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New episode alert! Today we’re diving into the unfortunate story of Charlotte of Belgium, the short-lived Empress of Mexico. But before we can get her to Mexico, we’re going to take some time to understand where she started — and how she ended up there.
❤️ Princess Charlotte was born June 7, 1840 (hello, Gemini!) to the king and queen of Belgium, and our girl was connected. Her grandparents were the king and queen of France, and Queen Victoria of Great Britain was her first cousin.
❤️ She was an absolutely adored little girl and her dad’s favorite kid, because back then people could just say who their favorite child was — because therapy wasn’t a thing yet.
❤️ Being the only daughter of a king, she was a hot commodity on the marriage market, but Charlotte only had eyes for one guy — the allegedly handsome Archduke Maximilian of Austria.
❤️ Max wasn’t quite as enthusiastic, calling Charlotte’s intelligence “annoying” 🙄 (this fucking guy), but the two were wed all the same. Sadly for Charlotte, the marriage was not an easy one, because her “handsome” prince was a neglectful husband.
❤️ Lonely and feeling like she had no purpose in life, something absolutely unexpected happens when Napoleon III declared that, actually, France now had control over Mexico — and he wanted Maximilian to be emperor and Charlotte, in turn, to be empress.
❤️ Max didn’t want the gig, but Charlotte very much did. And Maximilian, for the first time, decided “happy wife, happy life.”
AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
(Don’t google it.)
🎧 Episode 1 is out now wherever you get your podcasts!
#womenshistory #royalhistory
Exceptional women getting caught up on the most basic of dudes is nothing new and, sadly, Charlotte of Belgium was one of them. Here`s what the man she loved had to say about her during their courtship. 🙄
Check out the rest of this episode now wherever you get your podcasts!
#historypodcast #historytok #podcastreels #womenshistory #womeninhistory #royalhistory #historyreels
Happy, Happy birthday to witty, pretty Nell. Aka, everyone`s favorite mistress: Nell Gwyn
🍊 Nell Gwyn was born on February 2, 1650 (making her 375 years young today). Her beginnings were anything but regal. However, she found her way to the theatre and her career as an actress took off.
🍊 Fun fact: Women had been banned from acting previously, but the new king, Charles II, had opened this career path up for women.
🍊 Okay, we really like Charles II. And so did a lot of people. He`s known as the Merry Monarch. And James really, really liked Nell. But who didn`t?
🍊 Tho she was not his only mistress, he was probably the most popular. Charles had another mistress who was Catholic and just nowhere near as popular. One day when her carriage was pulling up, she was mistaken for the other woman. She quieted the crowd by saying "Pray, good people, be civil. I am the Protestant whore."
🍊 And everyone laughed and laughed.
🍊 On Charles` deathbed he worried that Nell would not be taken care of after his death. He begged his brother to take care of her financially. Which he did.
Want to learn more about Nell? Check out our 2018 episode on her. (Link in bio)
#historypodcast #womeninhistory #royalmistress #onthisday
#Onthisday in history, after Elizabeth I signed the death warrant of her cousin, Mary (the former Queen of Scotland) her council decided to put it into affect. Elizabeth would later say that she signed it and instructed directly that it not be carried out.
Dear reader, we have bad news. It WAS carried out not even a week later. Elizabeth was furious, but what do you think? Did she mean to have plausible deniability or was she sincere?
Check out our two part series on her on @Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts! Link in bio
#historypodcast #otd #onthisdayinhistory #tudorhistory #mqos #maryqueenofscots #elizabethi
