Who was history’s most monstrous monarch — Henry VIII of England or Louis XIV of France? Listen to find out!

This week on Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things, royal historian Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams sharpen their quills and their wits.

Armed with the seven deadly sins as a scorecard, they put these two titans of royal misbehaviour through their paces. Pride? Henry struts about in padded sleeves and bans the middle classes from wearing fur. Louis builds Versailles — all 2,300 rooms of it — just so the Sun King can bask in his own reflection. Greed? Henry smashes up the monasteries and pockets the loot; Louis keeps ledgers in his pocket as if they were sweet wrappers. Lust? Both monarchs are formidable contenders — one leaves a trail of wives and mistresses (and the odd execution), the other an entire shadow dynasty of illegitimate children.

From whale meat and beaver tails to an autopsy revealing a stomach three times the normal size, gluttony is not in short supply either. And when it comes to wrath, Henry’s temper ensures that being “close to the king” could mean being close to the executioner.

It’s England versus France, Tudor versus Bourbon, axe versus wig — with laughs, learning, and a dash of horror along the way.

And the royal rumble doesn’t stop here: next week it’s King John v Richard III, followed by Bloody Mary v Catherine de Medici.

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From meat mountains to one lonely kiwi fruit — the royal appetites that shocked history. Listen Now!

What’s worse than one demanding royal houseguest? A whole history of them — and in Part Two of Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Kate Williams dig even deeper into the guest lists from hell. From Henry VIII arriving with a thousand-strong entourage and an appetite for entire herds, to George IV’s ruinous dining habits (and total lack of return invites), to Louis XIV’s epic, toothless feasts, this is royal hospitality at its most exhausting.

You’ll discover which monarch forced hosts to build entirely new buildings just to serve them tea, which biscuits owe their names to the royals (and which ones hid the Crown Jewels), and how a simple “drop-in” could strip a nobleman’s pantry bare for months. It’s a whirlwind of Tudor meat mountains, Regency excess, and the occasional sensible snack — such as the Princess Royal’s legendary one kiwi fruit.

Expect tall tales, staggering menus, and a fair amount of sympathy for the poor souls who dared to open their doors. Whether you’d serve up a banquet or hide behind the curtains, this episode is your ultimate survival guide to entertaining history’s hungriest and haughtiest VIPs.

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Royal visits gone wrong: the tantrums, the takings, and the tartest tongues in history.

This week, Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things throws open the palace doors to a line-up of monarchs and princes who’ve turned “popping in for tea” into a full-scale ordeal. From Princess Margaret’s legendary put-downs (“How unfortunate”) to Queen Mary’s habit of going home with your best chairs, Robert Hardman and Kate Williams swap outrageous stories of royal visits gone deliciously wrong.

You’ll hear about the Queen’s unexpected snowstorm stopover at a country pub, complete with Corgis demanding table service, and a Prince of Wales visit so badly timed the host hid in the loo thinking he was about to be arrested. Expect tantrums, tiaras, and the occasional singalong that ends in boos (yes, Francis Bacon, we’re looking at you).

This is history served with gossip, wit, and a large slice of Dundee cake. So pull up a chair, pour yourself something strong, and prepare to meet the royals who could empty your pantry, ruffle your dignity, and leave you with a story you’ll be telling for decades.

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pull up a velvet throne and grab your alchemy kit – in this episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams swirl together Arthurian legends, royal superstition, and some seriously dodgy medieval science. Listen now!

Is the Holy Grail real? Can gold be made from stones? Did Diana really have a psychic on speed-dial? And why exactly did Queen Victoria try to give a clairvoyant a watch?

From King Arthur’s suspiciously round table (equal rights, medieval-style!) to Queen Elizabeth I's astrologer with stage-magician energy – and a creepy sidekick who claims angelic permission to bed his boss’s wife – this episode dishes the royal gossip with a side of sorcery.

Expect conjurers, clairvoyants, and chalices promising immortality. We meet John Dee, who mixed mathematics and magic (and questionable life choices), and peer into Queen Victoria’s séance-filled mourning rituals, featuring a moody Scottish manservant who may or may not be possessed by Prince Albert.

And yes, we go full ghost story – haunted bedrooms and spectral jesters.

History gets a magical makeover in this entertaining and insightful journey through fact, folklore, and the royal fondness for the utterly bizarre.

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the only podcast where royal scandal meets fire-breathing lizards. Listen Now!

