Six Queens

14/02/2024

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Kate and Cally have a surprise gift for you: a deep-dive into Tudor love poetry, specifically the sonnet "Whoso List to Hunt" written by Sir Thomas Wyatt.

Legend says that Wyatt was in love with Anne Boleyn and wrote this poem about his unrequited, unsuccessful love for her. Is there any truth in the legend? Did Anne's flirtations inspire groundbreaking poetry? And what does the poem tell us about love and romance at the Tudor court?

The special mini episode is available now through this link or on the apps! ❤️

Listen to I Seek to Hold the Wind from Six Queens. Happy Valentine's Day! Celebrate with a deep-dive into Tudor love poetry, specifically the sonnet "Whoso List to Hunt" written by Sir Thomas Wyatt. Read it and follow along here. Legend says that Wyatt was in love with Anne Boleyn and wrote this poe...

29/01/2024

Kate and Cally take to Instagram Live to recap the Motherhood series, share some personal highlights, discuss some topics that weren't addressed in the main episodes, answer audience questions, and preview what's to come in 2024. Listen to the recording now:

Listen to Six Queens Live! Series 4 Recap from Six Queens. Kate and Cally take to Instagram Live to recap the Motherhood series, share some personal highlights, discuss some topics that weren't addressed in the main episodes, answer audience questions, and preview what's to come in 2024.Partially-ed...

21/01/2024

NEW EPISODE! To end Series 4, "Motherhood," Kate and Cally are discussing the most infamous mother at the Tudor court: Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount, the mother of Henry VIII's only acknowledged illegitimate child. Who was Bessie? How did her relationship with the King begin? How was her fate impacted by the chaotic, confusing politics of the Great Matter? And how did Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn interact with their husband's mistress and the child she bore?

Get the episode on your favorite podcast app or listen here:

Listen to Honourable Mentions: Bessie Blount from Six Queens. "Honourable Mentions" is a series that honours the lives of Tudor women who knew, aided, and impacted the lives of our six queens. To end Series 4, "Motherhood," Kate and Cally are discussing the most infamous mother at the Tudor court: E...

31/12/2023

To celebrate the holiday season, Kate and Cally get cozy with a black-and-white classic: The Private Life of Henry VIII, made in 1933. It's the first "talkie" film featuring the Tudor period and our queens, telling the story of Henry VIII's quest to find "the perfect wife."

How did the on-screen portrayals of our queens meet expectations? What was surprising? Do all the familiar dramatic tropes apply to such an old film? And what were the small details that really brought the Tudor court to life?

Listen here or on your favorite podcast app!

Listen to Six Queens on Screen: The Private Life of Henry VIII from Six Queens. To celebrate the holiday season, Kate and Cally get cozy with a black-and-white classic: The Private Life of Henry VIII, made in 1933. It's the first "talkie" film featuring the Tudor period and our queens, telling the s...

17/12/2023

NEW EPISODE NOW AVAILABLE! The season finale of "Motherhood" has come. Kate and Cally explore the ways in which Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I remembered their mothers and, in some cases, vindicated their complicated legacies.

Listen here, or find us on your favorite podcast app:

Listen to No Queen but My Mother from Six Queens. Three of our queens were the mothers of English monarchs, in addition to being married to one. How did they view their children as the legacies of their reigns and ambitions? And how did the children honor their mothers' memories once on the throne?I...

10/12/2023

NEW EPISODE AVAILABLE NOW! Kate and Cally discuss the complicated relationships between our queens and their royal stepchildren: Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward.

Find the episode here or on your favorite podcast app:

Listen to Like Another Mother from Six Queens. Five of our queens were stepmothers to Henry VIII's children. How did they approach this complicated family dynamic? Did the politics and etiquette of court affect the relationships between stepmother and stepchildren? Kate and Cally discuss the complic...

19/11/2023

How did queens embrace the responsibility of educating their children, especially their daughters? How did they assert their own political power through raising and shaping their children?

