Difficult Damsels

As Elizabeth settled into her reign as queen, she quickly learned to master the art of traversing the treacherous world of courtly politics at home in England as well as France and Spain. Despite this carefully crafted persona, her throne was never completely safe. As religious strife escalated across Europe between Catholics and Protestants, the conflict hit closer to home when a certain Scottish Queen stumbled onto English shores amidst scandal and rebellion. And now it’s up to Elizabeth to strategically navigate the dangerous fallout that followed.

In this episode, Elizabeth is excommunicated (again) by the Pope, teasing marriage with a new round of suitors (and some old ones as well) and throwing her ever present feet-dragging slippers at poor William Cecil whenever he annoys her (which is all the time).

But Gloriana triumphs every step of the way, proving she is no easy woman to be trifled with.

Upon ascending the throne of England, Elizabeth was faced with two very pressing issues: reverting England back to Protestantism and getting herself a husband.

Finding herself in the very unique position of having her pick of suitors, Elizabeth frustrated her counselors by refusing to marry or name an heir. Thus, the Virgin Queen is born – though we learn the moniker is a bit deceptive. As it turns out, Elizabeth had many suitors, none more prevalent in her life than the roughish and just out of reach—mostly because he was technically already married—Robert Dudley.

Join us for a bit of a role reversal where Elizabeth perfects the art of dragging her feet—much to the dismay of poor William Cecil—and teasing the hearts of those that would try to become her consort.

Elizabeth Tudor was never supposed to be Queen.

The daughter of Henry VIII and his second and most notorious wife, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth was born amidst religious and political turmoil in England. Join us for the origin story of Elizabeth I.

Before she was the Virgin Queen and Gloriana, she’d been an illegitimate princess used as a pawn to prop up the ambitions of the unscrupulous men around her. This story has it all: lecherous old men, terrible fathers, annoying brothers, formidable sisters and at the center of it all . . . a young girl poised to change history forever and upset the very foundation of gender roles and expectations, becoming one of England’s most celebrated monarchs.

It is said that whenever a Targaryen is born the gods flip a coin and the world waits to see how it will land: the side of greatness or the side of madness.

In this episode, we discuss the upcoming show, House of the Dragon, and the many new difficult damsels we are looking forward to meeting. At the center of the drama is Rhaenyra Targaryen – a woman whose coin teeters on the edge of greatness and madness. We also delve into the real life parallels between Rhaenyra and Empress Matilda, who was promised the throne of England only to have it stolen out from under her. And then came war.

Except this time there be dragons. Lots and lots of dragons!!!

Join us for a tale of treachery, political machinations, family members plotting to kill each other and, yes … even incest. The Ptolemy’s would be so proud.

Mary is one of the more notorious monarchs on record, due in large part to her relentless persecution of Protestants earning her the moniker of “Bloody Mary.” But was this reputation earned?

Mary’s brutality was not unique to the 16th century, but the lens of history loves to vilify women for doing the same things their male counterparts do. Mary’s reign is chalk full of religious upheaval and reform in England. Following the death of Henry VIII (good riddance!), England had two religions contending for supremacy.

The reign of Mary Tudor represents Catholicism’s last gasping, violent breath. Not to mention the karmic balancing to all Henry VIII’s bullshit (ugh – we can’t hate him enough!) We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, kids. Religious fundamentalism is bad!

In the conclusion of Mary’s story, we discuss one of history’s most exaggerated rivalries between the Queen of Scots and the Queen of England. After the Scottish noble families turn on their queen, Mary flees Scotland for England where she hopes to find sanctuary from her cousin, Elizabeth. We discover that Mary was in fact much more difficult than we originally gave her credit for . . . much to her own detriment. In the end, all roads have led Mary to her infamous fate, a block that awaits her head and an axe for her neck.

But Mary insisted on having the last word, promising the known world would erupt in chaos following her death. Spoiler alert: it did!

Following the death of her first husband, Mary returns home and finds a less than warm reception in Scotland. Considered a foreigner in her own native country and, worse yet, a Catholic Queen in a recently converted Protestant country, Mary had an uphill battle to fight. Fortunately for our Mary, Queen of Scots, Europe is full of eligible bachelors and she gets her pick of the lot! Unfortunately for Mary, she chose Lord Darnley, who we can all agree was the literal worst.

Join us for a tale of love, jealousy, gun powder and treason. For Mary, Queen of Scots, this is the height of her reign. But the end is nigh . . .

Mary, Queen of Scots might be one of the most popular and well-known monarchs in Scottish history, but who was she really?

Orphaned and the new Scottish Queen by the absurdly young age of six days old, Mary was marked by tragedy right from the start. From Henry VIII’s “Rough Wooing” of Scotland to Mary’s early years in France under the watchful eyes of her powerful Guise uncles and her headstrong mother-in-law, Catherine de’ Medici, Mary outshines her perpetually sickly and sniveling French husband and stakes a claim for the English throne. All before the age of seventeen.

Dear Listener, we present you with a special episode about a tale of morality, power and petty letters to old lovers who have vexed us.

In this relaxed episode Rachel and Kat discuss one of their favorite fantasy series and the nuanced women (and men) that make up the world of The Witcher.

Jeanne refused . . . that is all.

We’ve discussed the French Wars of religion through Catherine de Medici’s own story and that of the Catholics. Now let’s flip it and reverse it, taking a look at the conflict through Jeanne d’Albret Queen of Navarre’s eyes and the side of the Protestants.

Trust us, you won’t be disappointed! From an 11-year-old bride kicking and screaming down the aisle to the obstinate Queen of Navarre with an alliance and marriage offer for her son that sounds a little too good to be true. And through it all Jeanne refused to be anything other than the headstrong political leader of the Huguenots.