In this hilarious and history-soaked episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things, Daily Mail columnist Robert Hardman and history wiz Professor Kate Williams team up to explore the very real roots behind the blood-soaked fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.

You’ll learn:

1. Why the dragons in GoT are basically airborne spitfires with scales.
2. How Queen Cersei’s “walk of shame” was inspired by a real-life royal mistress who had a very awkward walk through London in her underwear.
3. Why never to accept a dinner invitation from a Scottish nobleman in the 1400s—especially if a black bull’s head shows up on the table.
4. And why Henry VIII’s Welsh dragon was the ultimate medieval hype beast.

Oh, and if you're learning Welsh on Duolingo, you’ll finally understand why "I am a dragon" is one of the first things you’re taught.

Packed with gory betrayals, royal revenge, scholarly banter, this episode proves once and for all: fantasy isn't that far from fact.

Download. Then maybe don’t RSVP to any mysterious royal feasts for a while.

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What’s the worst Royal blunder of the modern age? Listen to find out!

The Royal's public image is a delicate balance; attempts to entertain or appear modern can be seriously cringe.

Thumbs up for the late Queen Elizabeth II and her James Bond cameo at the Olympic opening ceremony, but two thumbs down for that ultimate pie-in-the-face moment: the 1987 televised game show, "It's a Royal Knockout." 

Who was to blame for the Windsors dressing up for a pantomime gameshow? Why did it go so very wrong? Was it a turning point for the public perception of the Royals?

Professor Kate Williams has a theory … perhaps the Royals could be saved from further blunders by taking a tip from history - employing a Royal Jester! We look back at some of those merrymakers, like ‘Roland the Farter’ (it’s much worse than it sounds!).

However, could a jester really have saved the Royal’s public image from the 101 gaffes of the late Duke of Edinburgh? Some of his jokes were funny, others, these days, would have the Royals cancelled!

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Which Royal blind date ended with the burning of six witches? Listen to find out!

In the second of two episodes, Royal historians Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams explore the often awkward and disastrous Royal first encounters. Discover which king ran from the room, demanding brandy when his blind date was revealed.  However, love is also in the air as Kate and Robert celebrate the truly remarkable and touching story of George III’s marriage.

And there’s also Robert’s confession: the cunning ruse he often used to get himself a date!

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Which aristocratic lady ‘swiped left’ when Henry VIII went looking for a new wife? Listen to find out!

In the first of two episodes, Royal historians Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams look at the highs and lows of Royal first encounters. Welcome to the strange world of regal dating: marriages at first sight, bedding ceremonies, and proxy consummations. Pity the poor teenage girls who dutifully married Kings who were much older - or preferred the company of men in their bedchambers!

But Cupid’s Royal arrows do sometimes find their mark. Kate and Robert reveal that it’s possible for Royals to find ‘true love’.

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Revealing the surprising sex life of Queen Victoria. Listen Now!

A special edition of our podcast in collaboration with History Hit’s Betwixt the Sheets.

Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams team up with author, podcaster and sex historian Kate Lister to explore Queen Victoria’s intimate personal diaries.

They reveal that she enjoyed "heavenly love and happiness" with her husband, Albert, and the "bliss of watching him shave and the joy of him helping her put on her stockings." 

Also discussed, the two enduring myths: Victoria’s ‘sex button’ by her bed that triggered automatic door locking, ensuring privacy during her nights of passion, and Prince Albert’s alleged metal appendage - you know where!

Hosts then broaden their discussion to dual sexual morality of the Victorian Age. Publicly, Victorians promoted a repressed morality, especially the middle classes, contrasting with the notorious Georgians who were more openly sexual. This Victorian attitude fuelled a seedy underworld of pornographic photography and sex work. The strangest phenomenon to arise was the advent of ‘bicycle porn’, women being photograph in their new cycling bloomers. All very shocking.

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames 

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Find out how Edward and Mrs Simpson cosied up to Adolf Hitler. Listen now!

Learn about the fury of the Royal Family and how the couple were shunned, and we reveal that Edward may have advised Hitler to bomb Britain into submission.

The final episode of a three-part deep dive into the controversial relationship between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, examining its impact on the monarchy and revealing the truth behind rumours that both were Nazi sympathisers.

Both historians delve deep into this royal relationship – drawing on extraordinary anecdotal evidence and documents from the National Archives.

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini 

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.