Regal: Rebels and Rulers

In this episode, we are exploring one of the most fascinating and controversial members of the Austrian imperial family. Her name is Elisabeth Marie. The newspapers call her The Red Archduchess. She was born into one of most famous dynasties of old Europe and chose to spend her life actively resisting it. Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Email us at regalrebelsandrulers.@gmail.com

In today's episode, we journey back to early twentieth-century Romania to explore the life and legacy of Queen Marie of Romania, Romania's last queen. Marie was an extraordinary woman whose influence shaped both her nation and the international stage, securing her place as one of history's most iconic diplomatic figures. Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Email us at regalrebelsandrulers...

This supplemental episode, like our one about Nell Gwynn, explores the fascinating life of an intriguing and influential royal mistress. In today’s episode, we journey back to seventeenth-century France to explore the life and legacy of Françoise d’Aubigné, Madame de Maintenon. She was first the mistress, and later the secret wife, of King Louis XIV of France. Email us at regalrebelsandrulers@gmai...

In today’s episode, we journey back to nineteenth-century Greece to explore the life and legacy of Amalia of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece. Amalia was the first Queen consort of modern Greece and a woman whose influence helped shape the cultural landscape of a newly-formed nation as well as the physical landscape of its capital city. Please note that this episode includes discussion of infertility an...

In this episode, we are exploring the fascinating life of Queen Maud of Norway, a British princess who became Norway’s first modern queen consort; she helped built the foundations of one of Europe’s newest, but most popular monarchies. She wholeheartedly threw herself into Norway's attempt to fashion a new national identity in the early years of the 20th Century. Email us at regalrebelsandrulers@g...

In this episode, we explore the fascinating life of one of Europe’s most unconventional monarchs, a Queen who defied gender norms, rejected marriage, challenged her culture's religious expectations, and lived life almost entirely by her own rules. Join us as we travel back to 17th century Sweden and explore the life and legacy of Queen Christina, the first Queen Regnant we have featured on our pod...

In today’s episode, we travel back to 17th century England and explore the life and legacy of Nell Gwyn, the fondly-remembered and extremely popular mistress of King Charles II. Nell, also known as "The People's Mistress," has been a subject of enduring interest in popular culture for centuries. A product of the vibrant new theatre scene in Restoration England, "pretty, witty Nell" (as Samuel Pepy...

In our first episode of 2026, we explore the fascinating life of one of the most influential women of 10th-century Europe. Imagine it is the year 951, a young queen is locked in a fortress on Lake Garda in Northern Italy. Her husband is newly dead. Another king demands her hand in marriage. And Adelaide of Italy—widow, prisoner, future empress—refuses. What’s next? Follow us on Instagram Follow us...

In today’s episode, we travel to 15th century England to explore the life and legacy of Catherine of Valois, Queen of England. The young widow of Henry V scandalized her contemporaries by falling in love with a Welshman named Owen Tudor, This very private choice had very public repercussions. As grandmother to Henry VII and matriarch of the Tudor line, her descendants reshaped England. Catherine,...

In this special supplemental episode, we are travelling back to 15th century England to explore the lives of four royal women who were accused of witchcraft and how those accusations were less about sorcery than about silencing and control. For more information on the topic, please check out Gemma Holman’s book, Royal Witches: Witchcraft and the Nobility in Fifteenth-Century England, click here to...

In this episode, we are traveling back to 12th century Wales and exploring the life of Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd, Princess of Deheubarth. We actually know relatively little about for sure about her life—but her lasting legend had a dramatic and significant impact on the development of her country’s culture and national identity. Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Facebook Email us at regalrebelsan...

In this episode, we are traveling back to 17th century Poland and exploring the life of Marie Louise Gonzaga. She was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania and one of the most powerful women in the 17th-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.. She steered the Commonwealth through war, intrigue, and the Swedish Deluge. A survivor, strategist, and cultural patron, her story reveals how her...

In this first episode of our podcast series, we are traveling back to 16th century Florence and exploring the life of Eleanor of Toledo. She was the Duchess of Florence and one of the most powerful women in the 16th-century Italian states. Eleanor wielded profound influence for a woman of her time. Her life offers several valuable lessons that remain relevant today. This episode focuses on Eleanor...