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Noble Blood
iHeartPodcasts and Grim & Mild · History
Author Dana Schwartz explores the stories of some of history’s most fascinating royals: the tyrants and the tragic, the murderers and the murdered, and everyone in between. Because when you’re wearing a crown, mistakes often mean blood.
More from this show
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The Scottish Podcast
Double, double, toil and trouble... Almost everyone has heard of Macbeth, in the context of Shakespeare's famous play. But Macbeth was also a real king, and Shakespeare wrote about him for a very specific reason. Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Order…
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The Secret Lives of Snape Wives [from Very Special Episodes]
Plenty of Harry Potter fans love Severus Snape. A few truly worshipped him. In the early 2000s, these fans found each other online and came to believe Harry’s least favorite professor was real. A god in an alternate universe that bled into our own. Nothing in the world could shake their devotion to Snape. Until their…
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Introducing: Midnight Radio, A New Horror Fiction Podcast from Ethan Hawke
Hi, Noble Blood listeners! We're excited to share with you a sneak peek at iHeartPodcasts' latest release, Midnight Radio! Midnight Radio: Starring five-time Academy Award®-nominee Ethan Hawke as “The Radio Man,” MIDNIGHT RADIO is a new, fantastical horror podcast. Told in real-time through the lens of a cult-favorite…
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Three Henrys Walk into a War...
When the childless King Henry III's brother died, the heir to the throne became a cousin from the Bourbon dynasty. There was only one problem: he wasn't Catholic. Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Order Dana's book, ' Anatomy: A Love Story ' and its…
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The Clothes that Make the Queen (with Kate Strasdin)
How does a queen show her power through her clothing? In her book DRESSING THE QUEEN, historian Kate Strasdin traces two hundred years of the most important garments that a royal can wear. Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Order Dana's book, ' Anatomy: A…
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Betrayal and a Tudor in Scotland
When she was still a child, Margaret Tudor, sister of the future King Henry VIII, was married to the King of Scotland. But it wouldn't be until her husband's death that Margaret would face the greatest challenges of her life during her regency. Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus episodes, stickers…
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The Last Plantagenets
During Henry VIII's reign, his dynasty was looking shaky: he had only one son, and if Henry died before his heir came of age, the country would be in danger of a civil war. Worse, there were still heirs to the York family in England, possibly plotting against him... Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' —…
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The Woman of Canossa Castle
In 1077, the King of Germany and future Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV walked barefoot in the snow and waited three days outside of Canossa Castle. He had been excommunicated by the Pope and was hoping to appeal to the Pope's sense of forgiveness. But the Pope was only at Canossa Castle himself because he was being…
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Anne and Religion Askew
In the reign of Henry VIII, religion in England became a minefield of confusing and shifting doctrine. Anne Askew, the daughter of a well-connected courtier, preached her interpretation of the Bible. Her punishment was more a matter of politics than of doctrine. Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus…
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A Ploughman's 'Uprising' (with Dan Jones)
In the new film Uprising, a ploughman played by Andrew Garfield joins in the 1381 Peasants' Revolt against Richard II of England. Historian Dan Jones served as the medieval consultant on the film, and joins us to discuss the movie, and his upcoming book, CASTLES. Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus…
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"The Apple is Ripe; Pick It Now Or It Will Rot"
Leopoldina married into the royal family of Portugal, which meant moving to Brazil with her husband. But civil war was bubbling on both sides of the Atlantic, and while her husband was out of town and Leopoldina was serving as Princess Regent, she would be faced with making a fateful decision that would define the…
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Lord Kitchener Wants You!
