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PODCAST

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things

Expert history with a wicked twist: Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things is the podcast that goes behind palace doors and beyond the balcony smiles, to uncover the stories that the history books have politely skipped.Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things reveals the schemers, lovers, plotters and even the pets who’ve made the British monarchy the world’s longest-running reality show.Hosts, Royal biographers Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams trace how power, passion and paranoia have shaped

history

All Episodes

26:18

Trump Royale

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/09/14

Trump’s coming to town — welcome to the towers of Windsor Castle. Hope you like ghosts!Royal biographer Robert Hardman and Prof. Kate Williams whisk us through the protocols of a state visit, Windsor-style: Air Force One → helicopter → the quadrangle, where (yes) the guest correctly walks in front of the monarch for the Guard of Honour. We peek into that turret guest suite with the Long Walk view, the St George’s Hall mega-table laid to the centimetre, and the post-1992 kitchens that keep 130 plates

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44:50

Monstrous Royals: Bloody Mary v The Serpent Queen

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/09/10

Who was the most monstrous queen — England’s Bloody Mary or France’s Serpent Queen? Listen to find out!This week on Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things, royal historian Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams pit two formidable women against the seven deadly sins.Mary I of England, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, fought her way onto the throne and set out to restore Catholicism by fire. Three hundred Protestants met their end at the stake, earning her the chilling epithet “Bloody

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37:32

Monstrous Royals: King John v Richard III

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/09/03

Who was the most rotten king of all — treacherous John of England or Shakespeare’s wicked Richard III? Listen to find out!This week on Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things, royal historian Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams drag two of England’s most notorious monarchs into the dock of history.Armed with the seven deadly sins as their scorecard, they weigh up pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. Richard III — the hunchbacked villain of Shakespeare, buried for centuries under

en

26:18

Monstrous Royals: Henry VIII v Louis VIV

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/08/27

Who was history’s most monstrous monarch — Henry VIII of England or Louis XIV of France? Listen to find out!This week on Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things, royal historian Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams sharpen their quills and their wits.Armed with the seven deadly sins as a scorecard, they put these two titans of royal misbehaviour through their paces. Pride? Henry struts about in padded sleeves and bans the middle classes from wearing fur. Louis builds Versailles — all 2,300 rooms

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20:52

Help! The Royals are Coming for Tea (2)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/08/20

From meat mountains to one lonely kiwi fruit — the royal appetites that shocked history. Listen Now!What’s worse than one demanding royal houseguest? A whole history of them — and in Part Two of Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Kate Williams dig even deeper into the guest lists from hell. From Henry VIII arriving with a thousand-strong entourage and an appetite for entire herds, to George IV’s ruinous dining habits (and total lack of return invites), to Louis XIV’s epic,

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21:08

Help! The Royals are Coming for Tea (1)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/08/13

Royal visits gone wrong: the tantrums, the takings, and the tartest tongues in history.This week, Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things throws open the palace doors to a line-up of monarchs and princes who’ve turned “popping in for tea” into a full-scale ordeal. From Princess Margaret’s legendary put-downs (“How unfortunate”) to Queen Mary’s habit of going home with your best chairs, Robert Hardman and Kate Williams swap outrageous stories of royal visits gone deliciously wrong.You’ll hear about the

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28:21

Dragons & The Royals (2)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/08/06

Pull up a velvet throne and grab your alchemy kit – in this episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams swirl together Arthurian legends, royal superstition, and some seriously dodgy medieval science. Listen now!Is the Holy Grail real? Can gold be made from stones? Did Diana really have a psychic on speed-dial? And why exactly did Queen Victoria try to give a clairvoyant a watch?From King Arthur’s suspiciously round table (equal rights, medieval-style!)

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25:20

Dragons & The Royals (1)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/07/30

Welcome to the only podcast where royal scandal meets fire-breathing lizards. Listen Now!In this hilarious and history-soaked episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things, Daily Mail columnist Robert Hardman and history wiz Professor Kate Williams team up to explore the very real roots behind the blood-soaked fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.You’ll learn:Why the dragons in GoT are basically airborne spitfires with scales.How Queen Cersei’s “walk of shame” was inspired by a real-life royal mistress

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32:14

Royal Family Blunders

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/07/23

What’s the worst Royal blunder of the modern age? Listen to find out!The Royal's public image is a delicate balance; attempts to entertain or appear modern can be seriously cringe.Thumbs up for the late Queen Elizabeth II and her James Bond cameo at the Olympic opening ceremony, but two thumbs down for that ultimate pie-in-the-face moment: the 1987 televised game show, "It's a Royal Knockout."Who was to blame for the Windsors dressing up for a pantomime gameshow? Why did it go so very wrong? Was it

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25:02

Royal Blind Dates (2)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/07/16

Which Royal blind date ended with the burning of six witches? Listen to find out!In the second of two episodes, Royal historians Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams explore the often awkward and disastrous Royal first encounters. Discover which king ran from the room, demanding brandy when his blind date was revealed. However, love is also in the air as Kate and Robert celebrate the truly remarkable and touching story of George III’s marriage.And there’s also Robert’s confession: the cunning