Kate and Cally are devoting two episodes to discussing education, one of the most important components of motherhood for our six queens. On this episode, they celebrate the ways in which Katherine Parr championed the education of her stepchildren, especially Elizabeth.

Listen here on your favorite podcast app:

Listen to Much Comfort and Encouragement from Six Queens. How did queens embrace the responsibility of educating their children, especially their daughters? How did they assert their own political power through raising and shaping their children?Kate and Cally are devoting two episodes to discussing...

05/11/2023

❗NEW EPISODE OUT NOW! ❗How did queens embrace the responsibility of educating their children, especially their daughters? How did they assert their own political power through raising and shaping their children?

Kate and Cally are devoting two episodes to discussing education, one of the most important components of motherhood for our six queens. On this episode, they'll examine the progressive (for its time) education of Princess Mary, commissioned and championed by her mother, Katharine of Aragon.

Listen now or find us on your favorite podcast app:

Listen to Education of a Christian Woman from Six Queens. How did queens embrace the responsibility of educating their children, especially their daughters? How did they assert their own political power through raising and shaping their children?Kate and Cally are devoting two episodes to discussing...

22/10/2023

NEW EPISODE NOW AVAILABLE! Learn about the nurses and governesses who raised the children.

Find it here or on all the apps:

Listen to Them That Bring Us Up from Six Queens. Who was in charge of raising a royal baby? How did nurses and governesses assume a maternal role in the lives of their charges?Kate and Cally investigate the royal nursery to reveal the interesting lives of wet nurses and governesses, especially how t...

08/10/2023

NEW EPISODE! Kate and Cally talk childbirth, the beginning of motherhood for so many women, and unpack the sweeping phrase "death in childbirth" to reveal the experiences of Jane Seymour and Katherine Parr.

Listeners should be aware that this episode contains some adult content and mildly graphic descriptions of childbirth.

Listen here or on your favorite podcast app:

Listen to Mingled My Joy With Bitterness from Six Queens. Four of our six queens experienced the ordeal of childbirth. What did that process look like? What were the dangers that, ultimately, resulted in the deaths of two of those queens?Kate and Cally talk childbirth, the beginning of motherhood fo...

24/09/2023

👑NEW EPISODE NOW AVAILABLE! In this episode, Kate and Cally discuss the first step to motherhood for our six queens: conception and pregnancy. What was the experience of pregnancy like for Early Modern noblewomen? How did expectations of fertility govern their lives and marriages? What medical "tips and tricks" did women follow to get and stay pregnant? And how did the stress of being Henry VIII's queen affect his wives' pregnancies?

Listen now or find us on your favorite podcast app:

Listen to Likely Enough to Bear Children from Six Queens. What was the experience of pregnancy like for Early Modern noblewomen? How did expectations of fertility govern their lives and marriages? What medical "tips and tricks" did women follow to get and stay pregnant? And how did the stress of bei...

12/09/2023

two years ago, we launched the first episode of Six Queens! We're taking the time to reflect on how far we've come since we recorded those clunky first episodes...

Massive hugs and THANK YOUS to everyone who has supported us in these wonderful two years. We can't wait to keep learning and having fun with so many like-minded history nerds! 😍

10/09/2023

NEW EPISODE NOW AVAILABLE: What did "motherhood" look like in Early Modern noble households? What were the social expectations for birthing and raising children? How were our six queens' views of motherhood influenced by the world around them?

Kate and Cally introduce the topic for Series 4, "Motherhood," by examining the lives, legacies, and influence of six special women: the mothers of our six queens! Listen now or on your favorite podcast app:

Listen to Do Not Forsake Your Mother's Teachings from Six Queens. What did "motherhood" look like in Early Modern noble households? What were the social expectations for birthing and raising children? How were our six queens' views of motherhood influenced by the world around them? Kate and Cally in...

27/08/2023

Welcome to SERIES 4! We're kicking it off with a celebration of the "mother of the Tudor dynasty," Margaret Beaufort.

As the mother of Henry VII, how did Margaret help to establish the Tudor dynasty? How did her "overbearing" ways impact politics and courtly life? How did her descendants learn from her example? And was it all influenced by Margaret's experiences during the Wars of the Roses?

Find the episode through the link or on your favorite podcast app!

Listen to Honourable Mentions: Margaret Beaufort from Six Queens. "Honourable Mentions" is a series that honors the lives of Tudor women who knew, aided, and impacted the lives of our six queens. To kick off Series 4: Motherhood, Kate and Cally are celebrating the "mother of the Tudor dynasty," Marg...

25/07/2023

Did you miss our Instagram Live party on Saturday? The recording is now available! Listen for a Series 4 preview, behind-the-scenes tidbits, and answers to audience questions:

Listen to Six Queens Live! Series 4 Preview from Six Queens. On their first ever live show, Kate and Cally give a preview of Series 4, share some behind-the-scenes tidbits, and answer audience questions.Partially-edited recording of a broadcast streamed 22 July 2023.

11/05/2023

CORONATION SPECIAL NOW AVAILABLE! Thank you for your patience!

Kate and Cally reflect on the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla: what we saw, what we didn't see, and how it compares to a certain similar ceremony in 1509...

Most of all, we ask: does studying history set unrealistic expectations for royal rituals in the 21st century?

Listen through the link below, or find us on all the apps:

Listen to The Queen is to be Crowned on the Same Day as the King from Six Queens. Kate and Cally reflect on the history-making coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on 6 May 2023. How did it compare to coronations of the past? What elements were the same and what were modernised? And does...

23/04/2023

NEW EPISODE NOW AVAILABLE!

Within English history, she's known as "Anne," the queen whose lack of beauty and charm led to the hasty annulment of her marriage. But behind all of those stories is Anna, a Duchess of Cleves and member of a powerful German family. What can we learn about Anna's origins by examining her life through its German context? How was her life influenced by the politics and religion of her family? By examining German history and sources, can we get closer to the truth of her life? To answer their questions and learn more about the origins of Anna of Cleves, Kate and Cally interview historian and author Heather Darsie, whose research seeks to restore her into her own national narrative.

Listen below or on your favorite podcast app:

Listen to Expert Opinions: Anna, Duchess of Cleves with Heather Darsie from Six Queens. Within English history, she's known as "Anne," the queen whose lack of beauty and charm led to the hasty annulment of her marriage. But behind all of those stories is Anna, a Duchess of Cleves and member of a pow...

05/03/2023

NEW EPISODE: Kate and Cally introduce you to Elizabeth of York and her tumultuous world. How did she navigate the politics of the Wars of the Roses? How did she impact and contribute to the new Tudor dynasty? And how did her queenship inspire her son and future daughters in law?

"Honourable Mentions" is a new series that honours the lives of Tudor women who knew, aided, and impacted the lives of our six queens. Every future series of Six Queens will give an Honourable Mention based on its theme, so it seemed fitting that "Origins" should honour the original Tudor consort.

Listen now!

Listen to Honourable Mentions: Elizabeth of York from Six Queens. "Honourable Mentions" is a new series that honors the lives of Tudor women who knew, aided, and impacted the lives of our six queens. Every future series of Six Queens will give an Honourable Mention based on its theme, so it seemed f...

12/02/2023

NEW EPISODE NOW AVAILABLE! Henry VIII is often remembered as the "most married" monarch in British history, but his sixth queen, Katherine Parr, was the most married consort. Who were her four husbands and how did she come to marry them? How did she, like so many women in the sixteenth century, use marriage for social advancement?

Series 3 concludes with a look at "the four husbands" of Katherine Parr: her life as a Northern noblewoman, the complications and freedoms of widowhood in the sixteenth century, and the ways in which Katherine honored her duty over her heart.

Listen now or find us on your favorite podcast app!

Listen to Renounce Utterly Mine Own Will from Six Queens. Henry VIII is often remembered as the "most married" monarch in British history, but his sixth queen, Katherine Parr, was the most married consort. Who were her four husbands and how did she come to marry them? How did she, like so many women...

