful memories of her time with Billy.
It was clear that a piece of her heart would always remain with him,
and she fervently believed one day she'd be reunited with, quote,
Our beloved Billy.
No one could have predicted how soon that day would actually come.
Joe Kennedy was in Paris when he got a call from the Boston Globe,
letting him know that his daughter had been killed in a plane crash.
Since he was the only family member in the country,
he was tasked with traveling to the crash site to identify his daughter's body.
When they handed him Kicks' personal belongings,
Joe discovered that among her items was a birth control device.
It was an undeniable symbol of exactly what kind of life his daughter had been living.
She had been traveling alone with a married man.
For an old-school Catholic, as well as a father,
it must have been a heavy thing to reckon with.
The news media couldn't find out about this.
The scandal would impact too many lives.
Kicks family, Peter's family, and Billy's family
joined forces and immediately began Operation Damage Control.
At Peter's estate, servants rushed to erase all traces of Kicks' presence
before Peter's wife, Abbey arrived from London.
Letters from Peter and Kik were burst.
burned in massive bonfires.
Andrew Cavendish, Kicks' former brother-in-law, worked the phones, making sure that the official
story was consistent.
Kick and Peter were merely friends who had happened to run into each other at the Ritz,
and that Peter had graciously offered her a seat on his chartered plane.
Nothing more.
The misinformation campaign worked.
Headlines announced,
Chance Invite sends Kennedy Girl to her death.
Billy's parents, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, made an extraordinary offer to the Kennedys.
They'd bury Kick in the family plot at Chatsworth, the family estate.
They knew about Peter, but they had adored Kick, their daughter-in-law, and didn't resent her for seeking love after their son was gone.
Even more remarkably, the staunchly anti-Catholic family offered to give Kik a Roman Catholic funeral.
Joe was the only Kennedy who had attended the funeral on May 20th.
Jack, JFK, had planned to come, but turned back at the last minute, too devastated to attend.
The Duke and Duchess stood as chief mourners alongside Joe and the younger Cavendishes.
The Duchess personally selected the words for Kicks' gravestone.
Joy she gave, joy she has found.
Rose refused to attend her daughter's funeral, instead checking herself into a hospital.
Not a single Kennedy ever publicly acknowledged the affair.
In her memoir years later, Rose would write that Kick died, quote,
flying in a private plane with a few friends to Paris, where her father was waiting to meet her.
The sanitized version, approved by all three families, putting on a good front until the very end.
Kick Kennedy lived for only 28 years, but she packed more into them than most people manage in an entire lifetime.
She dazzled London society, defied her powerful family twice for love,
and carved out an independent life as a political hostess and widow, all while maintaining her faith and her essential warmth.
Her legacy was inevitably overshadowed by her more famous brothers, their political careers and their own tragic deaths.
Her younger brother, Bobby, grew up worshipping Kik.
His first child was born in 1951, a daughter he named Kathleen Hardington Kennedy.
But no one was ever allowed to call her Kick.
Kick was a woman who made her own way in a man's world during an era when,
that simply wasn't done. If she had been a man, there's no telling what she might have
accomplished. Instead, she's something of a footnote in Kennedy history, the sister who died
young in a plane crash with a married man. And in a twist that Kick herself might have appreciated,
Bobby's son, Robert Jr., named one of his daughter's Kick. In 2024, this modern-day Kick
Kennedy made a splash in the tabloids when she was linked, possibly erroneously, to Ben Affleck,
proving that times may change, but the Kick Kennedy name is still always good for a headline.
That's the tragic life of Kick Kennedy, but keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear a
bit about another scandalous mistress.
Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcast presents soccer moms.
So I'm Leanne.
Yeah.
This is my best friend Janet.
Hey.
And we have been joined at the hips since high school.
Absolutely.
Now a redacted amount of years later.
We're still joined at the hip.
Just a little bit bigger hips, wider.
This is a podcast.
We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey.
