0:00

Welcome. To Rex that. Hello

0:11

and welcome to Wreck Site to Were

0:13

Today Will not be reviewing any of

0:15

the Queen and Prince Councils of England.

0:17

I'm currently preparing my notes for Prince

0:20

Albert, but we're having a bit of

0:22

a break over the Easter holidays. That

0:24

will be another couple of weeks before

0:26

we do get on to him. In

0:28

the meantime, we're doing a feat swap

0:30

with the History Daily Podcast co production

0:32

from Airship Noise or so Feet Swap

0:34

is where to podcast do a swap.

0:36

As it says under basically play each

0:38

other's episodes on their own feeds. So

0:40

they've played. One of our episodes on their

0:42

feet and we aren't doing the same in

0:45

return. As the title implies, History Daily comes

0:47

out each day weekday, and the host, Lindsey

0:49

Graham, takes you back in time to explore

0:51

a momentous event that happened on that day

0:53

in history. The events

0:55

cover a vast range of topics,

0:58

periods and places from famous battles,

1:00

kings and queens to medicine, sport

1:02

fashion. So episodes on Julius Caesar,

1:04

Crossing the Rubicon, First Flight of

1:06

The Wright Brothers, The Execution of

1:08

Louis The Sixteenth, Beatlemania Hitting America,

1:10

The Birth of Microsoft, Trial of

1:12

Galileo, Tianamen Square Massacre Publication Lord

1:15

of the Rings won't rally anything.

1:17

Basically something for everyone. The episodes

1:19

and nice and short on like

1:21

are podcasts about fifteen minutes long,

1:23

very atmospheric so some. Judicious use

1:25

of sound effects of a complementary music and

1:27

excellent narration from Lindsay that really places you

1:30

in the historical moment. See, really feel like

1:32

the moment is happening there and then and

1:34

you're getting the context for it as I

1:36

was well worth checking out of. You haven't

1:38

listened to already and as the upset nice

1:41

and short wake and share to have their

1:43

episodes with you today, both of which are

1:45

very much in our We'll house. So we're

1:47

starting off with the first episode from the

1:49

History Daily Podcast on the twenty Fourth of

1:52

January. Fifteen, Thirty six were Henry the Eighth

1:54

suffers a just. an accident that will

1:56

have a significant impact on his reign

1:58

and personality It's

2:10

January 24, 1536,

2:13

in a jousting field at Greenwich Palace on the

2:15

banks of the River Thames near London. At

2:18

one end of the jousting yard, the

2:20

King of England, Henry VIII, sits to

2:22

stride his horse facing his challenger. The

2:25

full body armor of both man and

2:27

beast glints silver under a cold gray

2:29

sky. Crowd

2:32

goes wild as Henry raises his lance. Their

2:35

king is nearly ready to charge. After

2:38

more than a century of fighting over the English

2:40

throne, the country is united under

2:42

the reign of Henry's family, the

2:45

Tudors. Henry is a

2:47

popular ruler, a hero of the times.

2:49

He's handsome, witty, and wise. A

2:52

rider and lover of music and

2:54

poetry, he's also a keen sportsman,

2:57

accomplished at tennis, archery, hunting, wrestling,

2:59

and his favorite sport, jousting. Henry

3:02

urges his horse forward as his opponent does

3:04

the same. Their homes send

3:06

mud flying as they gather speed. Henry

3:09

and his opponent close in, and each tightens the

3:11

grip on their lances and braids for him. But

3:15

the force of the contact hitting Henry is

3:17

so great that both horse and rider lose

3:19

their balance. Henry's head

3:21

thumps sickeningly against the ground, and then

3:23

his horse lands on top of him.

3:26

King Henry suffers a nasty wound to the

3:29

leg, and a blow to the head leaves

3:31

him unconscious for two hours. He's

3:33

had two other serious head injuries recently.

3:36

One when he was struck above the eye at

3:38

another jousting tournament, the other when he was knocked

3:41

out after his pole snapped while vaulting a brook.

3:44

Those accidents left him with headaches. But

3:46

this injury, on January 24th, 1536, will

3:50

change the life of the popular English

3:52

monarch forever. For

4:00

Noiser and Airship, I'm Lindsey Grant and

4:03

this is History Daily. History

4:21

is made every day. On this

4:23

podcast every day, we tell the true stories

4:25

of the people and events that shaped our world.

