Author Dana Schwartz explores the stories of some of history’s most fascinating royals: the tyrants and the tragic, the murderers and the murdered, and everyone in between. Because when you’re wearing a crown, mistakes often mean blood.
286 episodes transcribedGilles de Rais was a powerful, wealthy French baron who fought alongside Joan of Arc. But a castle sale gone-wrong would lead to an investigation, rev...
On October 31, 1501, the notorious Italian family. the Borgias, threw a party in the Papal Palace. The salacious details of that event, known as the "...
After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, it became a dangerous thing to be a Bonaparte in Europe. And so Joseph, Napoleon's older brother, sailed to Ameri...
Richard II, grandson of the great King Edward III, inherited the throne when he was 10 years old, and was told he was a Messiah. The power went to his...
When Queen Elizabth I's favorite, Robert Dudley, got married without her permission, nothing would protect the new couple from the Queen's wrath. But...
When Roxelana was a teenager, she was captured from her homeland and brought to Istambul to be sold as a slave. With a famusly dazzling personality, s...
Was Henry V the greatest king in English history? Or was he a violent and vindictive monarch overrated by history? Historian Dan Jones joins us to tal...
It should have been a fairytale romance: after a whirlwind courtship, Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary married the Shah of Iran and the two fell deeply in...
In 1980, a story captivated the Spanish media — the Marquis and Marchioness of Urquijo were found dead in the summer home, with no clear suspect in si...
CW: Cannibalism, child death Dante's Inferno presents a stark view of the ninth circle of Hell, the circle reserved for traitors, in which sinners are...
If you're familiar with the musical 'Hamilton,' yoiu probably know about "America's favorite fighting Frenchman:" the Marquis de Lafayette. A teenage...
In 2021, Princess Mako of Japan made headlines for giving up her royal title in order to marry a commoner. On the surface, it sounds like a picture-pe...
In 1777, Benjamin Franklin made his way across the Atlantic to Paris. He was the most famous American in the world, a celebrated inventor thought of a...
In the 1930s, America was captivated by a scandalous courtroom drama - a custody battle of little 10-year-old Gloria Vanderbilt (mother of Anderson Co...
The Benin Bronzes are some of the most famous artifacts in the world. And the story of how they were looted from the Kingdom of Edo in the 19th centur...
The tiny island of Sark, in the English Channel, had the distinguished honor of being the last fiefdom in Europe. And in 1929, an American businessman...
On October 6, a mob from Paris descended on Versailles, demanding blood. They stormed the palace, trying to find the private chambers of Marie Antoine...
Anne Marie's father was the brother of the King of France. Her mother was one of the country's richest women. And though in her youth Anne Marie had d...
King Charles II's oldest illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, was handsome and charismatic. But more importantly, he was Protestant, which made him...
The Taj Mahal is one of the most famous buildings in the world, a tourist destination that attracts travelers from all over the globe. But the story o...
