HistoryExtra
type: channel
link: https://www.historyextra.com
description: Home of Britain’s bestselling history magazine and award-winning podcast
date: 2026-02-09T15:09:43.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: The prince and the brothel: 6 scandals that rocked the British monarchy
items: Your history guide to Frogmore Cottage: who has lived there before?
items: Five shocking tales from Britain’s royal palaces
items: Hidden labs, sex gardens & torture attics: secrets of British royal palaces
items: Why is the British Royal Family’s motto Dieu et Mon Droit – and what does it mean?
items: Catherine of Braganza: the Merrie Monarch's forgotten queen
items: Did the British royal family support slavery?
items: Love and lust: 7 of the most shocking romantic royal scandals from British history
items: The Crown S6: the real history in the royal drama
items: Netflix’s The Crown: the real history behind the royal drama

The prince and the brothel: 6 scandals that rocked the British monarchy
type: item
date: 2026-02-02T15:30:45.000Z
subject: General History
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: British queens
subject: Georgian
subject: Historical people
subject: Royal children
subject: Royal weddings
subject: The royal family
description: At a time when the royal family is under significant strain, historians shine a spotlight on some of the biggest crises to have enveloped the British monarchy over the past three centuries
encoded: The prince, the brothel and a culture war Katie Hindmarch-Watson describes a sex scandal that consumed Queen Victoria’s grandson On 7 July 1889, a policeman arrested a sometime telegraph boy, Henry Newlove, at his mother’s house in Camden Town. Newlove had been recruiting younger telegraph boys at London’s Central Telegraph Office to provide sexual services for affluent male clients at a brothel on Cleveland Street. Defiant, Newlove said that he thought it “very hard that I should get into trouble while men in high position are allowed to walk around free… Why, Lord Arthur Somerset goes regularly to the house at Cleveland Street; so does the Earl of Euston and Colonel Jervois.” Within months, Newlove was in prison and Somerset was in exile. Yet Henry Fitzroy, Earl of Euston, triumphed in a libel suit that exonerated him from any “gross indecency”, and Colonel Jervois received no further mention in police records or the press. However, another man in high position became the focus of speculation. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2026/02/BAL11686324webready-dfc0737-e1770036564257.jpg" width="1500" height="1000" alt="A newspaper depicting several scenes of men in top hats and young boys standing in the street" title="The Cleveland Street Scandal, as reported in The Illustrated Police News on 25 January 1890. The affair – which embroiled Prince Albert Victor – “evolved into a morality tale about rich men’s predatory vices” (Image by Bridgeman Images)" /> We still don’t really know why Prince Albert Victor – or ‘Eddy’, grandson of Queen Victoria and oldest son of the Prince of Wales – became linked to the story. Arthur Somerset had been his father’s equerry, but there is no evidence that the two men associated with one another, and no proof has emerged one way or another about Eddy’s propensity for sex with teenage telegraph boys. The Cleveland Street Scandal evolved from Newlove’s revelations into a morality tale about rich men’s pred…

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Your history guide to Frogmore Cottage: who has lived there before?
type: item
date: 2025-10-27T12:16:16.000Z
creator: Elinor Evans
subject: 20th Century
subject: Georgian
subject: Period
subject: Victorian
subject: The royal family
description: How much do you know about the history of Frogmore Cottage, previously home to Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex? Who has lived there before, and why was it built?
encoded: Where is Frogmore Cottage? Frogmore Cottage, set in the grounds of Frogmore House, is part of the Frogmore estate in Windsor, Berkshire. Frogmore is situated around half a mile south of Windsor Castle, within Home Park (the private estate of the castle). It’s close to the river Thames and built upon historically wet marsh ground, which led to the estate’s name; the low-lying plot attracts a high number of frogs from the nearby riverbank. Today the cottage, nestled in a quiet corner of the estate grounds, is a private residence, and served as the British home of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, from 2019 when it was gifted to them by the late Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Harry and Meghan were requested to vacate their British base in March 2023, as they took an official step back from participation in royal duties. It is owned by the Crown Estate, though there are no current residents based at the house, royal or otherwise. It was reported in October 2025 that Prince Andrew, younger brother to King Charles III, is considering Frogmore as his residence after leaving Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park. Read more | Why has the British monarchy survived – and thrived? Can people visit Frogmore Cottage? The cottage is not open to the public, though Frogmore House and estate can be visited on a number of charity days held each year. When and why was Frogmore Cottage built? The cottage has served as a royal refuge since it was built in 1801. It was commissioned by Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III, who bought the Frogmore estate as a country retreat for herself and her unmarried daughters in 1792. Her husband, often referred as ‘Mad King George’, ruled Great Britain and Ireland from 1760–1820 and suffered from an illness (sometimes attributed as porphyria, a rare hereditary disease) that prompted episodes of eccentric behaviour. Historian Sean Lang explains how the king once ordered his carriage to stop in Windsor Great Park while he popped o…

