When discussing the history of royalty, ladies in waiting pop up frequently. King Henry VIII left his first wife Catherine of Aragon for her lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn, and then beheaded her for her lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour. Queen Christina of Sweden and her Lady in waiting Ebba Sparre were secret lovers. And when Marie Antionette’s lady-in-waiting was ... Show More
Oct 6
Royals, Nobles & Mistresses with Syphilis
From sex-crazed libertines, to noble courtesans, to innocent Empresses; syphilis was a devastating disease which ravaged many, and sometimes changed the course of history. Let’s meet 10 royal and noble victims of this sexually transmitted infection. Lorenzo de’Medici, Duke of Urb ... Show More
33m 44s
Oct 2025
The Scandalous Royal Mistress Who Ruled France
Is this strangest threesome in royal history?!We're endlessly fascinated with the lives of royal mistresses, and this has to be one of the most notorious.It takes place in 16th century France between Henry II, his wife Catherine de Medici and his much older mistress, Diane de Poi ... Show More
37m 45s
Dec 2024
Catherine Howard | Secret Lives of the Six Wives
Henry VIII called her his 'rose without a thorn', but the teenage Catherine Howard was to fall out of favour less than 18 months after becoming Queen of England.Out of all of Henry's wives it could be argued that the young queen, who was a cousin of Anne Boleyn, is most deserving ... Show More
37m 38s
Oct 2024
Sex & Scandal in Catherine of Aragon's Court
When Henry VIII wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, he needed to prove that she was not a virgin when they wed. One woman was key to proving this: Catalina of Motril, Catherine's enslaved servant who was always present in the royal bedroom. Before the divorce, though, what ... Show More
41m 51s
Aug 2022
The 6 Wives of King Henry VIII Pt. 1
Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived.
In our first two-part episode Tess and Claire cover the 6 wives of King Henry VIII. In part one, we start with Catherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife, and her unconventional journey to becoming queen and her struggle to pr ... Show More
1h 5m
Sep 2025
Vanity of Henry VIII with Kate Lister
With six wives, Henry VIII must have had something going for him, right? Was he handsome? Charming? Intelligent? Just plain powerful? In this episode, the tables are turned on Professor Suzannah Lipscomb as she becomes the guest of Dr. Kate Lister on our sister podcast, Betwixt t ... Show More
44m 16s