Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio
Speaker 1: and eron Manky listener discretion is advised. On June nineteenth,
Speaker 1: eighteen sixty seven, Maximilian, the first Emperor of Mexico, was
Speaker 1: executed by firing squad on a grassy hill outside of
Speaker 1: the city of Coretta. The emperor and his few remaining
Speaker 1: conservative loyalists had barricaded themselves in the city while Benito
Speaker 1: Juarez and the Liberal Mexican forces attacked. Maximilian had prepared
Speaker 1: to make an escape across the enemy lines, but a
Speaker 1: spy tipped off his opponents. Maximilian was captured, and after
Speaker 1: a quick trial, he and his top two generals were
Speaker 1: sentenced to death. Before taking his position on the hill
Speaker 1: where he would be killed, Maximilian approached the firing squad.
Speaker 1: Speaking in Spanish. He told each of the men that
Speaker 1: he forgave them and that he understood that they were
Speaker 1: only doing their duty. He also gave each man a
Speaker 1: gold coin and asked them not to shoot him in
Speaker 1: the face, so that Maximilian's mother would be able to
Speaker 1: identify his body when it was finally returned to her
Speaker 1: in Austria, where he belonged Maximilian's final words echoed across
Speaker 1: the hilltop, his voice free from any tremors of fear.
Speaker 1: I forgave everyone, and I ask everyone to forgive me.
Speaker 1: May my blood which is about to be shed before
Speaker 1: the good of the country. Viva Mexico, Viva la independencia.
Speaker 1: The shots fired. Only three years earlier, the Habsburg Archduke
Speaker 1: had been hand selected by Napoleon the Third to take
Speaker 1: the position of Emperor over in the New World to
Speaker 1: solidify France's imperial holdings in Mexico, while the United States
Speaker 1: of America was this directed with its civil war. Maximilian
Speaker 1: and his wife Carlotta sailed across an ocean to a
Speaker 1: land where they had been promised they would be greeted
Speaker 1: like returning heroes. The pair were noble minded liberal imperialists,
Speaker 1: but imperialists nonetheless naive and self assured, but all too
Speaker 1: quickly hit with reality. Maximilian died on Mexican soil, but
Speaker 1: his wife, the Empress of Mexico Carlotta, had returned to
Speaker 1: Europe earlier to beg the European royal leaders for military
Speaker 1: and financial support for her doomed husband. Maximilian was thirty
Speaker 1: four when the firing squad came for him. Carlotta lived
Speaker 1: to eighties six, gradually and then quickly going mad, shut
Speaker 1: out from the world in a palace of her delusion,
Speaker 1: trapped in her own mind, a world where her husband
Speaker 1: was still alive, where they were still the Emperor and Empress,
Speaker 1: and where they were beloved by the people. Thought they
Speaker 1: had come to save. I'm Dani Schwartz, and this is
Speaker 1: noble blood. Before she was Carlotta of Mexico, she was
Speaker 1: originally a Princess of Belgium, the daughter of Leopold of
Speaker 1: Saxe Coburg Salfeld. When Leopold was a young man, he
Speaker 1: caught the eye of England only Princess Princess Charlotte of Wales,
Speaker 1: the only daughter of George the Fourth and at the
Speaker 1: time the only legitimate grandchild of King George the third.
Speaker 1: Unlike her German Hanover family, whom the English people had
Speaker 1: already grown to detest with their frivolity and George the
Speaker 1: Third's burgeoning madness, Charlotte was a shining light. She represented
Speaker 1: the future of the monarchy. Princess Charlotte of Wales was
Speaker 1: beautiful and quick witted, and although her father had been
Speaker 1: desperate for her to marry the Prince of Orange. Charlotte
Speaker 1: had her heart and mind set on Leopold, the young
Speaker 1: and handsome Belgian prince. When Leopold came to meet her
Speaker 1: father for the first time, Charlotte wrote in her diary,
Speaker 1: I find him charming and go to bed happier than
Speaker 1: I have ever done yet in my life. Princess, never
Speaker 1: I believe sets out in life or marriage with such
Speaker 1: prospects of happiness, real domestic ones like other people. But
Speaker 1: Charlotte had found real prospects of happiness, and on their
Speaker 1: wedding day, massive crowds flooded the London streets, desperate to
Speaker 1: catch a glimpse of the handsome Leopold dressed in his
Speaker 1: British military uniform and Princess Charlotte in a wedding dress
Speaker 1: that had cost over ten thousand pounds. They had achieved happiness,
Speaker 1: and their country was overjoyed, and more joy followed when Charlotte,
Speaker 1: just twenty one years old, announced she was pregnant. The
Speaker 1: future of the nation was bright and secure, at least
Speaker 1: it was until Charlotte died in childbirth after delivering a
Speaker 1: boy stillborn. A nation fell into despair, a wailing, weeks
Speaker 1: long mourning that left linen drapers running out of black cloth.