4:28

Today is January 24th, the

4:31

accident that changed King Henry VIII. At

4:37

Hampton Court Palace, only a couple of

4:39

hours after Henry's accident, King Henry's wife,

4:41

Anne Boleyn, knows something is wrong as

4:43

the Duke of Norfolk steps into the

4:46

room. Seeing the worried

4:48

look on his face, Anne's hand flies

4:50

protectively to her pregnant belly, fearful

4:52

for the father of her unborn child. The

4:55

Duke tells Anne that Henry is unconscious and

4:57

will likely die. Anne

4:59

feels a sharp pain and doubles over in

5:01

agony. Anne is Henry's

5:03

second wife. Henry married her

5:05

three years ago without the blessing of the

5:08

Pope in Rome, who would not grant him

5:10

a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of

5:12

Aragon. Henry thought his

5:14

marriage to Catherine was cursed because she had

5:16

produced only a daughter and Henry was desperate

5:18

for a male heir. So

5:20

with the help of his friend and

5:22

advisor Thomas Cromwell, Henry broke England's ties

5:25

with a Roman Catholic church. He

5:27

declared himself supreme head of the Church

5:29

of England, leaving him free to divorce

5:32

Catherine. But Anne too

5:34

gave birth to a girl, Elizabeth. Still

5:37

the royal couple were full of hope that her

5:39

current pregnancy would provide a male heir, and

5:42

indeed the child in her belly is a boy. But

5:44

now, learning that her husband may die, Anne

5:47

is so shocked that she missed hers. When

5:50

Henry recovers from his accident, he will

5:52

not comfort Anne over the loss of

5:54

their child. He will do just the opposite. In

5:59

early May, Four months after Henry's

6:01

accident and Anne's miscarriage, Anne

6:03

is sent to appear before the Privy Council at

6:05

Greenwich Palace by order of the King. Anne

6:09

tries to hide her shaking hands as the

6:11

members of the council accuse her of adultery

6:13

and incest, crimes that carry a

6:15

penalty of death. Anne

6:17

denies all the charges, but she sees their

6:19

minds are already made up. She

6:21

barely notices the grip of the guards as they

6:24

bundle her onto the barge that will carry her

6:26

down the River Thames to where she will be

6:28

locked away in the Tower of London. Two

6:31

weeks later, on May 19,

6:34

1536, Anne will be convicted of treason and her

6:36

marriage to Henry will be annulled. That

6:38

same day she will be beheaded at the Tower

6:41

of London in front of a crowd of onlookers.

6:43

The only kindness Henry will show is

6:45

to order that Anne's execution, the

6:48

first public execution of an English Queen,

6:50

be carried out by sword, a swifter

6:53

and often cleaner alternative to the acts.

6:59

It's October 1536 at Hampton

7:01

Court Palace, nine months after

7:03

Henry's accident. Jane Seymour,

7:05

Henry's third wife, falls to her knees in

7:08

front of her husband to make an impassioned

7:10

plea. Henry is in

7:12

a good mood, laughing and joking, and she

7:14

believes now is the time to champion the

7:16

cause of her fellow Catholics. Henry

7:19

married Jane 11 days after Anne

7:21

was executed. She's a peaceful,

7:23

gentle woman and a Catholic, but

7:25

since Henry split with the Pope, he's

7:28

been ruthlessly dismantling Roman Catholic monasteries and

7:30

churches with the help of his advisor,

7:32

Thomas Cromwell. But now a

7:35

series of riots has spread across the

7:37

north of England as rebels demand the

7:39

King restore the Catholic Church and remove

7:41

Cromwell from power. Henry

7:43

is enraged. He is certain

7:45

the men behind these riots are aiming to

7:47

steal the throne, and it does

7:49

not help that he is plagued by migraines, as

7:51

well as a leg that has not healed since

7:53

the horse fell on him at Greenwich. The

7:56

pain is so bad that he's had to give up

7:58

the sports he enjoys so much. Jane

8:00

knows her husband is often in pain and

8:03

now prone to mood swings, but

8:05

since he's in good spirits today, she hopes

8:07

the king will hear her and restore

8:09

the monasteries. Now kneeling

8:11

in front of her husband, Jane

8:13

keeps her eyes downcast, unchallenging, quietly,

8:16

respectfully. She offers that

8:18

the rebellions may be a punishment from God,

8:21

angry at Henry, for splitting from the Catholic

8:23

Church. Henry's

8:25

round face turns red with anger. He

8:28

shouts at her to get up, and then he

8:30

reminds her what happens to women who meddle in

8:32

his affairs. Defeated Jane

8:34

stands, dusts her skirt, and leaves him

8:36

to his rage. King

8:38

Henry will not listen to his wife. He

8:41

will order the leaders of the Northern

8:43

Rebellion executed along with anyone linked to

8:45

the uprising, including villagers,

8:47

monks, priests, and even noblemen.

8:50

Many will be hanged, drawn, and

8:52

quartered, their body parts displayed on stakes

8:55

as a warning to all other

8:57

traitors. The

9:00

following year, in October of 1537, Jane

9:03

Seymour will give birth to Henry's

9:05

long-form male heir. Though the child

9:07

is born healthy, Jane will die

9:09

12 days later. Distraught, Henry

9:11

will lock himself in his room for days,

9:14

but the tragedy will do little to soften

9:16

Henry's heart. The horror of

9:18

his tyrannical reign is just beginning. It's

9:33

January 1, 1540

9:35

at Rochester Castle in Kent, four years

9:37

after King Henry's accident. Thomas

9:39

Cromwell, King Henry's friend and advisor,

9:42

bites his lip anxiously. He

9:44

is alone in his room, waiting for Henry to

9:46

return from a secret visit to his new spouse.

