Podcasts · History · Society & Culture
Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things
Daily Mail
121 episodes
Expert history with a wicked twist: Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things is the podcast that goes behind palace doors and beyond the balcony smiles, to uncover the stories that the history books have politely skipped.
More about the show
Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things reveals the schemers, lovers, plotters and even the pets who’ve made the British monarchy the world’s longest-running reality show.
Hosts, Royal biographers Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams trace how power, passion and paranoia have shaped every crown. There are queens who ruled better than their husbands, and princes who partied harder than their people. We meet saints, sinners and those hovering somewhere in between – from the man formerly known as Prince Andrew to the less-vilified Richard III.
Sometimes we get reflective: how monarchy survives scandal, how image-making began long before Instagram, and why royal women have always been the best crisis managers in the room. Other times we’re just here for the gossip: who wore what, who slept where, and who accidentally started a war over breakfast.
Think of it as history with its crown slightly askew. If you like your royal stories with equal parts grandeur and chaos, step into the world of Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things because behind every coronation lies a cover-up, behind every portrait a scandal, and behind every great monarch… a very patient servant wondering how to get the blood out of the carpet.
New episodes out every MONDAY, wherever you get your podcasts.
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Episodes page 1 of 3
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The Great Windsor Fire
How did a builder's lamp, a velvet curtain and a tea break nearly destroy 900 years of royal history? On 20 November 1992, fire broke out at Windsor Castle, turning one of Britain's greatest royal landmarks into an…
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Victoria: Death of an Empress
Queen Victoria: Scandal, and a Funeral Fiasco. What happens when the most powerful Queen in the world dies and even her funeral doesn't go according to plan? Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams bring their…
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Victoria's Secrets
Did Queen Victoria find love again and become more powerful than ever? Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams explore the extraordinary second act of Victoria’s reign: a story of grief, scandal, royal gossip and…
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Victoria in Love
A passionate marriage. Nine children. Assassination attempts, and the monarchy is threatened with a scandal. In the second part of our deep dive into Queen Victoria, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams explore…
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Victoria: The Girl Who Became Queen
Queen Victoria would give her name to an age, but she was never really supposed to be Queen at all. Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams go back to the chaotic royal family of George III and the unexpected death…
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The Countess at Nuremberg
An unusual Royal connection to the Nuremberg Trials that prosecuted members of the Nazi leadership. Eighty years after the trials, we know the names of the Nazi leaders in the dock and the MEN who prosecuted them. But…
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Grace Kelly: Hollywood Princess
Grace Kelly had it all: beauty, an Oscar, Hollywood stardom and a glittering career ahead of her. Then she married a prince. Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams revisit one of the great celebrity fairy tales of…
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The Bayeux Mysteries!
The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most famous works of art in the world: nearly 70 metres of kings, battles, betrayals and bloodshed. But how much of the story it tells can we actually believe? Robert Hardman and…
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The Aragon Girls
We’ve had the Boleyn girls. Now meet the Aragon girls: two sisters born into perhaps the most powerful royal family in Europe, whose lives would take very different but equally extraordinary turns. Robert Hardman and…
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Tudor Season: The Bloody End
Wives, bloodshed, war: the end is approaching for Henry VIII, but England’s most notorious king is not going quietly. In the final part of our epic journey through Henry’s life, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate…
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Tudor Season: Monstrous Henry
Henry VIII finally has his longed-for son. So why isn't he happy? Continuing our Tudor season, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams explore one of the most dramatic chapters of Henry's reign. Within days of Anne…
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Tudor Season: The Queen Killer
He broke with Rome. He defied the Pope. He turned England upside down to marry Anne Boleyn. Just three years later... he sent her to the executioner's block. In this gripping third episode of our Henry VIII series,…
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Tudor Season: Anne Boleyn
One king. One controversial romance. One decision that would change England forever. In the second episode of our Henry VIII series, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams chart the extraordinary rise of Anne…
