Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things

Robert and Kate are back with a dastardly Bonus Episode in which they are asking one of history's most pressing questions: did Queen Victoria's son have TWO thrones? Edward VII was famed for his lurid love life, but did our raunchiest 20th Century monarch really have his own ‘sex chair’ in a Paris brothel? And if so, how on earth did it work?

Hosted by Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams, each episode of Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things delves into the juiciest parts of royal history from eras past, and present... but mainly past. 

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Researcher: Tom Sankey

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

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Robert and Kate are back with a dastardly Christmas Special in which they are exploring royal Christmases from yesteryear... did Queen Victoria really invent Christmas? Were Tudor children whipped on Christmas Day? And could there be any Christmas worse than Elizabeth II's Annus Horribilis? Listen to find out!

Hosted by Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams, each episode delves into the juiciest parts of royal history from eras past, and present... but mainly past. 

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Producer: Ben Devlin

Researcher: Tom Sankey

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

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This week – in the final episode of Season One – Robert and Kate tackle one of history's most scandalous, unsolved mysteries: what on earth happened to the Princes in the Tower? 

The disappearance of Edward V and his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York, has sparked centuries of speculation. Were they murdered, and if so, by whom? Was it Richard III – their own uncle, and that great Shakespearean villain – in a bid to secure the throne? Or, could other powerful figures have been involved? 

Join Kate and Robert as they separate fact from fiction and each offer their views on surely one of the juiciest royal scandals of all time.

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things is the Daily Mail's unmissable podcast that promises listeners a weekly dose of royal history and intrigue by unpacking a different royal scandal each week. 

Hosted by Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams, each episode delves into the juiciest parts of royal history from eras past, and present... but mainly past. 

New episodes out every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. 

Presenters: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Producer: Rich Jarman

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Thanks to Dr. Fern Riddell 

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The Nepalese Massacre was one of the most dramatic, bloody royal events to ever happen – and the chances are that most listeners won’t have heard of it. 

On a summer’s evening in Kathmandu in 2001, Nepal’s royal family was almost entirely wiped out, in a single night. Hours later, the alleged killer lay in a hospital bed in a coma, having been proclaimed King the moment that his father died. The man in question – Crown Prince Dipendra – allegedly went on a murderous rampage, killing nine members of his own family, including his parents, King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya, before taking his own life. 

In this episode, Robert Hardman and Kate Williams will guide listeners through three turbulent Centuries of Nepalese history, tracing the build up to, and the fall out from, this shocking event.

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things is the Daily Mail's unmissable podcast that promises listeners a weekly dose of royal history and intrigue by unpacking a different royal scandal each week. 

Hosted by Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams, each episode delves into the juiciest parts of royal history from eras past, and present... but mainly past. 

New episodes out every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. 

Presenters: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Producer: Rich Jarman 

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Thanks to Dr. Fern Riddell 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On 31st May 1810, the Duke of Cumberland – George III’s fifth child, and notorious 19th Century wrong’un – was attacked while asleep in his apartments in St James’ Palace.

And, hours later, one of the Duke’s valets, Joseph Sellis, was found dead in his room. His throat had been cut with a razor. It was a grisly crime scene. Sellis’ head was nearly severed from his body, and blood had soaked the bedclothes, furniture, and walls. 

Join Kate and Robert as they delve into the circumstances surrounding Sellis’ death by reconstructing what exactly happened on the night of the murder; exploring the Duke of Cumberland’s scandalous background and his subversive relationship with both Joseph Sellis, and his other valet.

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things is the Daily Mail's unmissable podcast that promises listeners a weekly dose of royal history and intrigue by unpacking a different royal scandal each week. 

Hosted by Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams, each episode delves into the juiciest parts of royal history from eras past, and present... but mainly past. 

New episodes out every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. 

Presenters: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Producer: Rich Jarman 

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Thanks to Dr. Fern Riddell 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Robert and Kate tackle one of history's biggest questions: was Anne Boleyn guilty of everything that Henry VIII accused her of?

Over the centuries, historians have spilt vast quantities of ink dissecting the evidence, the political intrigue, and the motives behind the charges that led to Anne's tragic demise. Robert and Kate explore the wider context of Anne’s astronomical rise and rapid fall; the key players in her trial; and, whether her alleged infidelities were fabrications to justify Henry VIII’s desire for a new wife, and that longed for son… 

Join Kate and Robert as they separate fact from fiction and uncover the truth behind surely one of the juiciest royal scandals of all time.

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things is the Daily Mail's unmissable podcast that promises listeners a weekly dose of royal history and intrigue by unpacking a different royal scandal each week. 

Hosted by Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams, each episode delves into the juiciest parts of royal history from eras past, and present... but mainly past. 