9:50

After Jane's death, the search for a new

9:52

wife for the King began immediately. Cromwell

9:54

was sure he found an ideal one,

9:56

an Anne of Cleves, a German princess.

9:59

Their marriage would be helpful in strengthening ties

10:01

with Germany, one of the only other European

10:04

countries to have broken with the Catholic Church.

10:07

Henry agreed to the marriage without even meeting

10:09

Anne. He'd only seen a portrait of her,

10:11

painted by his royal artist. But

10:13

eager to meet her in person, Henry

10:15

decided to dress in disguise and pay

10:18

Anne a surprise visit before their official

10:20

introduction in court. Cromwell is

10:22

nervous. Henry has been growing

10:24

more volatile every day, swinging from boyish

10:26

excitement through tyrannical rage in the blink

10:28

of an eye. There's no telling

10:30

how he will react to his new wife. Just

10:33

then, Henry bursts into the room and throws off

10:35

his disguise in a rage. Cromwell

10:38

clears his throat and asks the king how

10:40

he found his new bride. Henry

10:42

towers over his friend and advisor and shouts,

10:44

I like her not, I like her not.

10:47

Cromwell's spine tingles with fear. Henry

10:50

has always been a large man, but the

10:52

jousting injury to his leg has worsened, and

10:54

he cannot exercise like he used to. Instead,

10:57

Henry eats his troubles away, leaving

11:00

him severely overweight. Cromwell

11:02

suggests that Henry give Anne a chance, but

11:04

the king shakes his head in disgust. He

11:07

orders Cromwell to help him get out of the marriage.

11:09

Cromwell explains it's too late. The

11:11

wedding is supposed to take place in five days. Going

11:14

back on the deal could cause an incident with

11:16

their German allies. Henry realizes

11:18

he has no choice. So

11:20

as agreed, he marries Anne on January 6th.

11:23

But in the weeks that follow, he will

11:25

constantly complain that his new queen is

11:28

too ugly. So ugly that Henry is

11:30

unable to consummate their union. The

11:32

fact that he will use as the basis

11:34

to annul the marriage six months later in

11:36

June of 1540. Henry's

11:40

marriage to Anne and its subsequent annulment

11:42

is the beginning of the end for

11:45

Henry's closest advisor, Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell

11:47

has risen to be a powerful man,

11:49

but made many enemies, including members of

11:51

the Catholic Church. After

11:53

the Anne of Cleese debacle, Cromwell's Catholic

11:55

rivals see a way of removing their

11:57

enemy from the halls of power. the

12:00

play on Henry's moodiness, and convince the

12:02

king that Cromwell has been plotting against

12:04

him behind his back. In

12:07

June, Cromwell is arrested. He's

12:09

stripped of his office and taken to the Tower

12:11

of London and executed on July 28, 1540. On

12:16

the very same day, Henry will marry his

12:18

fifth wife, the beautiful and

12:20

young Catherine Howard. It's

12:26

November 7, 1541, in

12:28

Hampton Court Palace, five years

12:30

after the king's jousting accident.

12:33

Catherine Howard, Henry's fifth wife, gossips

12:35

with her ladies in waiting as

12:37

they pass a hand-marrow between them.

12:40

At first, Catherine's youth reinvigorated her

12:42

new husband, the king. But

12:44

before long, it only began to remind

12:46

him of his own lost vitality. Overweight,

12:49

unfit, and in constant pain, Henry

12:52

has been lashing out at Catherine

12:54

lately, and Henry is a

12:56

dangerous man when angry. Catherine

12:58

takes the mirror to admire a new way

13:01

of dressing her hair when suddenly the ladies

13:03

fall silent. Catherine looks up

13:05

to see armed guards entering the room. Terrified,

13:08

she drops the mirror and it smashes

13:10

to pieces. As Catherine

13:12

backs away from the guards, her eyes go

13:14

wide with fear. She tries to

13:16

run, but the guards grab her and hold her

13:18

still. She screams for Henry,

13:21

but Henry does not come. Catherine

13:24

Howard and King Henry have been married for

13:26

just over a year. During that

13:28

time, his mood swings have only gotten

13:30

worse. Henry's weight has ballooned, and the

13:32

wound in his leg still hasn't healed.

13:35

It has to be cleaned and dressed

13:37

daily, and it smells foul. Making

13:40

matters worse, Henry is deeply agitated

13:42

by rumors that Catherine, who Henry

13:44

calls his rose without a thorn,

13:46

has been unfaithful. So

13:48

Henry sent these guards to her chambers to

13:51

interrogate her. Within a month,

13:53

the two men that Catherine is accused of

13:55

having an affair with will be executed. Their

13:57

heads displayed on spikes at London Bridge. And

14:00

on February 10, 1542, Catherine herself will

14:03

be taken to the Tower of London

14:05

where three days later she will lay

14:07

her head on the executioner's block. In

14:10

his palaces, Henry's courtiers begin to whisper

14:12

that the king has gone mad. They

14:15

do not understand that his erratic behavior

14:17

is most likely the result of a

14:19

traumatic brain injury he sustained during his

14:22

last jousting accident. And in

14:24

the end, this accident will not just

14:26

alter Henry's personality, it will take his

14:28

loss. It's

14:40

late summer, 1546, in the

14:42

Queen's Chambers at Whitehall Palace in

14:44

London, ten years after Henry's accident.

