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Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things

Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things

By: Daily Mail
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Expert history with a wicked twist: Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things is the podcast that goes behind palace doors and beyond the balcony smiles, to uncover the stories that the history books have politely skipped.


Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things reveals the schemers, lovers, plotters and even the pets who’ve made the British monarchy the world’s longest-running reality show.


Hosts, Royal biographers Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams trace how power, passion and paranoia have shaped every crown. There are queens who ruled better than their husbands, and princes who partied harder than their people. We meet saints, sinners and those hovering somewhere in between – from the man formerly known as Prince Andrew to the less-vilified Richard III.


Sometimes we get reflective: how monarchy survives scandal, how image-making began long before Instagram, and why royal women have always been the best crisis managers in the room. Other times we’re just here for the gossip: who wore what, who slept where, and who accidentally started a war over breakfast.


Think of it as history with its crown slightly askew. If you like your royal stories with equal parts grandeur and chaos, step into the world of Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things because behind every coronation lies a cover-up, behind every portrait a scandal, and behind every great monarch… a very patient servant wondering how to get the blood out of the carpet.


New episodes out every MONDAY, wherever you get your podcasts.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Daily Mail
Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • America & the Monarchy
    Jun 28 2026

    What do Royals and hot dogs have in common?


    Both are part of the most remarkable diplomatic relationships in modern history.


    In this special Independence Day episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams mark America's 250th birthday by exploring the often surprising story of the relationship between the British monarchy and the United States.


    From King George VI's triumphant pre-war tour of America and Princess Elizabeth's wartime broadcasts, to JFK and Jackie at Buckingham Palace, Ronald Reagan riding through Windsor Great Park, and the extraordinary role played by Queen Elizabeth II in managing relations with fourteen American presidents, this is a story of diplomacy, personality and history on both sides of the Atlantic.


    Along the way, discover how a royal hot dog helped win American hearts, why Jacqueline Bouvier found herself covering the Coronation before she became Jackie Kennedy, how a recipe for royal scones reached the White House, and what really happens when presidents and monarchs meet behind closed doors.


    A tale of friendship, politics, pageantry and personalities that stretches from the American Revolution to the celebrations of today. 🇺🇸🇬🇧


    Hosts: Robert Hardman and Kate Williams

    Series Producer: Ben Devlin

    Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

    Executive Producer: Bella Soames

    Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

    Series Producer: Ben Devlin

    Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

    Content Editor: Joseph Palmer

    Executive Producer: Bella Soames


    A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.


    Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
  • The Royal X-Files
    Jun 21 2026

    A wonderfully strange-but-true episode of Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things with Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams.


    From a mysterious sighting over Lord Mountbatten's estate at Broadlands to Prince Philip's fascination with UFO reports, the story takes in royal astronomers, Victorian visions of life on other worlds, Cromwell-era plans for a gunpowder-powered "space chariot", and the curious tale of an alleged extraterrestrial named Janus who reportedly wanted an audience with the Duke of Edinburgh.


    Along the way, discover how George III became one of Britain's most enthusiastic royal stargazers, why Queen Elizabeth II left a message on the Moon, and how the modern monarchy found itself connected to everything from the Space Race to concerns about space junk.


    Part history, part science, part mystery and just a little bit Mulder and Scully, this is a journey through the royal family's surprisingly close encounters with the final frontier.


    The truth may be out there. 🚀👽🌙

    Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

    Series Producer: Ben Devlin

    Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

    Content Editor: Joseph Palmer

    Executive Producer: Bella Soames


    A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.


    Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    31 mins
  • Secrets of a Stately Home
    Jun 14 2026

    Secrets hidden behind the walls of one of England's greatest country houses!


    In this special episode, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams step inside Badminton House with its chatelaine, the Duchess of Beaufort, to uncover the extraordinary royal and historical stories that lie beyond the immaculate lawns.


    Spoiler alert: Prince Harry once demonstrated some very poor judgment after a party there.


    The episode explores Badminton's long royal connections. Hear how Queen Mary spent the Second World War at the house, reportedly waging war on the estate's ivy, how a secret floor was discovered hidden within the building, and how the sport of badminton itself was born under its roof.


    Along the way, the Duchess reveals what it's really like to live in a house that welcomes more than 100,000 visitors a year, hosts one of Europe's great sporting events, and is now opening its gardens to a new generation through the RHS Badminton Flower Show.


    A story of queens, duchesses, gardeners, hidden rooms and English eccentricity, proving that some of the most fascinating chapters in royal history are growing quietly behind the garden wall.


    Guest: Georgia, Duchess of Beaufort

    Hosts: Robert Hardman and Kate Williams

    Series Producer: Ben Devlin

    Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

    Executive Producer: Bella Soames

    Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

    Series Producer: Ben Devlin

    Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

    Content Editor: Joseph Palmer

    Executive Producer: Bella Soames


    A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.


    Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
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