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Five shocking tales from Britain’s royal palaces
type: item
date: 2025-03-18T08:30:35.000Z
creator: Professor Kate Williams
subject: General History
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: The royal family
description: Royal residences have been a hotbed of drama, violence and intrigue down the centuries, as Kate Williams reveals
encoded: Deadly deeds in the dead of night On the night of 31 May 1810, residents of St James’s Palace were awoken to the spine-tingling shriek of “I am murdered!” The cry emanated from none other than the Duke of Cumberland, fifth son of George III – and what happened next would spark a national scandal. It’s little wonder that the duke feared for this life: he had woken up to being hit over the head by a mysterious assailant. The duke set off across the palace to investigate and found his valet, Joseph Sellis, dead in his room, his throat cut. What on Earth had happened? An inquest declared Sellis had tried to kill the duke and then turned the blade on himself. But the public wasn’t so sure. In 1832, a book declared that the duke had murdered Sellis to silence him following allegations including blackmail and adultery. Alarmingly for Cumberland, plenty of people agreed. They didn’t believe that the duke, one of the most unpopular royals in history, could possibly be innocent. James VI’s devilish obsession In 1590, Holyrood Palace was the scene of a fateful meeting between James VI of Scotland and a local midwife, Agnes Sampson. The king wanted to find out if Sampson was a witch, and if she had tried to sink his ships as they sailed home to Scotland from Denmark. Sampson denied all charges. But after she was taken away and tortured, she said that she had met the devil and “took him for her master”, and attended a witches’ sabbath. The king, who would later write his own witch-hunting guide, interrogated her again. This time, Sampson told James that she knew what he had said to his wife on his wedding night. He promptly ordered Sampson’s death. Palaces were often dangerous places for women. A generation before, James’s own mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, had been kidnapped at Holyrood while dining with friends and her secretary, David Rizzio. A group of lords seized Rizzio and fatally stabbed him, before imprisoning Mary – who was heavily pregnant – at the palace in order to d…

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Hidden labs, sex gardens & torture attics: secrets of British royal palaces
type: item
date: 2024-08-09T06:00:45.000Z
creator: Kev Lochun
subject: General Modern
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: The royal family
description: Professor Kate Williams shares some of the tawdry, gory and often discomforting stories witnessed by Britain's beloved royal palaces
encoded: If walls could talk, what secrets would those of a British royal palace whisper? Murder, debauchery, treason and more, says Professor Kate Williams. Speaking to Kev Lochun, she reveals how palaces make royal robots of their incumbents, why monarchs always know where they are going to die, and what the future holds for these beloved buildings as the royal family continues to evolve. Kate Williams is the author of The Royal Palaces: Secrets and Scandals (Frances Lincoln, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon <a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?id=489797&clickref=historyextra-271164&awinmid=3787&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthe-royal-palaces%2Fkate-williams%2Fjames-oses%2F9780711269392%23%3A%7E%3Atext%3DThe%2520Royal%2520Palaces%253A%2520Secrets%2520and%2520Scandals%2520%28Hardback%29%26text%3DRoyal%2520expert%2520and%2520TV%2520historian%2CBritish%2520royals%2520over%2520the%2520centuries.#:~:text=The%20Royal%20Palaces%3A%20Secrets%20and%20Scandals%20(Hardback)&text=Royal%20expert%20and%20TV%20historian,British%20royals%20over%20the%20centuries." rel="sponsored" target="_blank">Buy it now from Waterstones Buy it now from Bookshop.org