14:48

After executing his fifth wife,

14:50

Catherine Howard, Henry married another

14:52

Catherine, Catherine Parr. Today,

14:54

that Catherine listens in growing horror

14:56

to Dr. Thomas Wendy, her good

14:58

friend, and the king's physician. The

15:01

doctor warns her that Henry has signed her

15:03

arrest warrant. At any moment now,

15:05

she'll be taken to the Tower, where she will

15:07

no doubt be executed. Catherine

15:10

knew what she was getting into when she married

15:12

King Henry, a man who has beheaded two of

15:14

his ex-wives. But to Catherine, the risk

15:16

was worth it. She's an outspoken

15:18

Protestant and uses her position as Queen to

15:20

promote those beliefs and do as much good

15:23

as she can. But her

15:25

anti-Protestant enemies use this fact against

15:27

her. Despite overthrowing the

15:29

authority of the Pope, King Henry never

15:31

became a true Protestant. His

15:33

Church of England is not much different fundamentally

15:35

from the Catholic Church he broke away from,

15:38

and he's wary of too much Protestant influence in

15:40

his court. Catherine's enemies

15:42

convince Henry that she is a dangerous heretic

15:44

who wants to push her views on him.

15:48

After talking to Dr. Wendy, Catherine does

15:50

not run or hide. She

15:52

goes to her husband's chambers to plead her

15:54

case. Catherine ignores the

15:56

cold looks of Henry's advisors who stand by his

15:59

side with the court. spring in his ear. She

16:01

takes hold of Henry's hand and looks him in

16:03

the eye. Catherine is a

16:06

clever, educated woman, but today,

16:08

to compel Henry to spare her, she

16:10

plays the part of an ignorant girl,

16:12

inferior to her wise husband and king

16:14

who is second only to God. This

16:17

is exactly what the ailing Henry needs,

16:20

a salve for his bruised ego. He

16:23

pulls Catherine onto his lap and kisses her. When

16:26

the Lord Chancellor comes to arrest Catherine, Henry

16:28

sends him away. Catherine will

16:30

outlive Henry, who will die less than a

16:32

year later on January 28, 1547

16:36

at the age of 55. His nine-year-old

16:38

son Edward, whom he conceived with his

16:40

favorite wife James Seymour, will become king.

16:43

At the time of his death, Henry is

16:45

morbidly obese. It will take 16 guardsmen

16:48

to carry his coffin. He

16:50

will be buried next to Jane Seymour at

16:52

St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Henry

16:55

VIII was one of England's most significant

16:57

blacks. He ushered in a

16:59

new age for England, splitting from the

17:01

Catholic Church and overseeing a renaissance in

17:03

art and literature. But he

17:06

also turned from a beloved leader to

17:08

a terrifying tyrant, one who executed tens

17:10

of thousands of people and bankrupted the

17:12

country. His decline

17:14

and the country all began

17:16

when he was injured in

17:19

a jousting accident on January

17:21

24, 1536. Max

17:23

on History Daily, January 25, 19th of the

17:25

year, old leader Charles Manson has

17:27

been guilty

17:34

of a series of notorious murders. From

17:37

Noiser and Airship, this is History

17:39

Daily, hosted and edited and executive

17:41

produced by me, Lindsey Graham. Audio

17:43

editing by Molly Bach. Sound design

17:45

by Misha Stanton. Music by Lindsey

17:47

Graham. This episode is written and

17:49

researched by Vanessa DeHaan, executive

17:51

producers for Stephen Walters for Airship and

17:54

Pascal Hughes for Noiser. So

18:06

that was the History Daily Podcast episode

18:08

on the jousting accident that changed the

18:10

course of Henry VIII's life and reign.

18:12

We'll now share a second episode from

18:14

the History Daily Podcast and we're still

18:16

with the Tudors, though only briefly, as

18:18

this episode is for the 24th of

18:20

March and looking at 1603 and the

18:22

death of Elizabeth I and thus the

18:24

end of the Tudor dynasty, understanding

18:27

the context of that and how all of

18:29

those in the centre of power when Elizabeth

18:31

I responded to her death. It's

18:45

the early hours of the morning on

18:47

March 24th, 1603. An

18:49

English nobleman galloped through the dark streets

18:52

of London, his spurs digging into his

18:54

horse's flanks. Perspiration glistens on

18:56

the steed's muscular body, but the

18:58

nobleman doesn't dare slow down. His

19:00

future and the future of England depends on

19:03

it. The turrets

19:05

of Richmond Palace loom up ahead, black

19:07

against an inky blue sky. The

19:10

nobleman approaches the gates and announces himself

19:12

as Sir Robert Carey, one of Queen

19:14

Elizabeth's closest advisors. The

19:16

guard lessened through. Inside

19:20

the palace Carey rushes through

19:22

candlelit corridors until he arrives outside

19:24

the royal bedchamber. The

19:27

queens, ladies and waiting huddle near

19:29

the door, their cheeks streaked with

19:31

tears. Seeing their grief-stricken faces, Carey

19:34

realizes the reports he received are true.

