Noble Blood

The rivalry between Mary, Queen of Scots, and Queen Elizabeth I is stuff of legends: neighboring queens, cousins, opposites, and deadly opponents. [Support Noble Blood on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/noblebloodtales. Noble Blood merch is available here: https://store.dftba.com/collections/noble-blood] Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vincenzo Gonzaga's first marriage ended in a humiliating divorce by non-consummation,. His next set of would-be in-laws wanted to make sure the same problem wouldn't happen twice, and so the Vatican was called in to help orchestrate a public trial for Gonzaga to undertake. Turns out there was nothing simple about sex and masculinity in Renaissance Italy. [Side note: I wrote a book! It's a gothic love story about 19th century Edinburgh, and you can pre-order here: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/anatomy-a-love-story/ ] Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A bisexual, sword-fighting, opera-singing, 17th century arsonist... no wonder there are so many stories about her. [Side note: I wrote a book! It's a gothic love story about 19th century Edinburgh, and you can pre-order here: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/anatomy-a-love-story/] Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Mary rode into London to claim her crown, she was met with celebration the likes of which had never been seen before in the city streets. Five years later, at the end of her reign, she was a hated figure. Today, she's known as Bloody Mary. [Side note: You can pre-order ANATOMY: A LOVE STORY here! https://read.macmillan.com/lp/anatomy-a-love-story/] Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The oldest daughter of Henry VIII, Mary Tudor, is commonly known today as "Bloody Mary" for her persecution of Protestants in England during her reign as queen. But as a young woman, she was a girl whose life was ripped out from under her when her father declared that she was no longer a princess. [Side note: I wrote a book! It's a gothic love story about 19th century Edinburgh, and you can pre-order here: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/anatomy-a-love-story/] Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christina of Sweden is one of the most compelling figures of the 17th century, a queer Catholic convert who rejected social norms and stepped down as a monarch to live a life completely on her own terms. [Side note: my novel, ANATOMY: A LOVE STORY is available for pre-order at read.macmillan.com/lp/anatomy-a-love-story] Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For our 50th (!) episode, Noble Blood is tackling historical rumors: "Let them eat cake," Elizabeth I being a man, the lost dauphin of France, and....... *that* rumor about Catherine the Great. [Side note: I wrote a book!!!! It's a novel about a 19th century surgeon and body snatcher, and you can pre-order it here: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/anatomy-a-love-story/] Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In American history books, King George III is painted as the despotic villain keeping us from our independence. That he was "mad," then, makes perfect sense. But in reality, his madness was a sad coda to a long reign, a tragic untreated illness that left him completely alone. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Chevalier d'Éon was a diplomat, spy, traitor, and international celebrity. She's also sometimes regarded as one of the most prominent transgender figures in European history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catherine the Great's son, Paul I, idolized his deceased father Peter III and resented his powerful mother. Unfortunately for him, when he finally became Tsar, he would learn that wielding power isn't as easy as it looks. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.