While the thesis of this podcast is that our betters have always behaved badly, there are examples that really take it to the next level. Meet Princess Charlotte of Prussia, the first granddaughter of Queen Victoria, daughter of Princess Royal Victoria, and sister of Kaiser Wilhelm II, whose reputation for using people as pawns became legendary in her own time. From spreading rumors about her many cousins to dim their marriage prospects to hosting sex parties in order to blackmail the participants, Princess Charlotte was a headache to her family from the start.

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Sources

Grandmama of Europe: The Crowned Descendants of Queen Victoria, by Theo Aronson (Amazon link)

Queen Victoria's Granddaughters: 1860-1918, by Christina Croft (Amazon link)

The Prussian Princesses: The Sisters of Kaiser Wilhelm II, by John Van der Kiste (Amazon link)

ALL GERMANY TALKING OF IT.; The Kotze Scandal an Absorbing Topic Everywhere. - The New York Times

Sex parties, bloody duels and blackmail: life at court of last German emperor | Germany | The Guardian

THE SCANDALOUS PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF PRUSSIA - Wap.org.ng

Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen - The unloved and misunderstood Princess - History of Royal Women

Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen (1879-1945) – Dearest Mama

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