Prince George of Battenberg, later the 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven, was the third child of Louis Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, and was by all accounts a pretty good dude. Like his father, he set his sights on a naval career, and excelled at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth,…
192. The Mountbattens | Princess Louise of Battenberg
The second child of Prince Louis of Battenberg (later, Louis Mountbatten, Marquess of Milford Haven) and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine was Princess Louise, born July 14, 1889. While most royal were promptly shuttled into marriage, Louise was an independent, progressive young woman whose heart was set on marrying for love. There were…
191. The Mountbattens | Princess Alice of Battenberg
After Louis Battenberg’s (later Louis Mountbatten) successful campaign to marry Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, the couple set about having babies. The first of these, Princess Alice, was born in 1885, and came into the world congenitally deaf. Given the era, no particular accommodations were made for her, and while her condition caused…
190. Meet the Mountbattens!
While royal houses are often insular and even incestuous (at least at the cousin-marrying level), new blood does manage to enter those gene pools from time to time. Meet the Mountbattens! The family’s story begins in Russia, circa 1850, where the orphaned daughter of a Polish general named Julia von Hauke was serving in the…
189. The Dung-Named Emperor and Prime Minister Sausage Maker
After the Henry the Impotent story a few weeks back, Stacie became curious about some of the other odd nicknames that have been applied to rulers and leaders over the centuries. Today, we take a look at Constantine V, the Dung-Named Emperor, and a former Spanish Prime Minister who became perhaps the most hated man…
188. Charles II | The End of the Party
We have come to the last of our episodes about the merriest of monarchs, Charles II. He had a great run for half a century, but the good times for Chuck and his court stop in 1685. What might be the cause of his death? And what happens to the ladies he left behind? All…
187. The Wives of Julius Caesar | Cossutia, Cornelia, Pompeia, and Calpurnia
Though the Ides of March is long gone for the year, Alicia is engaged in some oratory this week and wanted to revisit a past episode about another famous orator – Gaius Julius Caesar. We’re taking stock of his life and times through his marriages, both the ones we’re sure happened, the one we aren’t…
186. Lady Colin Campbell
Lady Colin Campbell has led quite a life in her day, and one very connected into our upcoming storytelling journey. Today, it is crossover all about her trashy divorce, sticky royal spiderwebs, and so much more as we enter Lady Colin Campbell into our cinematic universe as a future player and source too. Listen ad-free…
185. Henry the Impotent | Enrique IV of Castile
The 15th century was a chaotic time the kingdoms that would eventually form modern Spain. Castile, Navarre, and Aragon – as well as Portugal – were constantly jostling for advantage, even though the rulers were generally all related to each other by blood, marriage, or both. For Castile, the last of these weak, bumbling rulers…
184. Hortense Mancini’s Wild English Adventure
After escaping her abusive husband, Hortense spent some time on the lam. She published her memoirs, which made her a celebrated author, and then, at the urging of the English ambassador, headed to London to “see her niece” – and within months, was yet another mistress of Charles II. And soon after, Charles II’s eldest…