19:36

Queen Elizabeth I is

19:39

dead. Carey knows

19:41

her closest living relative and heir,

19:43

James VI of Scotland, is 400

19:46

miles away in Edinburgh. Carey also

19:48

knows that the first person to bring

19:50

James the news of Elizabeth's death will

19:52

likely receive a considerable reward. So

19:55

Carey turns and hurries back the way he came.

20:01

Carrie finds himself surrounded by 20

20:03

noblemen, all members of the Queen's

20:05

Privy Council, and looking at Carrie

20:07

with venomous disdain. Among

20:09

them is the Queen's foremost advisor,

20:11

Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury. Cecil

20:14

knows where Carrie is headed, and he has no

20:17

intention of letting him arrive. In

20:20

the weeks running up to the Queen's death,

20:22

Cecil and the Privy Council created a detailed

20:24

plan for the peaceful transfer of power from

20:26

one monarch to the next. Their

20:28

plan did not involve an opportunist like Robert

20:30

Carrie riding out on his own to curry

20:33

favor with the new King. So

20:35

they trapped Carrie in the palace, where he

20:37

will remain under the watchful eye of guards.

20:40

For now, Carrie is stymied. His rival,

20:42

Cecil, has gained the upper hand in

20:44

the struggle that will unfold in the

20:46

wake of Elizabeth's death, as competing nobles

20:48

seek to preserve their status in the

20:50

new court of King James. During

20:53

her four-to-five-year reign, Elizabeth I emerged

20:55

as one of England's most successful

20:57

monarchs, winning the people's affection by

21:00

defeating foreign enemies and by preserving

21:02

peace in a nation bitterly divided

21:04

between Protestants and Catholics. But

21:06

one major shortcoming of Elizabeth's reign will loom

21:09

large at the time of her death, her

21:11

failure to produce an heir. Without

21:14

a clear line of succession, there is

21:16

no knowing what the future holds for

21:18

England or her people when Queen Elizabeth

21:20

draws her final breath on March 24,

21:23

1603. From

21:32

Noiser and Airship, I'm Lindsay Green, and

21:34

this is History Day. History

21:52

is made every day. On this

21:55

podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of

21:57

the people and events that shaped our world. Today

22:00

is March 24th, the death of

22:02

Queen Elizabeth I. It's

22:08

February 1559 in London,

22:10

44 years before the death of Queen

22:12

Elizabeth I. On

22:15

a cold winter's morning in the Palace

22:17

of Westminster, members of Parliament have assembled

22:19

to discuss a most pressing matter, finding

22:21

a husband for the newly crowned Queen

22:23

Elizabeth I. Since

22:25

Elizabeth's coronation last year, the 26-year-old's lack

22:28

of an heir has become a cause

22:30

of concern. Without a

22:32

child to inherit the throne, the future

22:34

of the realm is uncertain, and after

22:36

years of political and religious turmoil in

22:38

England, the last thing Parliament

22:40

wants is more uncertainty. The

22:43

troubles began some 25 years ago,

22:45

when Elizabeth's father, King Henry VIII,

22:47

made England not a Roman

22:49

Catholic nation, but a Protestant one. Henry

22:52

wanted a divorce from his first wife, but

22:54

the Roman Catholic Church wouldn't allow it,

22:57

so Henry split from Rome, divorced her,

22:59

and remarried a woman named Anne Boleyn,

23:01

who later gave birth to their daughter,

23:03

Elizabeth. Henry VIII's action

23:06

sparked a period of religious upheaval known

23:08

as the English Reformation. Soon,

23:10

all the powerful positions within the Church

23:12

and Government were filled by Protestants, but

23:14

there were still plenty of Catholics in

23:16

England who felt persecuted by these reforms.

23:19

When Henry's daughter Elizabeth came to power in

23:21

1558, she tried to appease these Catholics

23:24

by introducing a more moderate form of

23:27

Protestantism, and to an extent, it worked.

23:29

However, Elizabeth's peacekeeping efforts will all be

23:31

for nothing if she dies without an

23:33

heir. At present, the next

23:36

in line to the crown is Elizabeth's cousin,

23:38

Mary, the Queen of Scotland. Mary

23:40

is a staunch Catholic. If she becomes

23:42

Queen, England will most likely erupt into

23:44

civil war. One

23:47

solution is to find Elizabeth a husband with whom

23:49

she can produce an heir. This

23:51

would cement the Protestant grip on the

23:53

crown, and preserve a line of succession

23:55

for Elizabeth's so-called Tudor dynasty. So

23:57

in February 1559, Harlan and Mary were in the town of the Queen of Scotland.