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Tudor Season: Rise of a Tyrant
Six wives. Beheadings. A tyrant on the throne. You think you know Henry VIII... but that's not where this story begins. In the first episode of our Tudor season, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams go back to…
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Rebel Princess: The Patty Hearst Story
Kidnapped, blindfolded, locked in a cupboard for weeks and then caught on camera during a bank robbery. In the second part of our look at America's closest thing to a royal dynasty, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate…
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The Real Citizen Kane: Inside America's Most Scandalous Castle
America's newspaper magnate who built himself a palace worthy of a king! In this episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams explore the extraordinary world of William…
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America & the Monarchy
What do Royals and hot dogs have in common? Both are part of the most remarkable diplomatic relationships in modern history. In this special Independence Day episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things, Robert…
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The Royal X-Files
A wonderfully strange-but-true episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things with Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams. From a mysterious sighting over Lord Mountbatten's estate at Broadlands to Prince Philip's…
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Secrets of a Stately Home
Secrets hidden behind the walls of one of England's greatest country houses! In this special episode, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams step inside Badminton House with its chatelaine, the Duchess of…
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The Death of Queen Cleopatra
Love and death: Queen Cleopatra, Mark Antony, and the truth about that asp. In this second episode on Cleopatra, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams follow the Egyptian queen through the final and most famous…
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Queen Cleopatra: Her Rise to Power
The Queen who captivated Rome and changed the course of ancient history: Cleopatra. In this episode, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams begin a two-part exploration of Cleopatra, separating the woman from the…
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The Fall of Roman Britain
Celebrating the extraordinary Roman legacy that continues to shape Britain. In this episode, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams explore the final centuries of Roman Britain, from the construction of Hadrian’s…
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Boudicca: Britain's Warrior Queen
Celebrating Britain’s warrior queen who led a revolt against Rome. In this episode, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams examine the uprising of Boudicca in AD 60–61 — why it began, how it unfolded, and what it…
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Julius Caesar's British Invasions
Did Julius Caesar really conquer Britain — or did he simply say he did? In this opening chapter of our Romans in Britain trilogy, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams step back to the edge of the known world:…
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Queen Catherine Howard: Vixen or Victim?
Henry VIII’s fifth wife - was she a reckless flirt or a tragic pawn in Tudor history? In this episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things, Professor Kate Williams is joined by the brilliant historian Professor…
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Queen Elizabeth and Sir David Attenborough: Global Pioneers
Frogs, foxes, fossils—and four generations of royalty. In part two of this special celebration, we continue our exploration of the remarkable parallel lives of Queen Elizabeth II and Sir David Attenborough—two figures…
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Queen Elizabeth and Sir David Attenborough: A Royal Friendship
What do Queen Elizabeth II and Sir David Attenborough have in common? More than you might imagine. In this third episode, celebrating the Centenary of Queen Elizabeth, we explore the remarkable parallel lives of two…
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Elizabeth II: The Inside Story (Part 2)
What made Queen Elizabeth II smile? In this special centenary episode, we look back at some of the happiest moments in the life of Queen Elizabeth II — the flashes of humour, the unexpected freedoms, and the small,…
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Elizabeth II: The Inside Story (Part 1)
Celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s life - her character, the scary look she gave those who displeased her, and what President Trump really thought about her majesty. It’s a packed first episode of a mini series of…
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Elizabeth I: Love & Death (Part 3)
When you receive more than twenty-six proposals from Europe’s most powerful men, why should you refuse them all? In this final episode of our trilogy on Elizabeth I, we step into the most personal — and most…
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Elizabeth I: Warrior (Part 2)
When the most powerful empire in Europe sends an Armada to invade your country, what do you do? In this episode of our trilogy on Elizabeth I, we reach the moment everyone associates with England’s most famous queen:…
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Elizabeth I: Survivor (Part 1)