Speaker 1: It really was, Henry Broom wrote, as though every household
Speaker 1: throughout Great Britain had lost a favorite child. Charlotte's father,
Speaker 1: the Prince Regent George the fourth, was so bereft that
Speaker 1: he found himself unable to attend Charlotte, his only child's funeral.
Speaker 1: Even the Prince of Orange, Charlotte's one time rejected suitor,
Speaker 1: burst into tears when he heard of her death, and
Speaker 1: his new wife ordered all of the ladies of their
Speaker 1: court into formal mourning. When Lord Byron heard that Charlotte
Speaker 1: had died, he opened his window and screamed out into
Speaker 1: the street. He wrote a poem mourning her, in which
Speaker 1: he wrote, a long, low, distant murmur of dread sound
Speaker 1: such as arises when a nation bleeds with some deep
Speaker 1: and immedicable wound. But no one was more miserable, more
Speaker 1: grief stricken than Charlotte's husband, Prince Leopold. That rare chance
Speaker 1: for a royal to have a happy, merry life had
Speaker 1: been torn to shreds his heart along with it. Fifteen
Speaker 1: years later, the middle aged Leopold remarried to a young
Speaker 1: French princess. They named their first daughter, Princess Charlotte of Belgium,
Speaker 1: after Leopold's first wife. When that Charlotte went on to
Speaker 1: become the Empress of Mexico, she changed her name to
Speaker 1: the more Latin Carlotta. That was Carlotta's legacy before she
Speaker 1: was even born. Her namesake was heartbreak and wasted potential,
Speaker 1: a tragedy of all that could have been and all
Speaker 1: that almost was. Carlotta was raised largely by her grandmother,
Speaker 1: the Queen of France, and though her father would have
Speaker 1: preferred that she marry a Portuguese prince, when Carlotta was sixteen,
Speaker 1: she became besotted with the dashing naval officer Archduke Maximilian,
Speaker 1: eight years or senior and the younger brother of the
Speaker 1: Austrian Emperor. The newlywed sped off to the Kingdom of
Speaker 1: Lombardy Venetia now in Italy, where Maximilian was Viceroy and
Speaker 1: where they built castle in Treast. But being young and
Speaker 1: being in love doesn't always guarantee that the future will
Speaker 1: unfold like the fairy tale you no doubt imagine when
Speaker 1: you're a princess who just married a dashing archduke. Maximilian's
Speaker 1: faithfulness to his wife lasted only past their honeymoon, and
Speaker 1: soon the Archduke was cavorting around the world, attending wild
Speaker 1: parties and visiting brothels, while Carlotta stayed in priest waiting
Speaker 1: for her beloved husband to come home to her. She
Speaker 1: was a loyal wife, raised to believe that loyalty and
Speaker 1: obedient were a princess's primary duty, and so Carlotta never
Speaker 1: wept and never fought her husband. Only when Maximilian returned
Speaker 1: from a trip to Brazil carrying a venereal disease that
Speaker 1: left them unable to bear children. Only then did Carlotta cry.
Speaker 1: From that point on, Carlotta and Maximilian slept in separate bedrooms,
Speaker 1: but still she woke with bright, dry eyes and her
Speaker 1: usual affable countinents. Her husband had just been offered a
Speaker 1: new job opportunity, and Carlotta was finally ready to help
Speaker 1: him seize the destiny that they were meant for. After all,
Speaker 1: they were young, attractive, intelligent, liberal, and royal. They were
Speaker 1: meant for great things. In the early eighteen sixties, France
Speaker 1: was attempting to solidify its empire in North America. With
Speaker 1: the United States preoccupied with the Civil War, Napoleon the
Speaker 1: Third sent troops to Mexico in order to create a kingdom,
Speaker 1: a new monarchy that would be allied with France. Although
Speaker 1: the French troops suffered a defeat on May fifth, still
Speaker 1: celebrated in Mexico is Sinco de Mayo. Eventually, the French
Speaker 1: troops took the capital and sent the Liberal forces led
Speaker 1: by Benito Juarez on their run. That was when French
Speaker 1: ministers came to Maximilian and offered a second son his
Speaker 1: own chance to become an emperor. Although Maximilian was hesitant,
Speaker 1: it was a risky proposition. Mexico was distant and he
Speaker 1: would have to forfeit his claim to the Australian throne.
