logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2024
1h 3m

Aina: The Forgotten Princess

Amanda Matta
About this episode

How did the daughter of an African ruler become goddaughter to Queen Victoria? A young black girl named Aina, later called Sarah Forbes Bonetta (1843–1880), began life in West Africa. But she would grow up to become a popular member of Victorian royal circles.

Today's Image: Hannah Uzor, Aina, Sarah Forbes Bonetta Davies (2020). Acrylic & fabric on canvas, 120x80 cm. Osborne House, United Kingdom.

Hannah Uzor on the English Heritage Podcast

Tour Scotland with me! | Tour Germany & Austria with me!

______

New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch!

Listen to me on Lady Audaci-TEA: Spotify | Apple Podcasts

Subscribe to my newsletter, The Fascinator.

Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com

Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast

TikTok: @artofhistorypod | @matta_of_fact

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Jul 17
The Real Venus: Simonetta Vespucci (presenting ArtMuse Podcast)
In this feed swap episode with ArtMuse, host Grace Anna dives into the life of Simonetta Vespucci: the Genoese noblewoman often credited as the muse for Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus and Primavera. Hailed as the most beautiful woman in Florence, Simonetta captivated the city’s ... Show More
1h 25m
Jun 12
Breaking the Frame: Rise of the Impressionists
In Part 2 of our Impressionism series, we leave the floating world of Japan behind and step into the bustling studios, salons, and sun-drenched riverbanks of 19th-century France. This time, we meet the artists who dared to defy the rules (Monet, Morisot, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cas ... Show More
53m 23s
May 8
Influencing the Impressionists: Hokusai’s Great Wave
Before Monet painted water lilies or Degas sketched ballerinas, a wave was crashing in from the East. In this episode, we explore how Japanese woodblock prints—especially Hokusai’s ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’—reshaped the way Western artists thought about space, subject, and fo ... Show More
42m 46s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2023
Queens & Princesses of England who Died in Childbirth
Please take my listener survey to help improve the podcast: www.surveymonkey.com/r/airwave In Europe in the middle ages about one in three women died in their child-bearing years. Here are the stories of 7 Queens and Princesses of England who died tragically as a result of childb ... Show More
19m 7s
Jul 2023
The Queen Mum, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was the first non-royal to marry an English monarch in 400 years. She took on the unexpected mantle of Queen when her brother in law abdicated amid scandal and was a national symbol of strength in WWII. As Queen mother she bolstered the reign of her daughter, ... Show More
25m 32s
Jan 2024
Isabella of France, Queen of England
Known as the SheWolf of France. At just 12 years old Isabella married King Edward II of England. He had no interest in a wife, preferring the company of his male favorites. After suffering 20 years of ill treatment, she hatched a plot, invaded England with her lover, seized the t ... Show More
26m 38s
Apr 2024
Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France
Catherine de' Medici from the powerful Italian family married the future King Henry II of France at 13. When he was impaled through the eye during a joust Catherine ruled France as regent for three of her sons during civil and religious wars. She was also a patron and devotee of ... Show More
19m 21s
Nov 2022
Queen Elizabeth II's Children
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is mother to four children: Charles, Prince of Wales Anne, Princess Royal Prince Andrew, Duke of York Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex The famously stoic monarch is unsurprisingly not a warm and affectionate mother. As the children grew up so ... Show More
29m 57s
Jun 2022
Queen Victoria's 9 Children
Queen Victoria of the united Kingdom gave birth to 9 children in 17 years. Her eldest son was destined to inherit the throne of the British Empire at the height of it’s power. The younger sons joined the military and adventured around the world. And the daughters married into roy ... Show More
45m 42s
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
Dec 2023
Queen Maria I of Portugal & Brazil
She was the first Queen regnant of Portugal and the first monarch of Brazil. She showed promise as a leader but a decade into her reign mental illness, brought on by her family’s excessive inbreeding and an onslaught of personal tragedies caused the Queen to deteriorate into ment ... Show More
29m 20s
Feb 2024
Queen Elizabeth I’s Suitors & Lovers, 1/2: Proposing to a Princess
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
29m 15s
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
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami