Trashy Royals

This episode is brought to you by Incogni! In the tangle of British royals to come out of the Hanoverian period, most aren't memorable. This is probably partly due to Queen Victoria's long reign, but there was a cousin of the Queen that she was quite partial to: Fat Mary. Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge was 14 years the Queen's junior, but she and her siblings were the cousins who comprised Vi...

While it may be true that the only certainties in this world are death and taxes, we do bumble through our lives with the expectation that our physicians will not knowingly prematurely end us. At least, most of us do. But for British royals in the 1930s, the royal physician, Lord Bertrand Dawson, was making decisions he arguably had no right to make - not only for the mortally ill George V, but tw...

This week, Alicia is joined by Dr. Alicia King Anderson to deep dive into the topic of stepmothers. Included within this wide-ranging discussion are the economic realities of women through history, the reason we have these stories in our lore, and more intricate discussions about Jacob Grimm, witches, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Vasilisa and Baba Yaga too. Listen ad-free at patreon.com/trashyro...

We are taking a very trashy tour back in time this week discussing the Arthurian legends with our resident mythology expert Dr. Alicia King Anderson. Alicia dives into all the classic stories, including the choosing of King Arthur, the magical man Merlin, the love-angst of Guinevere and Lancelot, the trickery of Morgan le Fay, and so much more! Listen ad-free at patreon.com/trashyroyalspodcast . T...

Over a millennium ago, Norsemen loaded up their boats and moved south toward the heart of Europe, traversing its abundant rivers to raid, trade, and conquer. One of these conquests was the city of Kyiv, which these Rus' invaders ('Swedes,' in the local long-ago parlance, Stacie thinks, but also 'men who row') made the seat of the first Eastern Slavic State, way before Moscow was a thing, the Kyiva...

In our finale of the Wallis, Duchess of Windsor series, we spend time with the Duke and the Duchess in their time as the toast of international society. David and Wallis appear in all the best places and at all the best tables, but ultimately that is not a fulfilling life for either of them. Listen ad-free at patreon.com/trashyroyalspodcast . To advertise on this podcast, reach out to info@amplitu...

The Duke and Duchess should be in their long-awaited wedded bliss period, but King George VI is going to take his brother David up on that past offer to be of assistance, and off the newlyweds go to the Bahamas. The Duke will have a pretty easy job which he won’t do, but Wallis will dazzle. In this episode, David deals with some family hardships as well as the continuing hardships he places upon h...

Married life begins for Wallis and David, and although it is a time of decorating homes and settling into domestic bliss for the couple, there are troubled times brewing. David and Wallis take a trip to Germany they will come to regret in short order. Not only is the world about to enter a war, but David is stubbornly holding onto his own pride and pettiness, so naturally more Windsor family drama...

In December of 1936, David is off the throne and has a little time on his hands. The former king cannot reunite with his love Wallis at the moment, as her final divorce decree from Ernest Simpson is still pending within the court system. David will not spend much time thinking beyond his abdication as it is happening, and because of his lack of foresight, there are a few uncomfortable months in th...

We have journeyed into this trashy series to fall of 1936, and the abdication of Edward VIII is coming fast and hard. The world now knows about Wallis, and everyone has an opinion about the love affair the world can’t stop discussing. From the people to the palace to the Parliament, we have a whole lot of influences in today’s tale.  Wallis is not rooting for David leaving his kingdom, but he is a...

No one inside or outside the palace seems all too pleased in this continuing episode of our Wallis series. We are definitely on the countdown to the December 1936 abdication of Edward VIII, and the events of the summer and fall really turn up the temperature on the whole sordid mess. David isn’t too keen on being the king. Neither are his advisors. A lot of folks would like to see David just walk...

King George V has passed, and it is David’s time to assume the throne. The new King of England is pretty okay with it, for now – but only if his rules are followed. The people of England are pretty fired up about the monarch who they feel will be a youthful, modern twist to the staid and formal reign of the past. There are a lot of other folks, mostly the ones close to David, who do not share this...

This week, we bring Wallis and the Prince of Wales together, and it is some scandalous stuff. Walls sells out her friend Thelma. David is resolved to get Wallis into his inner court world, no matter what he must do, even with enemies on all sides. The prince has now become a determined guy, and Wallis is playing a very dangerous game with some very high stakes. Aunt Bessie does try to warn Wallis,...

