Trashy Royals

While Rome expanded its reach across Europe and onto the isles of Britannia, not everyone was on board with domination from a distant bureaucracy. Rebellions and uprisings in Roman-held territory were not particularly uncommon, but a series of missteps by Roman governors in what is now the United Kingdom amounted to a series of costly own-goals.

After Caligula’s successor, Claudius, gained a foothold in Britain in AD 43, his armies were forced to put down an uprising four years later, which likely laid the groundwork for a bloody insurgency that nearly cost Rome its entire occupation in AD 60 or 61.

Who was the fierce commander who set the legions of Rome on their heels? It was Boudica of the Iceni, a once Rome-friendly Queen of her people who became an icon of the fury of a woman pushed too far, and a keystone of the modern UK’s national identity.

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Imagine being so destructive, and so capricious in your violence and sadism, that even two thousand years after you shake off your mortal coil, your childhood nickname still evokes wickedness, wantonness, and profound corruption among all who hear it.

Welcome to Trashy Royals, friends, where we begin with Rome’s third emperor – and among its most notorious – Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, known to his parents as Caligula (“Little Boots” in their native tongue).

Caligula’s path to Roman Emperor was bloody and twisted, with his family murdered or exiled by Emperor Tiberius, who in turn became something of a sadism teacher to his receptive student. History is replete with examples of poor rulers and bad people, but few figures combine the worst of both as shockingly as Caligula.

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New from the team at Hemlock Creatives, Alicia and Stacie (Trashy Divorces) turn their jaded eyes toward the long history of Our Betters, only to find that they, too, are raging dumpster fires. Weekly episodes begin May 4 - subscribe now and never miss the trashcandy!

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