With all the snacks and drink.
Sidebar.
Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer?
Oh, they had a bogo.
Well, then you got it.
Do you want a white collar or something here?
Just hit you.
What are y'all doing?
Microphones?
Are you making a rap album?
Come on.
Could you move?
I would buy it.
Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake.
That sounds delicious.
Oh, you're lucky.
I'm not a drug addict.
You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic.
You are.
I'm lucky I'm not a killer.
I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on.
Oh.
Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Readers, Katie's finalists, publicists.
We have an incredible new episode this week for you guys.
We have our girl Hillary Duff in here,
and we can't wait for you to hear this episode.
They put on Lizzie McGuire 2 a.m.
Video on Demand, this guy's.
2 a.m.
Lizzie McGuire.
And I'm like,
wild batch you were with.
It was like a first like closet moment from me where I was like,
I don't feel like she's hot, like the rest of them.
No, no, no.
I was like, she's beautiful.
But I'm appreciating her in a different way than these boys are.
I'm not like, ugh.
But listen to Lascaule.
Drista's on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcast.
Hello, gorgeous, it's Lala Kent, host of Untraditionally Lala.
My days of filling up Cupsett, sir, may be over, but I'm still loving life in the valley.
Life on the other side of the hill is giving grown-up vibes, but over here on my podcast,
Untraditionally Lala, I'm still that Lala you either love or love to hate.
I've been full on over sharing with fans, family, and former frenemies like Tom Schwartz.
I had a little bone to pick with Schwarzy when he came.
came on the pod.
You don't feel bad that you told me I was a bootleg housewife.
I almost flipped a pizza in your lap.
Oh my God.
I literally forgot about that until just now.
Sorry, I don't want to blame alcohol.
I got to blame that one on the alcohol.
This is about laughing and learning when life just keeps on life in.
Because I make mistakes so that you guys don't have to.
We're growing, we're thriving.
And yes, sometimes we're barely surviving.
But we do it all with love.
It's unruly.
It's unruly.
It's untraditionally la la.
Listen to untraditionally.
Lala on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcasts presents soccer moms.
So I'm Leanne.
Yeah.
This is my best friend Janet.
Hey.
And we have been joined at the hips since high school.
Absolutely.
Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip.
Just a little bit bigger hips.
Wider.
This is a podcast.
We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey.
With all the snacks and drinks.
Sidebar.
Why did you get home?
hard seltzer instead of beer.
They had a bogo.
Well, then you got it.
Do you want a white collar or something here?
Just hit it.
What are y'all doing?
Microphones?
Are you making a rap album?
Oh, I would.
Come on.
Can you put it?
I would buy it.
Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through
sponge cake.
That sounds delicious.
Oh, you're lucky.
I'm not a drug addict.
You're lucky.
I'm not an alcoholic.
You are.
I'm lucky I'm not a killer.
I love this team, and I'm really trying to be
a figure in their lives that they can rely on.
Oh.
Oh.
Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Readers, Katie's finalists, publicists.
We have an incredible new episode this week for you guys.
We have our girl Hillary Duff in here, and we can't wait for you to hear this episode.
They put on Lizzie McGuire 2 a.m. Video on Demand.
This guy's boo-u-u-a-m.
2 a.m., whatever time it is.
Lizzie McGuire.
And I'm like the wild batch you were with.
It was like a first closet moment from me where I was like,
You're like, I don't feel like she's hot, like the rest of them.
No, no, no.
I was like, she's beautiful.
But I'm appreciating her in a different way than these boys are.
I'm not like, but listen to Los Coleristas on the IHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Hello, gorgeous. It's Lala Kent.
Host of Untraditionally Lala.
My days of filling up cups at Sir may be over, but I'm still loving life in the valley.
Life on the other side of the hill is giving grown-up vibes.
But over here on my podcast, Untraditionally Lala,
I'm still that, Lala, you either love or love to hate.
I've been full on over sharing with fans, family, and former frenemies like Tom Schwartz.
