King Edward VIII gave up the throne to marry the woman he loved, Wallis Simpson. Their relationship has long been lauded as a royal fairytale. But there was a lot more going on. Wallis never really liked Edward but became trapped by her own ambition. And Edward, desperate to find any mode of escaping the insurmountable pressure of his birth rite, became obse ... Show More
Today
Mary II, Queen of England, Scotland, & Ireland
Queen Mary II was 1/2 of England’s only joint monarchy, and half of a pair of powerful sister Queens. She betrayed her father and took his throne with the support of her Dutch husband, William of Orange. She preferred to take a back seat but ended up doing most of the governing w ... Show More
24m 19s
Sep 8
Royals who Died of Bubonic Plague
As the great pestilence burned across central Asia, north Africa and Europe, roughly 100 million people lost their lives in the worst pandemic in human history. More than half of the populations of Florence, Paris and London fell victim. We will never know the names of most of th ... Show More
30m 9s
Sep 1
A History of Bubonic Plague | The Black Death & Quarantining with The Decameron
“How many valiant men, how many fair ladies, how many sprightly youths, … breakfasted in the morning with their kinsfolk, comrades and friends, and that same night supped with their ancestors in the other world.” Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron Between 1346 and 1353 a horrifyin ... Show More
31m 29s
Aug 2022
Abdication | Wally | 1
When Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne, Edward, meets the twice-divorced ‘poor relation’ of Baltimore aristocracy, he’s captivated by her boldness, her confidence and total disinterest in tradition. But his family, and the British government, are determined to put a ... Show More
48m 17s
Aug 2022
Abdication | The Traitor King | 3
In the late 1930’s, with England turning their back on their former King and World War II looming, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor face an existential choice: stay loyal to Britain, or side with the enemy?A note on names: King Edward VIII was known to his family as David. For cla ... Show More
51m 21s
Jul 2023
Britain’s love affair with Edward VII
The death of King Edward VII in 1910 pitched Britain into a frenzy of mourning, as the nation marked the passing of a symbol of continuity and stability in an ever more unpredictable world. Speaking to Spencer Mizen, Martin Williams reveals how the ageing, conservative king emerg ... Show More
35m 30s
Mar 2025
Robert Dudley: Elizabeth I's Forbidden Love
<p>Passion, scandal, and power collided in the tumultuous relationship between Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley. Rumours of secret trysts between them set the court ablaze, but their love was doomed from the start.</p><br><p>Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and Dr. Joanne Paul unravel t ... Show More
58m 10s