0:00

Being a part of a royal family

0:02

might seem enticing, but more often than

0:04

not, it comes at the expense of

0:07

everything else, like your freedom, your privacy,

0:09

and sometimes even your head. Wundery's podcast,

0:11

Even the Royals, pulls back the curtain

0:13

on royal families, past and present, from

0:16

all over the world to show you

0:18

the darker side of what it means

0:20

to be royalty. Henry VIII may be

0:22

most remembered for his cruelty, or perhaps

0:24

his six wives. As the

0:26

old saying goes, divorced, beheaded, died, divorced,

0:28

beheaded, survived. We know them as pawns

0:30

in Henry VIII's hunt for a son,

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but their lives were so much more

0:34

than just being the king's wives. They

0:37

were six vastly different women, smart,

0:39

crafty, and unique, all bound together

0:41

by the doorknob of a person they married.

0:43

You're about to hear a preview of Even

0:46

the Royals, where we dive into Henry VIII's

0:48

first wife, Catherine of Aragon. While you're listening,

0:50

follow Even the Royals wherever you get your

0:52

podcasts. It's June

0:54

of 1525 in the court of Catherine of Aragon

0:58

and Henry VIII. Catherine is in

1:00

the massive great hall of a royal

1:02

palace in the heart of London. She's

1:04

laughing and clapping along as her ladies

1:06

and other nobles dance to the court musicians. Catherine

1:09

welcomes these little bursts of fun, anything

1:12

to distract her from worries. She

1:15

and Henry have been married for 16 years now, and

1:18

what's the matter? She's a very beautiful

1:20

woman. She's a very beautiful woman. She's

1:22

16 years now, and what started out

1:24

as a loving, playful marriage has soured

1:27

over the last few years, mainly

1:29

because Catherine has given birth to six children,

1:32

but only one has survived. Her

1:35

nine-year-old daughter, Mary, which

1:37

talk about traumatic. Oh my God, I

1:39

know. That actually would put a damper

1:41

on any relationship. Yeah, yeah, and especially

1:44

back then when nobody knew anything. And

1:46

here's the thing, like, Catherine is a

1:48

kick-ass queen. She defeated the Scots in

1:51

battle, but apparently that's diddly

1:53

squat compared to the much more important and

1:55

noble duty of pushing out male heirs. Now,

1:59

in theory... Mary, her daughter,

2:01

could inherit the throne, but

2:03

England and Henry aren't fully on board with

2:05

a girl heir. I can't imagine

2:08

why. Or too emotional. Yeah,

2:10

especially when we get our period. There's

2:12

no stopping us. We take that week

2:14

off from ruling. God, I

2:16

wish we could. Me too. So

2:19

needless to say, Catherine's under a lot

2:21

of pressure, and she's turning

2:23

the big 4-0 this year, which

2:26

back then means her womb is pretty

2:28

much closed for business. Yeah, poor thing.

2:30

And on top of all of that,

2:32

Henry is still banging anything that moves,

2:34

and Catherine has spent 15 years trying

2:36

to ignore it. But that got a

2:38

lot harder when one of his side

2:41

pieces got pregnant six years ago with

2:43

a boy. I do remember

2:45

that, yes. Now, the

2:47

boy is illegitimate, so he's a secret.

2:49

And more importantly, he can't bump Mary

2:51

out of the succession line. But

2:53

Catherine is still green with envy.

2:55

I mean, this woman did what

2:57

she couldn't, which is why she

2:59

enjoys festivities like today. Anytime she

3:01

can escape reality is a blessing.

3:04

Like me with Frasier. Yeah, and

3:06

Law & Order, and every other show. Yes,

3:10

TV in general. Henry

3:13

VIII walks in. The men

3:16

bow and the woman curtsy. Catherine

3:18

watches as he walks right to the middle of

3:20

the room, clearly gearing up to make an announcement.

3:23

He holds out his arm, encouraging a little

3:25

boy to come forward. Catherine

3:27

sucks in her breath. It's

3:29

Henry's illegitimate son. And

3:32

this fool is presenting him proudly in

3:34

the court. The audacity.

3:36

I love it. The audacity. Now, Catherine

3:38

can feel her ladies looking at her

3:40

for a reaction. She pastes

3:42

a regal smile on her face, but

3:45

she wants to disappear. And

3:47

then, just when she thinks it can't

3:49

get any worse, it does. Uh-oh. Henry

3:52

VIII announces that this six-year-old

3:54

kid is now Lord Admiral

3:56

of England. Now,

3:59

this little squirt probably... He can't even ride a

4:01

horse yet, and now he's got one of the

4:03

most prestigious titles in the country. Or say the

4:05

word Admiral. Yeah. Catherine

4:07

feels the room spin. Elevating

4:10

his love child to such a high status

4:12

could mean way more trouble ahead. If

4:15

it's Lord Admiral today, it could

4:17

be heir to the throne tomorrow. Now

4:20

everyone claps politely for Henry's announcement. Catherine

4:23

keeps smiling, but her balled-up fists

4:25

tell another story. She's

4:28

been ignoring Henry's side action for years,

4:30

but he just threw it in her face in the

4:32

most public way. And that

4:34

was the final straw. Mmm, get

4:36

him. She won't let anyone take

4:39

Mary's rightful spot to the throne.

4:41

If Henry is going to throw the rules

4:44

to the wind, then so

4:46

will she. Follow

4:50

even the royals on the Wondery app,

4:52

or wherever you get your podcasts. Go

4:54

deeper and get more to the story

4:57

with Wondery's top history podcasts, including American

4:59

Scandal, Legacy, and Black History for real.