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24:50

Royal Blind Dates (1)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/07/09

Which aristocratic lady ‘swiped left’ when Henry VIII went looking for a new wife? Listen to find out!In the first of two episodes, Royal historians Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams look at the highs and lows of Royal first encounters. Welcome to the strange world of regal dating: marriages at first sight, bedding ceremonies, and proxy consummations. Pity the poor teenage girls who dutifully married Kings who were much older - or preferred the company of men in their bedchambers!But

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46:21

The Sex Life of Queen Victoria

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/07/02

Revealing the surprising sex life of Queen Victoria. Listen Now!A special edition of our podcast in collaboration with History Hit’sBetwixt the Sheets.Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams team up with author, podcaster and sex historian Kate Lister to explore Queen Victoria’s intimate personal diaries.They reveal that she enjoyed "heavenly love and happiness" with her husband, Albert, and the "bliss of watching him shave and the joy of him helping her put on her stockings."Also discussed, the

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37:06

Royals in Crisis: Edward & Mrs Simpson (3)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/06/25

Find out how Edward and Mrs Simpson cosied up to Adolf Hitler. Listen now!Learn about the fury of the Royal Family and how the couple were shunned, and we reveal that Edward may have advised Hitler to bomb Britain into submission.The final episode of a three-part deep dive into the controversial relationship between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, examining its impact on the monarchy and revealing the truth behind rumours that both were Nazi sympathisers.Both historians delve deep into this

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28:05

Royals in Crisis: Edward & Mrs Simpson (2)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/06/18

Find out the truth about Wallis Simpson and the rumours of her sex lessons in a Chinese brothel. Listen now!Learn about one of the cast-aside lovers of Edward who devoted her life to spreading dark rumours about Wallis Simpson,and hear a blow-by-blow account of the abdication crisis that nearly brought down the monarchy.The second of a three-part deep dive into the controversial relationship between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, examining its impact on the monarchy.Professor Kate Williams

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24:19

Royals in Crisis: Edward & Mrs Simpson (1)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/06/11

Find out about King Edward VIII's cruel nanny and the courtesans who shaped his view of women. Listen Now!Learn how Edward scandalised the court and upset his father with a string of affairs with married women, and we reveal how he got bored of ‘Princing’ – an early indication that he wasn’t cut out for the duties of being a King.The first of a three-part deep dive into the controversial relationship between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, examining its impact on the monarchy and revealing the

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29:06

Royals & Dastardly Thieves (2)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/06/04

More tales of thieves who couldn’t resist the sparkle of jewels belonging to the Crown. Listen Now!Who stole the so-called Irish Crown Jewels? What are the Cambridge Emeralds? And how did Scottish nationalists manage to drag the Stone of Destiny out of Westminster Abbey on Christmas Eve - a modern story with deep roots in British history.The podcast also discusses the suspicious theft of Wallis Simpson's jewels in 1946, raising questions about insurance fraud and inside knowledge. And it also

en

32:31

Royals & Dastardly Thieves (2)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/06/04

More tales of thieves who couldn’t resist the sparkle of jewels belonging to the Crown. Listen Now!Who stole the so-called Irish Crown Jewels? What are the Cambridge Emeralds? And how did Scottish nationalists manage to drag the Stone of Destiny out of Westminster Abbey on Christmas Eve - a modern story with deep roots in British history. The podcast also discusses the suspicious theft of Wallis Simpson's jewels in 1946, raising questions about insurance fraud and inside knowledge. And it also

en

31:13

Royals & Dastardly Thieves (1)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/05/28

Welcome to the ultimate rogues gallery - those thieves who’ve grabbed the crown jewels! Listen to find out more.In the first of two episodes, Royal historians Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams explore the story of Colonel Blood who hammered down a royal crown so that he could slip it into his trousers. And discover royal secrets: how Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation crown had to be enlarged to fit the head of King Charles III, and how George VI wore his crown while gardening! Hosts also

en

27:49

Royals & Dastardly Thieves (1)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/05/28

Welcome to the ultimate rogues gallery - those thieves who’ve grabbed the crown jewels! Listen to find out more.In the first of two episodes, Royal historians Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams explore the story of Colonel Blood who hammered down a royal crown so that he could slip it into his trousers. And discover royal secrets: how Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation crown had to be enlarged to fit the head of King Charles III, and how George VI wore his crown while gardening!Hosts also

en

30:04

Terror at the Palace (3)

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things ·

2025/05/21

Which Royal has survived the most assassination attempts? Listen to find out!In the final of three extraordinary episodes, Royal historians Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams look at dastardly plots from history - from fiendish schemes to poison royal saddles to terrorists taking pot-shots at the theatre. Discover the Royal whose courage inspired a change to the National Anthem, and the Queen who refused to carry a bullet-proof parasol. And, finally, the hosts discuss which King and Queen in

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107 results

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