Through most of history, monarchs selected wives for their royal blood and political significance. Women they actually liked and were attracted to were relegated to being mere mistresses. These women were usually local aristocrats or even commoners who would not be considered contenders to be consort. The majority of monarchs had mistresses and their wives usually looked the other way, safe in the knowledge that their place as Queen could never be usurped. But a number of royal courtesan did come to wield great power. In a past episode we met 8 royal mistresses who beat the odds and succeeded in become Queen. Today let’s meet another 8 lovely ladies who came so close, but because of ruined romances, royal family resentment, or early death, just barely missed out on the crown...

Krystyna Rokiczana, Almost Queen of Poland (1365)

Gabrielle d’Estrées Almost Queen of France (1573-1599)

Catherine Henriette de Balzac d’Entragues, Almost Queen of France (1579-1633)

Françoise d’Aubigné, Almost Queen of France (1634-1719)

Marie Emilie de Joly de Choin Almost Queen of France (1670-1732)

Rosa Vercellana, Almost Queen of Italy (1833-1885)

Catherine Dolgorukov, Almost Tsarina of Russia (1847-1922)

Wallis Simpson, Almost Queen of UK (1896-1986)

Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History!

Check out my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/lindsayholiday

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Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell

Music: Butterflies in Love by Sir Cubworth

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Through most of history, Kings selected wives for their royal blood and political significance. Women they actually liked and were attracted to were relegated to being mere mistresses. These women were usually local aristocrats or even commoners who would not be considered contenders to be consort. The majority of monarchs had mistresses and their wives usually looked the other way, safe in the knowledge that their place as Queen could never be usurped. But a number of royal courtesan did come to wield great power. And on a few, incredibly rare occasions the stars to aligned to put the King’s lover on the throne. Let’s meet 8 royal mistresses who successfully became Queens.

Inês de Castro Posthumous Queen of Portugal

Christina Abrahamsdotter, Queen of Sweden

Anne Boleyn, Queen of England

Jane Seymour, Queen of England

Catherine Howard, Queen of England

Karin Månsdotter, Queen of Sweden

Catherine I, Empress of Russia

Camilla Shand, Queen of the UK & Commonwealth Realms

Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History!

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Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell

Music: Butterflies in Love by Sir Cubworth

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Disney Princess Moana may voyage across a fantasy version of the Pacific ocean, and represent an amalgamation of several islands’ cultures. But she is based on many real-life women who have led their people with courage, strength and compassion. From a 13th century Queen of Samoa who protected her people and was revered as a Goddess, to the 27 year old woman who was crowned Queen of the Māori in September 2024. Let’s meet X inspiring real-life Queens from the Pacific Islands.

Nafanua, Queen of Samoa (1200s)

Purea, Queen of Tahiti (1722.-1775)

Vaekehu, Queen of Nuku Hiva (1823–1901)

Lili’uokalani, Queen of Hawai’i (1838-1917)

Makea Takau Ariki, Queen of the Cook Islands (1839–1911)

Sālote Tupou III, Queen of Tonga (1900-1965)

Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō, Queen of the Māori (1997)

Sources:

“Women of Power” documentary from TheCoconetTV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibQdMfuPYc

Moana 2

Wikipedia

Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History!

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Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell

Music: Ukulele Beach by Doug Maxwell

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Ridley Scott’s epic historical sequel, Gladiator II promises to be a dramatic and spectacular, if not particularly historically accurate roller-coaster ride through the Roman Empire. And while there are already some excellent videos out there discussing the authenticity of the battle scenes, dramatic deaths and exactly which era saw the flooding of the Colosseum, I want to take a look at something different – the cast of characters and their real historic counterparts. Today let’s explore the family trees which connect the key players, sort out who was real and who was fictional, meet a few fascinating women who did more than wait around to be rescued, and discover everyone’s true fates, which are even more dramatic than Hollywood could come up with. Caution, there will be some spoilers, but I won’t give away the ending of the new film, only what really happened in history.

Gladiator I :

Marcus Aurelius

Commodus

The Year of Five Emperors - 193

Pertinax

Didius Julianus

Pescennius Niger

Clodius Albinus

Septimius Severus

Gladiator II:

Caracalla and Geta

Macrinus

Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History!

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Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell

Music: Dragon Rojo by The Mini Vandals

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The deliciously witty drama series ‘The Great’ tells the occasionally true story of Catherine II, Empress of Russia. It’s a wonderful example of why historic dramas should be taken as entertainment, not a history lesson. While playing fast and loose with history it actually sanitizes a lot of the scandal in her life by transforming Peter into a romantic antihero and making Catherine fall in love with him. In reality Catherine didn’t keep Peter around for a ‘will they, won’t they’ Hollywood romance. Her lover promptly strangled him in prison. Catherine the Great knew how to use her charm and sexuality, the only tools available to a woman of her time, both for her own advancement and her own pleasure. And while I love the great, it so far only captures a fraction of her true greatness. So let’s take a peek inside the imperial boudoir and get to know the Empress, her twisted relationship with Peter and her many lovers a little more intimately. And we’ll address that horrid rumor about the horse.

Sergei Saltykov

Stanislaw Poniatowski

Grigory Orlov

Alexander Vasilchikov

Grigory Potemkin

Pyotr Zavadovsky

Semyon Zorich

Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov

Alexander Lanskoy

Alexander Yermolov

Alexander Dmitriev-Mamonov

Platon Zubov

Plus Peter’s Mistress, Elizaveta Vorontsova

Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History!

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Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell

Music: Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

#HistoryTeaTime #LindsayHoliday

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Who were the first 10 non-royal women elected or appointed to be Head of State (President) or Head of Government (Prime Minister)?