31/01/2023

Six Queens is now available on Stitcher and Pandora! https://www.stitcher.com/show/six-queens

29/01/2023

NEW EPISODE is now out! Kate and Cally take on the difficult task of discussing the origin story of Katherine Howard's reign: what happened during her early teenage years, how she caught the eye of an aging king, and the traces of the real Katherine we can see underneath all the drama. LISTEN NOW or on your favorite podcast app: https://shows.acast.com/63c86a3285c58a00102b53f4/episodes/s3e8

BE AWARE that this episode contains mature themes that may be unsettling. Part 1 contains a discussion of sexual assault. If you would like to avoid this discussion, which begins at the 11:58 time mark, you can skip ahead to Part 2 at 22:40.

Listen to The First Time That Ever His Grace Saw Her from Six Queens. Over the centuries, Katherine Howard has gained a reputation for having relationships before her queenship. What were the nature of these relationships? How did her flirtations get out of hand? And how did her mistakes threaten to...

18/01/2023

CHANGES HAPPENING! We've just moved Six Queens over to a new hosting platform. Don't worry, though, most things stay the same! You can still access us through all the apps, as normal. In fact, do us a quick favor: open up Apple or Spotify and just double check that we're still good to go.

For those listening online, you'll want to update any bookmarks to our new URL. All of the old links through Sounder.fm (including the ones posted here) will be broken in two weeks. Here's the link to our new landing page, where you can find all the episodes: https://shows.acast.com/63c86a3285c58a00102b53f4

If you experience ANY issues, PLEASE PLEASE let us know as soon as possible! (You should be all set, though!)

01/01/2023

in history: Anne of Cleves met her future husband, Henry VIII, on New Years Day 1540. We all know it didn't go well, but what exactly went wrong? NEW EPISODE now live!

16/12/2022

in 1485, the first of our six queens was born. Happy birthday, Katharine of Aragon!

11/12/2022

NEW EPISODE! Discover the personal and political situations that brought Anne of Cleves onto the world stage: Six Queens | I Mind Not to Fix My Heart That Way

After the death of Jane Seymour in 1537, Henry VIII spent two years searching for his fourth wife and queen. What can this search tell us about Henry's personal preferences? How did his less-than-stellar reputation preceed him? What were hi...

27/11/2022

What *really* happened to Anne Boleyn in the French court? On today's NEW EPISODE, Kate and Cally discuss Anne's teenage years in Europe: how her education there shaped her as a woman and a queen. Listen now:

13/11/2022

NEW EPISODE: follow Katharine of Aragon's final crawl to the throne of England: a white wedding, tragic death, social instability, arguing kings, and the young woman caught up in the middle of it all:

12/11/2022

From 1502 until 1509, Katharine of Aragon was in political limbo. Widowed after the death of Prince Arthur, her position in England was so precarious that she had to learn to advocate for her own interests.

A 1505 letter to her father, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, shows just how alone Katharine must have felt. “Each day my troubles increase,” she wrote. She had limited income to support herself, an overdue dowry to pay, and a future marriage to negotiate. Overall, though, these years in England shaped Katharine into a formidable woman. “I choose what I believe and say nothing,” she later wrote her father. “For I am not as simple as I may seem.”

Learn more about Katharine’s early years in England on tomorrow’s NEW EPISODE!

27/10/2022

'Tis the (spooky) season to remind you that the rights to Kate and Cally's original horror film, an epic thriller starring the ghost of Katherine Parr, are still available.

Find out what happened to our queens after death in last year's Halloween special, "Here a Phoenix Lyeth," available online or on your favorite podcast app!

20/10/2022

The “cover art” of Series 3 features this gorgeous painting by Juan de Flandes in the collection of Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid. Known as “Portrait of an Infanta,” painted ca. 1496, historians think it very possible that this is a depiction of Catalina d’Aragon when she was a girl. If so, it’s the only portrait we have of one of our queens from their youths—making it the perfect for our series on “Origins.”

Have you listened to the series premiere yet? It’s available now through the link in bio or on your favorite podcast app!