New episodes out every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. 

Presenters: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Producer: Rich Jarman 

Production Manager: Victoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Thanks to Dr. Fern Riddell 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Despite being immortalised in the iconic song by Boney M, the life and death of Grigory Rasputin remains shrouded in mythology and mystery. A mystic healer, political saboteur, and renegade monk, Rasputin’s life – and his ‘member’ – casts a long shadow over Russian history, not least in the questions surrounding his role in formenting the opposition to the Russian Tsar that ultimately caused the 1917 Revolution, a cataclysmic event that overturned Russia’s social and political order forever, and preceded wider social change in Europe and beyond. 

Join Robert and Kate for the second episode of Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things as they unpack the life and times of Russia’s greatest love machine – surely one of very few dastardly historic icons for whom genital warts and cataclysmic social upheaval can justifiably be included in the same sentence. 

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things is the Daily Mail's unmissable podcast that promises listeners a weekly dose of royal history and intrigue by unpacking a different royal scandal each week. 

Hosted by Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams, each episode delves into the juiciest parts of royal history from eras past, and present... but mainly past. 

New episodes out every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. 

Presenters: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Producer: Rich Jarman 

Production Manager: Victoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Thanks to Dr. Fern Riddell 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charles II's sexual appetite was infamously compared to a racehorse, and he revelled in reversing the social strictures that Oliver Cromwell had strictly enforced during the Interregnum. Unsurprisingly, Charles II had mistresses. And lots of them.

But Charles II’s mistresses were so much more than footnotes in a new era of frivolity, parties and hedonism –  many of these women wielded significant power in their own right, and played pivotal roles in court politics and international relations. Their close relationship to Charles II during an intense period of social and political change means that they played a key role in shaping the course of English history. 

Join Robert Hardman and Kate Williams as they explore the stories of three of these fascinating women – Barbara Castlemaine, Nell Gywnne, and Lucy Walter – and ask what their stories reveal about the wider history of the period.

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things is the Daily Mail's unmissable podcast that promises listeners a weekly dose of royal history and intrigue by unpacking a different royal scandal each week. 

Hosted by Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams, each episode delves into the juiciest parts of royal history from eras past, and present... but mainly past. 

New episodes out every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. 

Presenters: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Producer: Rich Jarman 

Production Manager: Victoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Thanks to Dr. Fern Riddell

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do you get when you mix a $20 million diamond necklace; a sycophantic cardinal; a con-artist; and Marie Antoinette? Only one of French history’s biggest royal scandals – a scandal that, arguably, led to the abolition of nearly a thousand years of French monarchy and the demise of France's final two monarchs on the guillotine.

Join Kate Williams and Robert Hardman for a rollicking ride through a royal scandal that really does have it all: sex, lies – and Marie Antoinette: one of the most iconic – and most misunderstood – female figures of the 18th Century. 

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things is the Daily Mail's unmissable podcast that promises listeners a weekly dose of royal history and intrigue by unpacking a different royal scandal each week. 

Hosted by Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams, each episode delves into the juiciest parts of royal history from eras past, and present... but mainly past. 

New episodes out every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. 

Presenters: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Producer: Rich Jarman 

Production Manager: Victoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Thanks to Dr. Fern Riddell 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On June 10 1688, Queen Mary of Modena, the Catholic wife of James II, gave birth to a son, James Francis Stewart. 

Or did she?

Join Kate Williams and Robert Hardman as they dive into one of royal history’s juiciest, and often forgotten, scandals: an event that should have been a joyous moment (a male heir - hurrah!) but one that instead unleashed a chain of events that would lead to mother, father, and child being driven out of England to spend the rest of their lives in… exile. 

Robert and Kate will explore whether Queen Mary really did give birth to a healthy son, or if – as many English Protestants, unwilling to see a Catholic heir on the throne, claimed – the pregnancy was all a ruse.

Hosted by Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams, Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things delves into the juiciest parts of royal history from eras past, and present... but mainly past. 

New episodes out every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. 

Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @queenskingspod, and email us at @[email protected]

Presenters: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Producer: Rich Jarman 

Production Manager: Victoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Thanks to Dr. Fern Riddell 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did Queen Victoria find comfort and love in the arms of a servant following the death of Prince Albert? What can we conclude from the Queen’s disregard for public, parliamentary and family concern about her close relationship with John Brown, the Scottish servant who found himself resident at Buckingham Palace? And, was the Queen so devoted to John Brown that they secretly married?

Professor Kate Williams and Robert Hardman reveal all about this mysterious royal relationship that captivated the Victorian public and continues to mystify royal historians and commentators today.

Hosted by Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams, each episode delves into the juiciest parts of royal history from eras past, and present... but mainly past. 