She was born a princess and declared a bastard before she could walk. In this episode, we go back to the beginning of Elizabeth I: a child of extraordinary promise, born into splendour, then cast into uncertainty by…
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Hamnet: The Truth Behind The Oscar-Winner
Shakespeare, Hollywood, the Oscars, the plague, and a little boy called Hamnet. In this episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams are joined by historian Alice Loxton to…
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The Kennedy Curse - Part 3
The Kennedy Curse didn't end with the assassination of JFK - far from it! In this final episode of our Kennedy trilogy, we ask what happened after Camelot fell. With John F. Kennedy gone and Robert Kennedy gunned down…
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The Kennedy Curse - Part 2
The assassination of JFK - an unforgettable moment in a changing and volatile world: the Berlin Wall rising, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and then came the shocking events of Dallas. In this second of three special…
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The Kennedy Curse - Part 1
JFK’s assassination, plane crashes, scandals, and untimely deaths. Is there really such a thing as a Kennedy curse? In this first of three special episodes, we go back to the beginning — to the making of a dynasty,…
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Royal Love: The Gaveston Affair
For Valentine’s Day, Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things goes full royal romance-with-a-body-count. Robert Hardman and Prof Kate Williams delve into the whispered love story of Edward II and his dazzling courtier, Piers…
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The Royal Vampire
Welcome to royal history with bite. In this episode of Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams head east to Transylvania to unravel one of the strangest threads in modern royal…
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The Last King of America - Part 3
Royals, hot dogs, Hollywood, and the making of the “special relationship” Robert and Kate conclude their deep dive into Britain and America’s long and complicated partnership. Joined once again by historian,…
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The Last King of America - Part 2
Revolution, the American divorce, and the true history of the sandwich! Robert and Kate return to the American War of Independence as the story moves beyond declarations and slogans, and into the long, uncertain…
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The Last King of America - Part 1
Celebrating the 250th anniversary of American Independence - unfolding the momentous history. Robert and Kate kick off a three-part deep dive into one of history’s significant break-ups: how George III went from being…
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Eleanor: England's Lost Queen
Love, loss, and a queen who deserves to be famous again. This week, Kate is joined by historian and broadcaster Alice Loxton, whose new book follows a wonderfully bonkers idea: walking 200 miles in December to retrace…
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The Royal Pantomime
Behind every coronation, balcony wave and solemn procession lies a simple truth: royalty is theatre. In this sparkling, story-packed episode of Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate…
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What's So Royal about Christmas?
A seasonal cracker from the podcast that loves Royals and history - listen now. In this special edition of Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams unwrap the surprisingly rich, and…
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Wars of the Roses: Rise of the Tudors (Part 2)
The real-life Game of Thrones continues - listen now. In the second part of our deep dive into the Wars of the Roses, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams pick up the story at England’s bloodiest moment: the…
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Wars of the Roses: The Fighting Begins (Part 1)
The Wars of the Roses is the real-life Game of Thrones - the conflict that inspired George R. R. Martin’s world of rival houses, contested thrones, formidable queens, and sudden, shocking reversals of fortune. But…
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The Execution of Anne Boleyn
A queen knelt, a sword flashed, a dynasty shifted. This episode looks at how and why the execution of Henry VIII’s second wife became one of the most iconic, mesmerising moments in British history. Professor Kate…
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Royals in Crisis: The Diana Years - Part Three
What is Princess Diana’s legacy? In our final episode on the Princess of Wales’s life, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams pick up the story at the turning point: the Royal separation that launched the most…
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Royals in Crisis: The Diana Years - Part Two
The fairytale is starting to fall apart ... In the second part of our Diana deep dive, Kate Williams and Robert Hardman pick up the story just after that balcony kiss, and follow the new Princess of Wales through the…
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Royals in Crisis: The Diana Years - Part One
The first episode in our deep-dive exploration of the most influential figures in modern royal history - Diana, Princess of Wales. It begins as the greatest love story of the age: a shy nursery assistant, a lonely…
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