logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
45m 58s

The Great Hope of Spain

iHeartPodcasts and Grim & Mild
About this episode

King Alfonson XII of Spain died without a male heir—but there was hope: his wife was six months pregnant. And as great fortune would have it, the Queen gave birth to a healthy baby boy, who would be Alfonso XIII. At the turn of the century, Spain was at a crossroads. It could either regress, into a conservative Catholic monarchy, or become a more liberal constitutional government. But the King facing those challenges was entirely unequipped to rise to the occasion, and his cloistered and limited worldview would allow Spain to fall into chaos and then worse.


Support Noble Blood:
Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon
Merch!
— Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Yesterday
The Drillmaster of Valley Forge
When Baron von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge, he was met with a dismal sight. The soldiers were starving, undisciplined, and freezing. The Baron had a daunting task ahead of him: give them a fighting chance against the British. Support Noble Blood: — Bonus episodes, stickers, a ... Show More
38m 45s
Aug 19
Who's Afraid of the Duchess of Newcastle (Part Two)
Virginia Woolf compared her to a giant cucumber plant. Had she read that, Margaret Cavendish might have thought it a compliment. Support Noble Blood:— Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon— Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love ... Show More
41m 23s
Aug 18
Hoax! | E2 | Balloon Boy
For a few tense hours in October 2009, the entire world watched as a homemade aircraft purportedly carrying a 6-year-old boy drifted in mid-air on live television. When the balloon landed, there was no boy inside. Sources: Wife Swap Season 5, Episode 1: “Heene/Martell”Wife Swap S ... Show More
1h 9m
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2020
Spain: the elephant in the palace
Spain’s King Juan Carlos – a story of entitlement and dynasty… The emeritus king, Juan Carlos, has left Spain. But the man who propelled his nation from dictatorship to democracy is under intense public scrutiny. At the heart of allegations against the former king is a $100 milli ... Show More
28m 52s
Apr 2024
142. Isabella of Castile: Uniting Spain
To some she is Europe’s first great queen, to others she is one of history’s great villains, but there is no doubt that Isabella of Castile holds one of the most significant legacies in European history. Born third in line to the throne of Castile, she asserted herself and rose t ... Show More
46m 49s
Feb 2024
Queen Elizabeth I’s Suitors & Lovers, 2/2: Courting a Queen
Elizabeth I of England and Ireland reigned for 45 years over a golden age of peace, prosperity and flourishing art and culture. And she shocked the medieval world by doing it all without a man. But that certainly wasn’t for lack of proposals. Elizabeth had at least 16 suitors in ... Show More
31m 24s
Apr 2019
Queen Isabella of Spain and the End of the Reconquista
Queen Isabella of Castile was the greatest of the state-building rulers of the late Middle Ages. During her rule, she sent Columbus to America, married Ferdinand of Aragon to launch modern Spain, and finished the centuries-long Reconquista, ending centuries of Muslim rule in Iber ... Show More
52m 34s
May 2017
Catherine of Aragon part 1
Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded survived. The wives of Henry VIII, king of England are all famous, but sometimes his first queen, Catherine of Aragon can be overlooked. She was born in Spain in 1485 and was the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who had u ... Show More
58m 10s
Aug 2018
The Most Powerful Women in the Middle Ages, Part 3: Elizabeth of Tudor and Ottoman Queen Mother Kösem Sultan
This is the third in our three-part series on the most powerful women in the Middle Ages. To wrap things up we will explore the lives of two female rulers — one very famous, the other almost unknown. They are Elizabeth I of Tudor and Ottoman Queen Mother Kösem Sultan. Elizabeth I ... Show More
58m 28s
Jun 2024
460. The Empress of the Apocalypse
In 972AD a princess of the Byzantine Empire was sent by her uncle, the Roman emperor in Constantinople, to marry the son of Otto the Great - Emperor of the Latin West. A tantalising and formidable figure, Theophanu became a major player in one of the most tumultuous and mysteriou ... Show More
55m 26s
May 2024
445. The Habsburgs: Secrets of a Dynasty
The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, the Habsburg dynasty's mightiest ruler, was at once King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands and Duke of Burgundy. With a lineage supposedly stretching back to Noah’s Ark, and a name born in Ancient Rome, the Habsburgs are one ... Show More
58m 29s
Apr 2024
143. Isabella of Castile: The Spanish Inquisition, the Conquest of Granada, and Columbus
For centuries Spain had been an outlier in Europe due to its religious diversity; Christians, Jews, and Muslims all existed reasonably peacefully across the Iberian peninsula. Under Isabelle of Castile that all changed. She began the Spanish Inquisition and brought to the fore a ... Show More
54m 37s