New episodes out every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. 

Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @queenskingspod, and email us at @[email protected]

Presenters: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Producer: Rich Jarman 

Production Manager: Victoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Thanks to Dr. Fern Riddell 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the peace of an Edinburgh night is shattered by an explosion and the Queen of Scotland’s husband is found dead, but no murderer can be found, the question is not only who killed the King Consort but why?

Join Professor Kate Williams and Robert Hardman as they uncover the suspects, the events and the motives behind a murder that definitively changed the course of Mary Queen Of Scots’ reign.

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things is the Daily Mail's unmissable podcast that promises listeners a weekly dose of royal history and intrigue by unpacking a different royal scandal each week. 

Hosted by Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams, each episode delves into the juiciest parts of royal history from eras past, and present... but mainly past. 

New episodes out every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. 

Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @queenskingspod, and email us at @[email protected]

Presenters: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Producer: Rich Jarman 

Production Manager: Victoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Thanks to Dr. Fern Riddell 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things is the Daily Mail's unmissable podcast that promises listeners a weekly dose of royal history and intrigue by unpacking a different royal scandal each week. 

Hosted by Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and historian Professor Kate Williams, each episode delves into the juiciest parts of royal history from eras past, and present... but mainly past. 

New episodes out every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. 

Follow us on TikTok and Instagram @queenskingspod, and email us at @[email protected]

Presenters: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Producer: Rich Jarman 

Production Manager: Victoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Thanks to Dr. Fern Riddell 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join Robert Hardman and Natasha Livingstone for an analysis of "Wolferton Splash" the first episode of season 1 of The Crown.

This episode focuses on the wedding and early years of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip's marriage, and the failing health of Princess Elizabeth's father King George VI.

Find out:

Did Winston Churchill heckle at Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip’s wedding?

Did King George VI have surgery at Buckingham Palace? 

How did King George VI’s plans for an overseas tour dictate the timing of 1951’s general election?

Did King George VI ever wear makeup?

Was the truth of King George VI’s illness kept from him?

Plus much more.

Email us at 

[email protected]

or send us a message or voicenote on Whatsapp:

07796657512 (start your message with "The Crown" so we know which show you’re getting in touch with.)

Make sure you're following The Crown: Fact Or Fiction so you don't miss an episode. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-crown-fact-or-fiction/id1714259572

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join Robert Hardman and Natasha Livingstone for an analysis of "Moondust" season 3, episode 7 of The Crown.

This episode of The Crown shows Prince Phillip having a mid life crisis as he considers his faith and his place in the universe, all put into context as Neil Armstrong steps on the moon and a new Dean of Windsor is appointed.

Find out:

Is there evidence that Prince Phillip was having a mid life crisis around the time of the moon landings?

Did The Crown get the astronaut's visit to Buckingham Palace right?

How did Prince Phillip really feel about the creation of St George's House?

Were the Queen and Prince Phillip space fans?

And, how many stags roam the grounds of Windsor Castle?

Plus much more.

Tell us which episodes of The Crown are your favourites and we might give them the Fact or Fiction treatment on the next episode of the podcast!

Email us at 

[email protected]

or send us a message or voicenote on Whatsapp:

07796657512 (start your message with "The Crown" so we know which show you’re getting in touch with.)

Make sure you're following The Crown: Fact Or Fiction so you don't miss an episode. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-crown-fact-or-fiction/id1714259572

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robert Hardman and Natasha Livingstone sit down with Sam McAlister for a very special episode of the The Crown Fact or Fiction that focuses on Scoop, Netflix's film about Prince Andrew's disastrous Newsnight interview.

Scoop is based on Sam's first hand experience of booking Prince Andrew for Newsnight. Hear Sam tell the story behind the meetings, the planning, the recording and aftermath of the interview - what it was like to work on the biggest interview in the world, and how Netflix captured it for the screen.

Sam's book Scoops is available now:

https://amzn.eu/d/6qPhhfn

Scoop is streaming on Netflix now.

Tell us which episodes of The Crown are your favourites and we might give them the Fact or Fiction treatment on the next episode of the podcast!

Email us at 

[email protected]

or send us a message or voicenote on Whatsapp:

07796657512 (start your message with "The Crown" so we know which show you’re getting in touch with.)

Make sure you're following The Crown: Fact Or Fiction so you don't miss an episode. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-crown-fact-or-fiction/id1714259572

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join Robert Hardman and Natasha Livingstone for an analysis of "Marionettes" season 2, episode 5 of The Crown.

This episode of The Crown depicts Queen Elizabeth II facing criticism from Lord Altrincham following a tone deaf speech at a Jaguar factory in Coventry before taking to the airwaves for the first ever televised Christmas message.