I had a little bone to pick with Schwarzy when he came on the pod.
You don't feel bad that you told me I was a bootleg housewife?
I almost flipped a pizza in your lap.
Oh my God, I literally forgot about that until just now.
Sorry, I don't want to blame alcohol.
I got to blame that one on the alcohol.
This is about laughing and learning when life just keeps on life in.
Because I make mistakes so that you guys don't have to.
We're growing, we're thriving, and yes, sometimes we're barely surviving, but we do it all with love.
It's unruly, it's unruly, it's unafraid, it's Untraditionally Lala.
Listen to Untraditionally Lala on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Here's the final irony.
Kick died as a mistress to a married man, but she and all of her siblings owed their very existence to a different mistress entirely.
Rose Kennedy's father, John Honey Fitzgerald, was the former mayor of Boston who fiercely opposed his daughter Rose's marriage to Joe Kennedy.
It got so bad that he was willing to derail her college plans to keep her away from the young man.
A daddy's girl herself, Rose would have most likely heeded her father's wishes.
But December 1913, right in the middle of Honey's re-election.
campaign for mayor of Boston, he received a blackmail letter. Its message was clear.
Withdraw from the race for mayor, or the sender would expose his affair with a cigarette girl named
Toodles, who was the same age as his daughter. Honey Fitzgerald claimed he had barely done more than
kiss Toodles on a dance floor, but it was enough. The scandal would bring shame crashing down on his
carefully constructed image of family values.
He withdrew from the mayoral race, citing, quote, health reasons, and Rose's idealized image
of her father was forever shattered.
Not only had he acted immorally, but he'd been forced to slink away with his tail between his
legs.
Rose lost all respect for her father and hitched her fate to a man who was, by no means perfectly
behaved, but who never backed down from a fight. So Rose married Joe Kennedy after all, the man her
father had deemed unworthy. And from that union came a pack of dynamic children who would
shape American politics and culture for generations, including a president and attorney general,
a senator, and one rebellious, short-lived daughter, who chose a life of love and
excitement over family approval.
Noble Blood is a production of I-Heart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manky.
Noble Blood is hosted by me, Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by Hannah
Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Courtney Sender, Amy Height, and Julia Milani.
The show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk with supervising producer Rima Il Kali,
and executive producers Aaron Manky, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick.
For more podcasts from IHeartRadio, visit the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Readers, Katie's finalists, publicists.
We have an incredible new episode this week for you guys.
We have our girl Hillary Duff in here, and we can't wait for you to hear this episode.
They put on Lizzie McGuire 2 a.m. Video on Demand, this guy's bobo-o-bub-a-m.
2 a.m., or whatever time it is, Lizzie McGuire.
And I'm like, wild batch you were with.
It was like a first, like, closet moment from me where I was like,
I don't feel like she's hot, like the rest of them.
No, no, no.
I was like, she's beautiful.
But I'm appreciating her in a different way than these boys are.
I'm not like, but listen to Lascaulte Dresas on the IHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Hi, I'm Iris Palmer, host of the Against All Odds podcast.
Every week, I'm sitting down with exceptional people who have broken barriers,
even when the odds were stacked against them.
Like chef Victor Villa of Vias tacos.
You know the taquero from the Bad Bunny halftime show?
It was great.
It was a big moment.
It was special.
And I felt like I was really representing my family, you know, my brand, my city.
I was representing all taqueros, not only of like, you know, the U.S., but of Mexico and beyond.
All the taqueros of the world.
Listen to Against All Odds on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
Hey, I'm Dr. Maya Shanker, a cognitive scientist and host.
to the podcast a slight change of plans, a show about who we are and who we become when life makes
other plans. I wish that I hadn't resisted for so long the need to change. We have to be willing
to live with a kind of uncertainty that none of us likes. You can have opinions, you can have
like a strong stance, and then there's your body having its own program. Listen to a slight change of
plans on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.