1. Khertek Anchimaa-Toka, Chair of the Presidium of Little Khural of the Tuvan People’s Republic 1940

2. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Ceylon 1960

3. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India 1966

4. Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel 1969

5. Isabel Perón, President of Argentina 1974

6. Elisabeth Domitien, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic 1975

7. Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the UK 1979

8. Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo, Prime Minister of Portugal 1979

9. Lidia Gueiler Tejada, President of Bolivia 1979

10. Eugenia Charles, Prime Minister of Dominica 1980

Plus:

2. 10 Longest Serving Women Leaders

3. Why it's taken so long

4. Nations with the most (and no) women leaders

5. Women Leaders and happiness

6. Historic trends in women's leadership

Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History!

Check out my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/lindsayholiday

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Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell

Music: Butterflies in Love by Sir Cubworth

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The public loves a good story about the salacious private lives of the rich and famous. And royals often really did get up to some jaw-dropping behaviors. But sometimes a grain of rumor can be so enthralling that it snowballs into an unshakable myth. If you ask the average person what they know about Catherine the Great they are likely to say “Isn’t she the one who was crushed under a horse?” Many are still convinced that Queen Elizabeth I was really a man. And Marie Antionette will forever be linked with the misquote “Let them eat cake!” Today let’s explore 10 commonly believed myths about historic royals, examine how the rumors got started and separate what is gospel from what is just gossip.

1. Anne Boleyn was a Witch with 6 Fingers
2. Mary I was Bloody Mary
3. Elizabeth I was actually a Man
4. Queen Juana was Loca
5. Marie Antoinette said “Let Them Eat Cake”
6. Catherine the Great Loved Horse, Literally
7. Napoleon told Josephine “I will return in three days. Don’t wash!”
8. Prince Albert had a Prince Albert Piercing
9. Prince Albert Victor was really Jack the Ripper
10. Elizabeth II had 4 cocktails a day

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Check out my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/lindsayholiday

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Please consider supporting me at https://www.patreon.com/LindsayHoliday and help me make more fascinating episodes!

Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell

Music: Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303 Artist: http://incompetech.com/#HistoryTeaTime #LindsayHoliday

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Happy Halloween, Boils and Ghouls! One of the few things I enjoy as much as Halloween are fascinating random facts from history and pop culture! So I’m resurrecting one of my favorite series, Fun Sized Spooks! These 10 episodes are each as short and sweet and Trick r Treat candy! Today’s plastic pumpkin full with explore spooky topics from pop culture, including the tragic celebrities of the 27 club, the story behind hit song, The Monster Mash, and my 3 favorite femme fatals, Vampire, Morticia and Elvira! So dim the lights, light some candles and enjoy! 

Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History!

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Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell

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Fun Sized Spooks: Historic Spooks!

Happy Halloween, Boils and Ghouls! One of the few things I enjoy as much as Halloween are fascinating random facts from history and pop culture! So I’m resurrecting one of my favorite series, Fun Sized Spooks! These 10 episodes are each as short and sweet and Trick r Treat candy! Today’s plastic pumpkin full with explore spooky topics from history, including Davy Jone’s locker, Japanese Vampire lore and Cats through the ages. So dim the lights, light some candles and enjoy! 

Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History!

Check out my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/lindsayholiday

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Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell

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When infidelity, early death, suicide, or murder strike a royal family, they are not just tragedies, they can be national or even global catastrophes. And when repeated calamities strike a dynasty generation after generation, legends of long ago curses are bound to be unearthed. From a witch poisoning the love lives of 800 years of Princes, to supernatural ravens forewarning early deaths. From a grief-striken mother cursing a young emperor to a life of tragic losses, to spilled milk dooming a dynasty to a massacre after 10 generations. Let’s explore 4 royal curses from history which actually seem to have come true.

1. The Princes of Monaco, Cursed in Marriage

2. The Habsburgs, Curse of the Ravens

3. Emperor Franz Joseph, Karolyi Curse

4. The Shahs of Nepal, Cursed for 10 Generations

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Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell

Music: From Russia with Love by Huma-Huma

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#HistoryTeaTime #LindsayHoliday

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Register to Vote & see your local ballot here: https://www.vote.org/

The ability to decide when or if we have children has been an essential human struggle for all of recorded history. Some may believe that abortion is a modern phenomenon. But people have been finding ways to end unwanted pregnancies for thousands of years. And ancient people were often more accepting of it than we are today. From an herb in ancient Greece that was so popular it went extinct, to medieval Popes who argued for women’s rights. From a plan B recipe published by an American founding father, to the horrifying measures desperate women without access to legal care have resorted to. Today we will explore the history of abortion. What’s more, we’ll take a wider view on times throughout history when governments attempted to control their people through reproductions, including in Nazi Germany, Communist Romania and China, and in the United States. Fair warning: this episode will deal with many difficult and dark chapters in history. Please do not take any of this information as medical advice.

Sources:

Susan Klepp, Revolutionary Conceptions: Women, Fertility, and Family Limitation in America, 1760-1820. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 2009.

Professor Leslie J. Reagan from the University of Illinois, author of ‘When Abortion Was a Crime’. Conversation with Dr. Kate Lister on Podcast Betwixt the sheets.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_abortion

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/03/25/what-the-data-says-about-abortion-in-the-us/

Sawboned History of Abortion: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3kdwVt7V3S1xUYQbDmR0s1

Join me every Tuesday when I'm Spilling the Tea on History!

Check out my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/lindsayholiday

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Intro Music: Baroque Coffee House by Doug Maxwell

Music: Dream Of The Ancestor by Asher Fulero

#HistoryTeaTime #LindsayHoliday

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