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Why is the British Royal Family’s motto Dieu et Mon Droit – and what does it mean?
type: item
date: 2024-07-30T11:46:53.000Z
subject: Norman
subject: Period
subject: Evergreen
subject: The royal family
description: The UK’s coat of arms is a symbol that most British people will recognise, adorning everything from passports to public buildings. But the eagle-eyed – at least those living outside of Scotland, where a different version is used – may well have been baffled by the words adorning it
encoded: The United Kingdom’s coat of arms depicts a rampant lion and unicorn flanking a colourful escutcheon (shield) emblazoned with the heraldry of the British and Irish nations, as well as two mottoes. Yet these words are not English, or even Latin, but French. The two mottoes are Dieu et mon droit and Honi soit qui mal y pense. Why is the British monarchy's motto Dieu et mon droit? In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy prevailed over the Anglo-Saxons at the battle of Hastings, becoming England’s anointed monarch at his coronation on Christmas Day of that year, before proceeding to conquer the rest of the realm. Unsurprisingly, England’s new elite communicated in their native Norman French and their connection to territory across the English Channel endured. In 1198, at the battle of Gisors, Richard I the Lionheart of England used Dieu et mon droit (‘God and my right’) as a battle cry to assert his personal, divine-sanctioned claim to France. Centuries later, Henry V formally adopted the motto, again staking claim to the French throne. Has Dieu et Mon Droit always been a royal motto? No, Over the centuries, different monarchs have used different mottoes and coats of arms. Notable examples include queens Elizabeth I and Anne, who both used Semper Eadem – ‘Always the same’. What does Honi soit qui mal y pense mean – and what does it have to do with the Order of the Garter? Meanwhile, the words Honi soit qui mal y pense translate to ‘Shame on anyone who thinks evil of it’. Emblazoned on the blue garter that encircles the escutcheon, it is the motto of England’s noblest order of chivalry: the Order of the Garter. Founded by Edward III in the mid-14th century, its origins are disputed. Edward’s claim to France led to the outbreak of the Hundred Years’ War. One apocryphal story holds that during a ball in Calais to celebrate England’s victory at the battle of Crécy, the king’s daughter-in-law Joan, the Countness of Salisbury, misplaced her garter while the two danced, prompting r…

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Catherine of Braganza: the Merrie Monarch's forgotten queen
type: item
date: 2024-07-22T06:00:42.000Z
creator: Elinor Evans
subject: Elizabethan
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: The royal family
description: Sophie Shorland discusses Catherine of Braganza, queen of Charles II, whose often overlooked life story offers an alternative picture of Restoration England
encoded: Picture Charles II's court and you'll probably imagine a riot of excess, filled with drinking, games, and of course, mistresses. The queen by Charles' side, Catherine of Braganza, is often obscured by this scandalous picture. Speaking to Elinor Evans, Sophie Shorland discusses her new biography detailing the life of the often overlooked consort – from her vital political role in the 17th-century Portuguese struggle for independence to the scandalous power games in the court of the 'Merrie Monarch'. (Ad) Sophie Shorland is the author of The Lost Queen: The Surprising Life of Catherine of Braganza, Britain's Forgotten Monarch (Atlantic Books, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon Buy it now from Waterstones Buy it now from Bookshop.org