24:00

The gentleman sends a delegation to petition Elizabeth

24:02

to consider the question of marriage. The

24:05

delegates arrive at Richmond Palace, where they kneel

24:07

before the monarch. Elizabeth is

24:09

closed resplendently in a jewel-encrusted gown.

24:12

Behind her snow-white makeup, the young

24:14

queen smiles. She thanks

24:16

the delegates for the visit, but politely

24:18

declines their request. Elizabeth

24:21

is fiercely independent and politically shrewd.

24:24

She knows that if she were to marry,

24:26

her husband would effectively rule through her, limiting

24:29

her power. Furthermore, by selecting

24:31

one suitor, she would likely arouse

24:33

jealousy in others, thus opening up

24:35

the possibility of rebellion. Elizabeth

24:37

believes that to preserve national stability,

24:40

she must remain unmarried. But

24:42

it's not an easy decision. Elizabeth

24:44

is beautiful and intelligent. She has no

24:46

shortage of handsome suitors, some of whom

24:49

she develops genuine feelings for. Elizabeth

24:51

grows especially fond of one nobleman,

24:54

Lord Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

24:57

King Dudley would bring her great joy, but

24:59

Elizabeth is not willing to jeopardize the security

25:01

of the realm for the sake of her

25:03

own happiness. For

25:05

the men in Parliament, the notion that Elizabeth

25:07

should reign without a husband is unthinkable. It

25:10

contravenes their deep-rooted ideas about the

25:12

primary role of women as child

25:14

bearers and caregivers. So short

25:17

of giving birth to a child, many in

25:19

Parliament want Elizabeth to at least name an

25:21

heir. In response, the Queen

25:23

angrily replies that at this present it is

25:25

not convenient to name a successor, nor

25:27

never shall be without some peril unto you,

25:30

and certain danger unto me. Elizabeth

25:33

is shrewd. She knows that

25:35

by appointing an heir, she opens herself

25:37

up to plots of insurrection, as factions

25:39

might rally around her successor and oust

25:42

her from power. So instead

25:44

she remains silent, ruling as a powerful

25:46

single woman in a world dominated by

25:48

men. But it will

25:50

soon become clear that the most imminent threat to

25:53

Elizabeth's power does not come from a man, but

25:55

a woman. Her own cousin, and

25:57

next in line to the throne, marries Elizabeth.

26:00

Queen of Scots. It's

26:05

February 1st, 1587. Queen Elizabeth I, age 53, sits

26:08

in a drawing room in Richmond Palace. The

26:12

Queen's mood is solemn. She has recently learned

26:15

that a group of Catholic noblemen have been

26:17

conspiring to have her killed and install her

26:19

cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, on the English

26:21

throne. Elizabeth hoped

26:23

that Mary no longer posed a threat to

26:25

her power. Decades back, following

26:27

a Protestant revolt in Scotland, the Catholic

26:30

Mary was forced to abdicate the Scottish

26:32

throne and flee to England. After

26:35

she arrived on English shores, Elizabeth had

26:37

her arrested to neutralize any threat of

26:39

Mary plotting against her. But

26:42

while in captivity, Mary became a

26:44

hero to many English Catholics. In

26:46

their eyes, Mary is the rightful Queen

26:48

of England. Elizabeth is a Protestant heretic.

26:52

Soon, whispers of Catholic plots against Elizabeth

26:54

began to swirl. Elizabeth

26:56

dismissed most of them, but eventually

26:58

her spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, showed

27:01

Elizabeth damning letters written by Mary

27:03

to her Catholic conspirators. In

27:06

these letters, Mary consented to the

27:08

Queen's assassination. After

27:10

reading Mary's treasonous words, Elizabeth was

27:13

quick to execute the other conspirators,

27:15

but she's been reluctant to sign

27:17

Mary's death warrant. Mary is, after

27:19

all, family. Additionally, Elizabeth fears

27:21

that killing Mary will only lead

27:23

to bigger problems, a retaliation from

27:25

Catholic nations in Europe. For her

27:28

advisors, including Francis Walsingham, encourage her

27:30

relentlessly to rid the country of

27:32

the troublesome Scots. So

27:35

finally, the Queen signs the order. Seven

27:38

days later, on February 8th, Mary,

27:40

Queen of Scots, is executed. Once

27:43

the axe has fallen, the executioner grabs

27:46

her severed head, holds it aloft, and

27:48

shouts, God save Queen Elizabeth. With

27:51

her greatest rival dispatched, Elizabeth's

27:53

power seems undisputed and unimpeachable.