The image of Uncle Sam saying "I Want You!" is one of the most famous poster designs in the world... but it was a copycat of a British original. Their version didn't feature a fictional mascot, but a very real, very living man. Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on…
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Frances Duff's Jamaican Inheritance
When Frances was a child, her mother went before the Assembly to petition that she be legally classified as "white." Frances would go on to become a wealthy heiress, and marry into the British aristocracy, but the cost would be engaging with the very system of slavery and discrimination that subjugated her mother and…
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The Surreal Life of Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiapparelli was the founder of a fashion house which has become known for its sometimes outrageous, always glamorous designs. But beyond fashion, her transatlantic life would involve a conman and an FBI investigation as she tried to use her inflfuential and famous friends to bolster her success through the…
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The Tudor Villainess
She has been called "the most hated woman in Tudor England." Jane Boleyn, sister-in-law to Anne, served five queens. Two of them were beheaded. How much was her fault? Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Order Dana's book, ' Anatomy: A Love Story ' and its…
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The House of Boleyn (with Tracy Borman)
Where does a woman go when a King is wooing her and won't stop? Dana speaks with Chief Historian of Historic Royal Palaces, Tracy Borman, about her newest historical fiction novel, THE HOUSE OF BOLEYN. Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Order Dana's book…
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The King for a Day
In December of 1586, the King of Poland died suddenly and without an obvious successor. King was an elected position, and the noblemen bickered and tried to advance their own agendas, to no avail. It was a complete standsill. They needed an unbiased third party to be a temporary king. It's a romantic story of a…
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Wyatt and Elizabeth in Revolt
Queen Mary I's decision to marry a foreign prince turned people against her. Some were so against her they planned an uprising to overthrow her in favor of her half-sister, Elizabeth. But how much did Elizabeth know? And when she was imprisoned in the Tower of London, how much evidence of her treason would be…
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How to Start a Monarchy from Scratch (Part 2)
The British Monarchy were using the divisions of the Māori people against them. And so, some Māori thought that what they needed to face off against a monarch.... was a monarch of their own. Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Order Dana's book, ' Anatomy…
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How to Start a Monarchy from Scratch (Part 1)
Eventually, Te Wherowhero would become the first Māori king. But decades before that, he would face off against rival tribes, proving his leadership ability and bravery in the face of an enemy coming right at him. Support Noble Blood: —PRE-ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon —…
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Countess of the Demimonde
At the dawn of La Belle Epoch in Paris, a trans woman who became known as "The Countess" would journey from ballrooms to prison and back, a key figure in queer history who wrote her own autobiography to tell readers exactly how strange and dazzling the experiences of her life were. Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE…
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The Chloroform Baronet (Part 2)
In 1847, James Young Simpson successfully used chloroform for the first time to help in childbirth. But the anesthetic was still controversial and dangerous, which made it all the more risky when Simpson was faced with a royal patient: Queen Victoria. Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus episodes…
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The Chloroform Baronet (Part 1)
James Young Simpson, as a young surgeon, was distraught at the seemingly inescapable pain and fear that patients were suffering. He decided to try to find a better solution. Support Noble Blood: —ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and…
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Napoleon's Forgotten Wife
When Josphine failed to produce heirs, Napoleon secured a divorce and arranged for another marriage: to the 18-year-old daughter of the Emperor of Austria. Young Marie-Louise arrived in Paris and, to her surprise, found herself enchanted by her new husband. But Napoleon's Empire was crumbling, and it was…
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When the Kennedeys met the Windsors (with Caroline Hallemann)
Two families captivated the 20th century: the Kennedy clan in America, and the Windsors, the royal family of the UK. Both faced the tribulations of fame and power, and the challenges of the 21st century media. Dana spoke about the parallel dynasties with Caroline Hallemann, author of the upcoming book The Kennedys and…
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Kaspar Hauser Came to Town
In 1826, a young man stumbled into town with limited language and a mysterious past: he revealed that he had spent his life in isolation, in a single room with no human interaction. Was he telling the truth? And if he was... was it possible that he might actually be a missing royal prince? Support Noble Blood…
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The Mind of Émilie du Châtelet (Part 2)
Part two of our episode on Émilie du Châtelet, the brilliant female mathematician and physicist who helped to redefine our understanding of how the world works.. Support Noble Blood: —PRE-ORDER 'THE ARCANE ARTS' — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its…
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The Mind of Émilie du Châtelet (Part 1)
History has often reduced the brilliant mathematician and physicist Émilie du Châtelet to her relationship with a famous man (Voltaire). But she was a fascinating figure in her own right, an 18th century polymath at the forefront of conversations about how the world worked. Support Noble Blood: —PRE-ORDER ' THE ARCANE…
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The Virgin and Thomas Seymour
When the future Queen Elizabeth I was just 13 years old, she was living with Catherine Parr, who remarried after the death of Henry VIII. Catherine's new husband was handsome and charming, but he was also someone who would threaten scandal. A scandal that could cost Elizabeth's future. Support Noble Blood: —PRE-ORDER…
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The Mad Baron in Mongolia (Part 2)
For eight months, Roman von Ungern-Sternberg took control of the capital of Mongolia, in a campaign that was less about international politics and more about his own warped sense of purpose. Support Noble Blood: —PRE-ORDER ' THE ARCANE ARTS ' — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Order Dana's book, '…
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