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Did the British royal family support slavery?
type: item
date: 2024-03-25T16:31:49.000Z
creator: James Osborne
subject: Georgian
subject: Period
subject: The royal family
subject: Trends-News
description: The role of the British monarchy in upholding the transatlantic slave trade, and slowing its abolition, is complex and contentious. Professor Suzanne Schwarz has studied what the royal family in the 18th and 19th centuries thought about the slave trade, and spoke to David Musgrove about the topic for the HistoryExtra podcast...
encoded: In March 2022, in a speech in Jamaica, Prince William vocalised his deep “sorrow” over slavery and the devastating impact it had on individual lives and cultures internationally, throughout history. A year later, King Charles III used the same word to express his feelings, telling a congregation of Commonwealth leaders that, "I cannot describe the depths of my personal sorrow at the suffering of so many, as I continue to deepen my own understanding of slavery's enduring impact." But this sentiment of regret hasn’t always been the monarchy’s prevailing attitude. Recent research by Suzanne Schwarz, Professor of History at the University of Worcester, shows that members of the 18th and 19th century royal family held different views about the transatlantic slave trade, the practice of slavery, and abolition. For an episode of the HistoryExtra podcast Dr David Musgrove spoke with Professor Schwarz about what we know (and what we don’t) regarding the complicated truth. How was the royal family involved in the transatlantic slave trade? Enmeshed within the sprawling institution of the British Empire, the royal family of the late 18th and early 19th century is described by Professor Schwarz as: “personifying the existence of a pro-slavery culture”. Read more | Slavery's painful legacy: the British empire's role in the trade of enslaved people Professor Schwarz argues that the royal family was directly and intrinsically involved in the slave trade, using its power and influence to “defend the wealth and property rights of Caribbean planters, as well as the commercial freedom of British slave merchants to profit from the forced transportation of enslaved Africans.” She continues, “Based on [the royal family’s] ideological support for slavery and their commitment to defending Britain’s geopolitical interests, they used their individual and collective influence to oppose measures they thought would weaken the colonies, and by extension the British Empire.” <img src="https://ima…

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Love and lust: 7 of the most shocking romantic royal scandals from British history
type: item
date: 2024-03-15T15:49:50.000Z
creator: James Osborne
subject: General History
subject: Period
subject: The royal family
subject: Trends-News
description: The history of the British royal family is littered with salacious scandals that have changed the country’s society and culture. Amid the PR challenges facing 21st century royals, we take a closer look at seven of the most shocking throughout the past millennium – whether driven by love or something more...
encoded: Romantic scandals of varying severity have challenged the British royal family since its inception. Some of these partly remain shrouded in mystery, but many have had a wide-ranging impact on British society, religion and culture. With the modern royal family a source of endless and distinct fascination in the public eye, we unpack seven defining scandals of love and lust across royal history, from the reigns of medieval monarchs to the modern day. King Eadwig’s ménage à trois ‘Scandalous’ is a word that could summarise Eadwig’s short-lived and disruptive reign as king of the English from 955–7, and ruler of Wessex from 957-9. While his uncle, King Æthelstan, is now considered to be one of the most successful and dominant kings in British history, it’s fair to say that Eadwig is noted by historians for different reasons. He instead chose to devote his attention to petty disputes and chasing his personal desires – namely women. Most infamously, Eadwig – who ascended the throne at the age of 14 before his death five years later – excused himself from his own coronation in order to intimately acquaint himself with two women at once. While the precise details of this legendary ménage à trois are murky across several contradictory accounts, it’s highly possible that these women were his future wife Ælfgifu – to whom he was closely related – and her mother, Æthelgifu. As Dr Katherine Weikert explores in her chapter in The Reigns of Edmund, Eadred and Eadwig, 939-959 (Boydell and Brewer, 2024), the act was first recorded some fifty years later, and she writes that “whether or not this actually happened is less important than what the story tells us about Eadwig’s reign and its legacy”. Whatever the precise details of Eadwig’s engagement with the two women, word of his irresponsibility spread through the royal court, fracturing his relationships with his family, experienced politicians, and leading religious figures, weakening his authority and defining him as a controversi…