27:56

But more trouble is coming to England. Mary's executioner is

27:58

not over. The sun

28:00

is yet to begin. She

28:30

appears confident and eager to meet the

28:32

challenge before her, the Queen harbors nervous

28:34

thoughts. The execution of

28:36

Mary, Queen of Scots, outraged the

28:39

Catholic King of Spain, Francis II.

28:41

Francis believes Mary is a martyr

28:44

who was wrongfully executed by Protestant

28:46

criminals. Shortly after Mary's

28:48

death, Francis began plotting to oust

28:50

Elizabeth and restore Catholicism to England.

28:53

So in May 1588 he sent a fleet of 130 warships to invade.

28:55

But before this

29:00

Spanish armada reached English shores, it was

29:02

met by England's navy. A ferocious

29:05

sea battle commenced, and just yesterday

29:07

at the Battle of Graveline, a

29:09

fortuitous wind scattered the Spanish ships

29:12

and the English forces emerged victorious.

29:15

The English then fell back to defend

29:17

their coast from the expected ground invasion.

29:19

Now Queen Elizabeth rides before her troops,

29:22

her red hair blazing beneath her helmet.

29:24

She cries out, I am come

29:27

amongst you not for my recreation, but

29:29

for being resolved in the midst and heat

29:31

of battle to lay down my life for

29:33

my God, my kingdom, and my people. Her

29:36

words are met with the rattle of swords and

29:38

the cries of God save the Queen. Elizabeth

29:41

waits for the noise to die down, then

29:43

she continues, her voice resonant with

29:46

conviction. I know I have

29:48

the body of a weak feeble woman, and I

29:50

have the heart and stomach of a king. An even

29:53

louder roar goes up. Elizabeth

29:55

turns to face the horizon where the

29:57

black sails of her enemy ships threaten.

30:00

appear at any moment. But

30:02

no such invasion comes. Elizabeth

30:05

and her generals soon learn that the

30:07

Spanish fleet has limped back to Spain,

30:09

and England celebrates a great victory over

30:11

its Catholic enemies. For

30:13

Elizabeth, the news of the defeat of

30:15

the Spanish Armada makes for great propaganda.

30:18

The gale that scattered the Spanish ships is

30:20

dubbed the Protestant Wind and is held

30:22

as proof that God is on the

30:24

Protestant side. Elizabeth is

30:26

carried through the crowded streets of London

30:28

on a golden litter, a victory procession

30:31

rivaling her own coronation in terms of

30:33

splendor and extravagance. The people of

30:35

England celebrate her as an almost

30:37

immortal figure, a mythical virgin queen.

30:40

And the years following the Armada's defeat

30:42

will be remembered as a golden age

30:44

for Elizabeth's reign and for England. The

30:47

theater and the arts will flourish with

30:49

figures such as Christopher Marlowe and William

30:52

Shakespeare emerging as the period's leading literary

30:54

lights. In 1596, the poet

30:57

Edmund Spencer writes The Fairy Queen,

30:59

an epic poem paying homage to

31:01

Elizabeth. Spencer refers to her

31:03

as Gloriana, an eternally youthful monarch

31:06

whose beauty and wisdom are unparalleled.

31:09

But in truth, by the dawn of the 1600s, Elizabeth's

31:13

beauty has faded. Her

31:15

hair has almost entirely fallen out. Her

31:17

teeth are black and rotten from a lifelong

31:19

sugar habit. She cakes her face

31:22

with white makeup, which cracks around the

31:24

corners of her mouth and eyes. Despite

31:26

the patriotic propaganda, Elizabeth is

31:29

not immortal. And as she approaches

31:31

70, her health is in rapid

31:33

decline. She has reigned

31:35

for over 40 years, bringing peace and

31:37

stability to a nation beset with religious

31:39

discord. Many in England cannot envision

31:42

a world in which Elizabeth is not their

31:44

queen. And yet there are some

31:46

who are doing exactly that. The

31:48

queen's closest advisors realize that her reign

31:50

will soon be over. Their attention turns

31:53

to the question of succession. Members

31:55

of the Privy Council, men like Robert

31:57

Cecil, Earl of Salzburg, and Sir Robert

32:00

Carrie, Earl of Monmouth, begin angling

32:02

to secure positions of power so

32:04

as not to lose influence when

32:06

Elizabeth passes. Cecil

32:08

begins writing secretive letters to Elizabeth's

32:10

closest living relative, James VI of

32:12

Scotland, son of her old enemy,

32:14

Mary Queen of Scots. Cecil

32:17

informs James of Elizabeth's condition, effectively

32:19

lining him up to succeed the

32:21

ailing queen. But no

32:24

decisive action can be taken until the

32:26

queen actually names her successor, and

32:28

by March 1603 this is looking

32:31

increasingly unlikely. Elizabeth's

32:33

condition has worsened. Her throat is

32:35

now swollen, and she is unable to speak.

32:38

In her final days, Cecil, Carrie, and

32:40

her other advisors crowd around her sickbed.