If you'd like us to analyse a favourite episode of The Crown, write to us at: [email protected].

Find out in this episode of The Crown Fact Or Fiction:

Did the Queen address the workers at a Jaguar factory with a tone deaf speech?

Was Lord Altrincham punched in the face following his criticism of the Queen?

Did the Queen send for Lord Altrincham to discuss his criticisms?

Does Buckingham Palace have a network of secret doors and tunnels for monarchs to stealthily navigate the palace?

Plus much more. 

Tell us which episodes of The Crown are your favourites and we might give them the Fact or Fiction treatment on the next episode of the podcast!

Email us at 

[email protected]

or send us a message or voicenote on Whatsapp:

07796657512 (start your message with "The Crown" so we know which show you’re getting in touch with.)

Make sure you're following The Crown: Fact Or Fiction so you don't miss an episode. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-crown-fact-or-fiction/id1714259572

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join Robert Hardman and Natasha Livingstone for an analysis of "Aberfan" season 3, episode 3 of The Crown.

This episode of The Crown depicts a reluctant Elizabeth 2nd questioning the appropriateness of her visiting Aberfan in the days following a disaster in the Welsh town, despite the insistence of those around her.

Our thanks to Claire Heeley, Melissa Clark and Kelly Woods who all wrote in to suggest the episode this week. If you'd like us to analyse a favourite episode of The Crown, write to us at: [email protected].

Find out in this episode of The Crown Fact Or Fiction:

Was the Queen as emotionless as she is depicted in this episode?

Was the Queen as reluctant to visit Aberfan as depicted in The Crown?

Did The Crown accurately depict Prince Phillip’s attendance at Aberfan?

Did the Queen only attend Aberfan after the government briefed the press against her? 

Plus much more. 

Tell us which episodes of The Crown are your favourites and we might give them the Fact or Fiction treatment on the next episode of the podcast!

Email us at 

[email protected]

or send us a message or voicenote on Whatsapp:

07796657512 (start your message with "The Crown" so we know which show you’re getting in touch with.)

Make sure you're following The Crown: Fact Or Fiction so you don't miss an episode. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-crown-fact-or-fiction/id1714259572

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join Robert Hardman and Natasha Livingstone for an analysis of "Ipatiev House" season 5, episode 6 of The Crown.

This episode of The Crown delves into the history of the British royal family and portrays a strained marriage between the Queen and Prince Phillip while Britain forges a new relationship with Boris Yeltsin's Russia.

Our thanks to Hannah from Hertfordshire who wrote in and suggested the episode this week. If you'd like us to analyse a favourite episode of The Crown, write to us at: [email protected].

Find out in this episode of The Crown Fact Or Fiction:

Did The Crown get the Romanov family's fate right?

Did Boris Yeltsin order Russian scientists to find the bones of the Romanov's after meeting the Queen and Prince Phillip?

Was Coach driving one of Prince Phillip's passions?

Did Prince Phillip's friend Penny Knatchbull attend Christmas mass with the Queen to quell rumours and speculation?

Plus much more. 

Tell us which episodes of The Crown are your favourites and we might give them the Fact or Fiction treatment on the next episode of the podcast!

Email us at 

[email protected]

or send us a message or voicenote on Whatsapp:

07796657512 (start your message with "The Crown" so we know which show you’re getting in touch with.)

Make sure you're following The Crown: Fact Or Fiction so you don't miss an episode. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-crown-fact-or-fiction/id1714259572

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join Robert Hardman and Natasha Livingstone for an analysis of "Dear Mrs Kennedy" season 2, episode 8 of The Crown.

This episode of The Crown portrays a rivalry taking place between the Queen and Jackie Kennedy, the first lady of the United States. Meanwhile, the Queen is trying to keep the commonwealth together, before the episode culminates in the news and aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Our thanks to Emily Edery who wrote in and suggested the episode this week. If you'd like us to analyse a favourite episode of The Crown, write to us at: [email protected].

Was Jackie Kennedy unimpressed both by Buckingham Palace and the Queen?

Do the Royals take note of protocol not being followed?

Was there a rivalry between the Queen and Jackie Kennedy?

Did the Queen dance the Foxtrot with Ghana’s president? 

And… ...Did the Queen favour cream or jam first on a scone? 

Plus much more. 

Tell us which episodes of The Crown are your favourites and we might give them the Fact or Fiction treatment on the next episode of the podcast!

Email us at 

[email protected]

or send us a message or voicenote on Whatsapp:

07796657512 (start your message with "The Crown" so we know which show you’re getting in touch with.)

Make sure you're following The Crown: Fact Or Fiction so you don't miss an episode. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-crown-fact-or-fiction/id1714259572

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices