Beheaded

The story of Sir Walter Raleigh is is wild as this episode title. Yes, we are very good at alliteration.  Sir Walter was one of Queen Elizabeth I's favorite courtiers. And how could he not be!? He was a soldier, explorer, poet, politician and an experienced gardener amongst other things. After fighting battles in foreign lands, he was granted a charter ship to explore the New World in hopes o...

Did you know that it's possible to live inside the Tower of London!? If not, you are in for a treat. Megan Clawson is an author and daughter of a Yeomen Warder currently residing in the Tower of London, and we can guarantee she has some stories! In this very special episode, Megan shares with us what it's like to live inside one of England's oldest fortresses, including the highs, t...

La Voisin was a woman of many trades: fortune teller, midwife, and, of course, one of France's top-selling poison makers. Not only did she assist anyone who needed to do away with someone (for a great profit, of course), she was also more than eager to orchestrate black, satanic masses to ensure their every wish came true. It was only a matter of time before she got caught up in what would be...

While now of days you might be excited to find out you're a wizard, that was not the case in 1692. The Salem Witch Trials resulted in 19 people hanged, 1 person pressed to death, and 2 dogs being shot. In this episode, we revisit this gruesome time in America's history (mostly to follow up on the 2 dogs), but also to tell the story of George Burroughs, who was amongst the 19 people hange...

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was well acquainted with the politics of Tudor court. His father and grandfather were both noblemen who served several different kings on the English throne, from King Henry V to Richard III. Edward Stafford learned at a young age the price one can pay if their allegiance to the king is questioned. With a strong royal bloodline himself, the 3rd Duke of Buck...

Regicide has always been addressed with the most severe punishments. However, in 18th century France, it didn't matter if it was a successful assassination or a failed attempt, as the culprit could still receive the worst of ends. In 1757, Robert-François Damiens' crimes against King Louis XV resulted in hours of public torture and execution, and included a number of creative methods (ho...

Mirror, mirror on the wall.... who is the bloodiest countess of them all? Why, no other than Elizabeth Bathory. She was a rich and beautiful noblewoman in mid-16th century Hungary. While she dripped in jewels and velvet, she also was known to soak herself in the blood of young local girls to preserve her youth and beauty. Bathory can be easily considered one of Europe's most notorious female...

We have a special guest! In this unique episode, we have the pleasure of chatting with the one and only James Peacock. James is the manager and founder of one of the most successful social media communities for all things regarding Anne Boleyn: The Queen Anne Boleyn Society. Not only does he run all of these platforms, but he is also a Palace Host at Hampton Court Palace, making him a top Queen An...

The notorious case of Dr. Crippen is that of transatlantic proportions. He was a homeopathic American doctor in the early 20th century who moved to London with his lovely (yet unfaithful) wife, Cora. Affairs can go both ways, however… after Cora goes mysteriously missing, Dr. Crippen and his own lover are on the run. Their story makes history as London police tracked down their suspects using a wi...

We are back with season 4! And what better way to kick off a new season than by re-doing our first episode? Queen Marie Antoinette is easily one of the most famous beheadings in history, so we need to do her justice and get her story right. This time with better audio quality and better education, we start with Marie’s early childhood and discuss her life all the way to her downfall. This time, we...

Our season 3 finale comes to a close with recounting the final days of Lady Jane Grey and her fellow supporters. In part one of this episode, we discussed Jane's rise to power: Edward VI quickly added a very important annotation to the succession document  changing "Lady Jane's male heirs" to "Lady Jane and her male heirs", making her the next queen of England. At thi...

You may think you know all of the kings and queens of the Tudor Dynasty. We know King Henry VIII had 3 children, all of whom made their way to the throne at one point or another. But we tend to forget about another queen who reigned for a mere 9 days between King Edward VI and Queen Mary I. She was a young teenage girl by the name of Jane Grey. Later in history, she becomes known as the 9-day quee...

Few may recognize his name, however, we owe much of our modern chemistry to Antoine Lavoisier, a chemist who revolutionized science in the 18th century. While he was revolutionizing chemistry, though, the French people were revolutionizing their country. The Reign of Terror lasted for one year during the French Revolution (1793-1794) and resulted in 17,000 citizens being executed. The French peopl...

During the final years of King Henry VIII's reign, Catholics were in charge and Protestantism was illegal. Despite this danger, Anne Askew very proudly and publicly shared her Protestant beliefs around London. Up until her imprisonment at the Tower of London, torturing women on the rack was also illegal. Anne refused to reveal the names of her fellow Protestant friends (perhaps including Quee...

Florence, Italy during the Renaissance was an era of lavish art, scientific discoveries, and powerful families. The wealth and popularity of the Medici family was not to be questioned. They owned one of Italy's largest banks and if you needed a favor, you needed the Medici's approval. The Pazzi family had plans of their own, though, and decided they wanted to be the top players. What bec...

Tudor monarchs are notorious for executing their lovers, and it didn’t stop with King Henry VIII. In full Tudor fashion, Queen Elizabeth I dappled in romance with the young Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (despite being 34 years his senior). While Elizabeth was enamored with his energy, spirit, and good looks, the rest of the court rolled their eyes at Robert’s arrogance. No doubt, they were ex...

Voodoo (also known as Vodou or Vundun) is an ancient practice that has gone back over 6,000 years with origins from West Africa. While perhaps a very misunderstood religion, people of all cultures have been fascinated and intrigued by its mysterious virtues. Despite Catholicism being claimed as the primary religion of Haiti in the 1860's, without a doubt, Vodou was the popular religion amongs...

Brunhilda of Austrasia was Queen Consort  of the Merovingian age from 575 - 613 AD. She was a fierce and brave leader of the Frankish dynasty, despite having to rule through her sons and grandsons. Her story, though not widely popular, is a tale of confusing names and violence, making it sound like something out of a fable. It includes assassinations, murder, suicide, family rivalry, and brutal wa...

The myths and legends of the Knights Templar goes back almost a century. At their peak of power, these glorious and brave heroes  escorted pilgrims through the Holy Land while also protecting their territories in the Crusades. They were rich and above any law, making them the ultimate celebrity of 13th century Europe. King Phillip IV got caught up in some bad debt with the Knights, though, and his...

Let's start with saying the ancient Romans loved a good halftime show. Very similar to modern day sporting events, it involved large stadium seating, great concessions, a boisterous crowd of thousands of people, and solid entertainment. Rather than watching a ball get tossed around, though, their form of entertainment was watching people get torn to shreds by wild animals. In this episode, El...

Sophie and Hans Scholl were brother and sister who shared more than blood, but a passionate hatred towards the Nazi's during their rise to power. As two young Germans who went from Hitler's Youth Program to attending the University of Munich, it was extremely illegal and beyond dangerous to speak out against the Nazi's. With a small group of their university friends who privately sh...

H.H Holmes is one of America's oldest serial killers who met his fate with an excruciating hanging. While he confessed to 27 murders, historians believe there could have been as many as 200 victims. Evidence suggests the majority of his crimes took place in his own Chicago based building conveniently blocks away from the World's Fair. The building was primarily retail space and apartment...

Giordano Bruno was an Italian philosopher born too early for his time.  Despite starting his early career as a monk, he quickly traded out his priesthood attire for some travel breeches and started teaching his progressive beliefs about the infinite universe across Europe. His views about religion and philosophy were groundbreaking, yet controversial. In the 16th century, this was the perfect reci...

Charles I was the first and only king of England to be found guilty of high treason and executed for his crimes. This outcome was especially a shock to poor old Chuck, as he was convinced that there was no higher power than him besides God himself. However, England wasn't so happy about his constant desire to "dissolve" Parliament and use his own subjects to financially invest in hi...

SPECIAL EDITION! Rebecca Larson, owner of the website and podcast Tudors Dynasty, shares her expertise on the very notable Thomas Seymour. Rebecca sheds light on some of the most controversial rumors about Thomas Seymour, who was uncle to King Edward VI and the younger brother of  Sir  Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset. As an author and well-known podcast host herself, Rebecca started her blog...