32:43

Their eyes read from weeping, their legs

32:45

stiff from kneeling, praying for the

32:47

queen to speak. But

32:49

she never does. With

32:52

time running out, Cecil makes a move.

32:54

She suggests James VI as a potential

32:56

heir to the throne. In

32:58

response, Queen Elizabeth manages to raise

33:00

a withered hand in a gesture

33:02

of approval. Soon, Elizabeth

33:05

will die childless. But

33:07

with her successor named, her death will

33:09

trigger a scramble between her former advisors,

33:11

all jockeying to secure positions of power

33:13

in the court of the new king.

33:28

It's early morning on March 24th, 1603. Sir

33:32

Robert Carrie prowls the dark corridors

33:34

of Richmond Palace, searching for an

33:36

unguarded exit. Hours ago,

33:38

Queen Elizabeth I drew her final

33:40

breath. After her death,

33:43

Carrie intended to ride to Scotland to

33:45

inform James of his succession, thus currying

33:47

favor with the monarch and guaranteeing himself

33:49

a position of power. But his plan

33:52

was derailed. His rival, Robert

33:54

Cecil Earl of Salisbury, found out about

33:56

his scheme and forbade him from leaving

33:58

the palace. is the

34:00

senior noble, with executive authority over the royal

34:02

guards. If Carey wants to escape the compound

34:04

of the palace, he will have to do

34:07

so by stealth. But lucky

34:09

for Carey, a familial connection comes in

34:11

handy. His elder brother, Henry,

34:13

the first Baron of Hunston, is also

34:15

in the palace. Henry stands

34:17

to gain from his brother securing favor

34:19

with James, and Henry holds more authority

34:21

than his younger brother. So he escorts

34:23

Carey to the palace gates and orders

34:25

the guards to let him through. On

34:28

his way out of Richmond Palace, Carey passes

34:30

by a low window. A woman leans out.

34:33

It's Carey's sister, Lady Philadelphia

34:35

Scrove. As Carey

34:37

rides by, Philadelphia throws in something.

34:39

A ring, pried from the dead

34:41

finger of Elizabeth I moments before.

34:44

This ring will prove to James VI that

34:46

the Queen is dead, and that the crown

34:48

now belongs to him. With

34:50

the ring in hand, Carey gallops into the

34:52

night, bound for Scotland. By

34:54

the time Cecil and the other lords realize

34:57

he's gone, it's too late. Carey

34:59

completes the 400-mile journey in a

35:01

remarkable three days. He reaches

35:03

Edinburgh in the dead of night. Exhausted

35:05

and disheveled, Carey staggers into

35:08

Hollyreid Palace and kneels before

35:10

James, presenting him with Elizabeth's

35:12

ring, and addressing him for the first

35:14

time ever as King James I

35:16

of England. Carey's efforts

35:19

are duly rewarded. The King offers

35:21

him exactly what Carey wanted, a

35:23

prestigious position in the new court. James's

35:26

succession marks the end of the Tudor

35:28

dynasty, and the beginning of the Stuart

35:30

period, one of the most turbulent in

35:32

British history. Following Elizabeth's

35:34

death, England will be plunged

35:37

into a chaotic era, one characterized

35:39

by gunpowder plots, civil wars, and

35:41

great plagues, leaving many in the

35:43

country longing for the strong, wise

35:45

leadership of Queen Elizabeth I, which

35:47

ended with her death on March

35:49

24, 25th,

36:00

1807, the British

36:02

Parliament abolishes the slave trade in

36:05

the British Museum. From

36:07

Noiser and Airship, this is History

36:09

Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced

36:11

by me, Lindsey Graham. Audio editing

36:13

by Derek Baran. Sound design by

36:16

Misha Stanton. Music by Lindsey Graham.

36:18

This episode is written and researched

36:20

by Joe Biner. Executive producers and

36:22

Steven Walfers for Airship, and Pascal

36:24

Hays for Noiser. So

36:37

that's it from that episode, and that

36:39

is it from our show

36:41

kicks off, our feed swap for the History

36:43

Daily podcast. Hopefully you enjoy listening to those

36:45

two episodes, and if so, you should definitely

36:47

check out the History Daily podcast, as there's

36:49

lots more where that came from. As

36:52

I said, we focus on two episodes that are very

36:54

pertinent to what we do on the podcast with Kings

36:56

and Queens, but as I said at the start of

36:58

this episode, we're going to be covering a huge range

37:00

of subjects, periods, places covered, so if you want something

37:02

different to us, there's plenty of that, but equally they

37:04

obviously cover the same ground as well, so all sorts

37:06

of things for you to enjoy. That's all

37:09

from us today. We will be back, as I

37:11

said, in a couple of weeks when we will

37:13

be finally covering Prince Albert, possibly in the first

37:15

two episodes, still to be confirmed, and that I'll

37:17

see how I get on. There might be two

37:19

episodes for Albert, but he will

37:21

be the last of the Hanoverian consorts,

37:23

so we will be back post-Easter into

37:26

our normal fare, and we shall see

37:28

you next time.