This week, we progress in our journey to the last lover of the Prince of Wales, before Wallis, that is. Thelma Furness enters the picture. Thelma comes with her own legend, being one of the Magical Morgan Twins, along with her sister Gloria. Thelma thinks she can trust her good friend Wallis to keep an eye on “her little man” when she is needed to support her sister, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, back...

We continue our journey into the love life of the Prince of Wales this week introducing the lovely, and married, Freda Dudley Ward. This phenomenal woman was romantically involved with David for 15 years, and he sure liked it that way, until he didn’t. This one is quite a journey of a wonderful woman who played her role perfectly, in good times and in bad times too. Listen ad-free at patreon.com/t...

In this week’s exciting episode of our Wallis, Duchess of Windsor series, we change the focus to the Prince of Wales. With a complicated childhood without a whole lot of family love, you can see how it would be easy for David to be swayed by romance. He does this romance dance quite a lot – sometimes with suitable girls, sometimes not. In this episode, we will explore a few of David’s first loves,...

Upon her return to the United States, Wallis will finally obtain her divorce from Win Spencer, and soon enough meet her next husband, Ernest Simpson. Slightly problematic, Ernest is married at the time, but who can stop true love? Wallis will seek and find happiness (finally) here, as a contented married lady and star hostess of London society. Listen ad-free at patreon.com/trashyroyalspodcast . T...

Hold onto your conspiracy theories in this one, darlings! Wallis took a lot of heat for the year she spent in the Orient, her Lotus Year. Many folks pinned a whole lot of terrible deeds on Wallis this year, largely all untrue. Her year in China becomes the basis for the future China Dossier, which was supposed to dissuade the Prince of Wales from his married lover. That plan did not work out too w...

In this second installment of Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, we visit steamy Pensacola, Florida, and meet Wallis’s first husband, Earl Winfield “Win” Spencer, Jr. This flyboy will woo and wed Wallis, only for the relationship to reveal some very large red flags. Listen ad-free at patreon.com/trashyroyalspodcast . To advertise on this podcast, reach out to info@amplitudemediapartners.com . Learn more...

Welcome to a whole spider of a series - Wallis, Duchess of Windsor! We know her story, or we think we do. In this first episode, we meet Bessie Wallis Warfield, just a tiny girl making her way in the world surrounded by a whole lot of family drama, on both sides. Between her mother Alice and her uncle Sol, it is no wonder Wallis wants to break free to see a different world than the one she knows....

Alicia is joined by a very special guest this week Alicia King Anderson to break down the story of the original trashy royal couple from mythology, Hera and Zeus. Their story is loaded with tricks, subterfuge and a little revenge too. They take the cake as the trashy couple in mythology, no doubt. Find more of Alicia K. Anderson, Ph. D. in these links: Alicia's Patreon Her upcoming class on "The D...

Free from Henry at long last, and with Thomas Seymour home from his European duties, Catherine quickly, but discretely, found her way back to her old flame. They married in secret, which displeased both the new king, Edward VI, and Princess Mary, Catherine's good friend. Thomas's brother Edward - by then the 1st Duke of Somerset - was more or less running the country for his nephew, then nine or t...

As Lady Latimer after her second wedding in 1534, Catherine, her husband, and her step-children found themselves enmeshed in the growing public anger at Henry's moves to impose his new religion, as well as various other political gripes. In 1536 and 1537, a genuine uprising occurred, with Catholic rebels dragging Lord Latimer - a fellow Catholic - from their home to be pressed into service against...

Though the twice-widowed Catherine's heart was definitely with Thomas Seymour, Henry VIII had other plans for his future and final wife. He took to spending time at his daughter Princess Mary's court, where Catherine was part of the household, and eventually dispatched Seymour on an important - and open duration - diplomatic mission on the Continent. It took some wooing, but Catherine finally acce...

The last of Henry VIII's wives, Catherine Parr's story is absolutely fascinating. A daughter of a noble family from the north of England, Catherine was raised by a doting, independent mother who urged her daughters to take a similar approach. Maud Green Parr, Catherine's mother, was a confidant of Queen Catherine of Aragon, and Catherine's younger sister Anne would go on to be a lady in waiting to...