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The Crown S6: the real history in the royal drama
type: item
date: 2023-12-14T12:40:31.000Z
creator: Elinor Evans
subject: 20th Century
subject: 21st Century
subject: Period
subject: The Crown
subject: The royal family
subject: Trends-Entertainment
description: The sixth and final season of The Crown covers history that is well within living memory for many viewers, but still has much to say on the sweeping story of the Windsor dynasty…
encoded: Season 6 of The Crown, the final season of show creator Peter Morgan’s drama, was released in two parts. The first four episodes arrived on Netflix on 16 November 2023, with the final episodes released on 14 December. Season 5 was the first season of the royal drama to be broadcast following the deaths of the Duke of Edinburgh on 9 April 2021, and Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022. The final season brings viewers into the 21st-century story of the Windsor dynasty, with the plotlines ending in 2005. What historical events does The Crown S6 cover? The final moments dramatised in season 5 saw Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, both suffering the after-effects of the so-called War of the Waleses, which played out in the British tabloids during the 1990s between the couple’s formal separation (announced by Prime Minister John Major in 1992) and eventual divorce in August 1996. “The marriage collapsed like a house of cards. Every detail was subject to insatiable scrutiny by the press,” writes historian Tracy Borman. During their PR battles, both royals had given primetime interviews that divulged personal struggles and intimate details about their marriage, and by 1997 tabloid interest in the divorced couple – and particularly Diana – was at fever pitch. The paparazzi interest in Diana – particularly in the summer months of 1997, before her death, aged 36, in a car crash in Paris – is the central subject of The Crown’s opening episodes. Previous seasons of the drama have traced and foreshadowed this escalating paparazzi interest, from the press ‘discovering’ Princess Margaret’s relationship with Group Captain Peter Townsend in season one, to Charles and Diana’s 1983 royal tour of Australia and the start of ‘Dianamania’ in season four. Diana’s final months can be characterised by the fraught balancing act of managing very public demands of royalty with the need for privacy and intimacy, in an age when royal life was being redefined by the clamour of mass media. View…

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Netflix’s The Crown: the real history behind the royal drama
type: item
date: 2023-12-14T12:30:46.000Z
creator: Elinor Evans
subject: 20th Century
subject: Period
subject: The Crown
subject: The royal family
subject: Trends-Entertainment
subject: TV interest
description: Netflix’s sumptuous royal drama The Crown has explored many hidden intricacies of the British royal family, providing an engrossing portrait of the mid/late-20th century monarchy. Here's our ultimate guide to the real history behind the drama. Recap the historical stories behind seasons one to five of the drama, plus the real history behind season six…
encoded: How much of Netflix drama The Crown is drawn from real history? The show, which takes viewers behind the closed doors of royal life, undoubtedly strays into the realms of supposition on occasion. But much of the action is drawn the very real personal and political challenges that beset many members of the British royal family in the 20th and into the 21st century. From season one, which dramatised Queen Elizabeth II’s ascension and the early days of her reign with Claire Foy as the young monarch, to the middle seasons with Olivia Colman playing the Queen as the matriarch of a growing royal brood, and into the final stage of the story with Imelda Staunton as the late monarch, The Crown has provided an intimate and dramatic portrayal of many figures at the heart of the modern monarchy. Season 5 of Peter Morgan’s drama welcomed a new cast, with Imelda Staunton portraying the late Queen Elizabeth II from the early 1990s onwards. Season 5 was the first season to be broadcast following the deaths of the Duke of Edinburgh on 9 April 2021, and Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022. Read on for our breakdown of the real history that has inspired each season, and where the drama chooses to diverge from real events – plus don’t miss our episode-by-episode guides… (Note: this article contains spoilers for seasons 1–6 of The Crown) Follow the links below to jump to each section: What's the real history behind The Crown season 6? What's the real history behind The Crown season 5? What’s the real history behind The Crown season 4? What’s the real history behind The Crown season 3? What’s the real history behind The Crown season 2? What’s the real history behind The Crown season 1? What's the real history behind The Crown season 6? The latest season of The Crown continues to walk the tightrope that faced the drama in season 5. As historian Sarah Gristwood previously told us: “As The Crown moves into the 1990s, it was always going to have a hard row to hoe." The events of those yea…

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