Speaker 1: Eventually Maximilian agreed, especially once the French ambassadors assured him
Speaker 1: there had been a referendum and the Mexican people wanted
Speaker 1: him to come. Of course, they didn't men, and that
Speaker 1: the referendum was staged and organized entirely by the French.
Speaker 1: In Maximilian's mind and in Carlotta's, Mexico was a shining
Speaker 1: new opportunity. They would arrive as heroes to deliver liberal
Speaker 1: reforms to the Mexican people and to live out their
Speaker 1: lives beloved and powerful. And so Maximilian and Carlotta boarded
Speaker 1: the SMS Novara and made their way to Mexico with
Speaker 1: blessings from both Pope Pious the Ninth and Queen Victoria,
Speaker 1: who ordered the Gibraltar Garrison to fire a salute as
Speaker 1: their ship passed. When they finally landed in the port
Speaker 1: of air Cruz, the Emperor and Empress were, there's no
Speaker 1: other way to say it, a little underwhelmed. They had
Speaker 1: expected ecstatic crowds of revelers, bodies falling to their knees,
Speaker 1: women weeping with joy. Instead. As the Navara approached the shoreline,
Speaker 1: the couple glimpsed a polite but anemic crowd, though a
Speaker 1: small band played most of its sound, dissolved into the
Speaker 1: sea air. It was an inauspicious start for an inauspicious trip.
Speaker 1: Imperialism usually is. There were some Mexicans who supported the monarchy,
Speaker 1: conservative royalists who expected rigor and order from Maximilian and Carlotta,
Speaker 1: but by imperial standards, the royal couple was fairly liberal.
Speaker 1: They funded charities and social programs. They finally isolated themselves
Speaker 1: from their key supporters by declaring freedom of religion in Mexico.
Speaker 1: The conservative monarchists murmured to each other and clenched their jaws.
Speaker 1: Maximilian was not the conservative emperor that they had hoped for,
Speaker 1: and all the while, Bonito Juarez and his army hadn't
Speaker 1: given up. Bonito Juarez had not relinquished the title of
Speaker 1: President of Mexico, and wary of France moving in on
Speaker 1: their sphere of influence, the United States still recognized him
Speaker 1: as a legitimate leader, and then the American Civil War ended,
Speaker 1: and America once again had troops available for a showing
Speaker 1: of strength at the southern border. At this point, Napoleon
Speaker 1: the Third decided to cut his losses. He withdrew his troops. Suddenly,
Speaker 1: Maximilian and Carlotta were less monarchs and more prisoners, trapped
Speaker 1: in an exalted position with no protection, surrounded by a
Speaker 1: Mexican population that largely rejected foreign rule, and Benito Juarez
Speaker 1: as forces moving in closer every day. Out of duty
Speaker 1: to his supporters and the oath of office he took,
Speaker 1: Maximilian refused to step down as emperor. Too many soldiers
Speaker 1: had already died in his name. So while Maximilian fought
Speaker 1: to defend his fragile empire, his wife Carlotta sailed back
Speaker 1: to Europe to beg for military support. She would never
Speaker 1: return to Mexico or see her husband again. When Carlotta
Speaker 1: arrived in Paris for a meeting with Napoleon the Third,
Speaker 1: prepared to beg for military support for her husband, she
Speaker 1: was greeted not by the president but with half hearted apologies.
Speaker 1: The French president was ill and would not be able
Speaker 1: to meet with Carlotta. Carlotta refused to accept his brush off.
Speaker 1: She insisted on meeting personally with Napoleon the third, But
Speaker 1: when the meeting finally came, his position was unwavering. France
Speaker 1: would no longer provide any troops to support the Mexican Empire.
Speaker 1: Maximilian was on his own. Undeterred, Carlotta insisted on seeing
Speaker 1: Napoleon the Third for a second time. This time, Carlotta
Speaker 1: was a little less of the poise empress she had
Speaker 1: been before. As she began to explain to the French
Speaker 1: president the seriousness of the threat in Mexico, Carlotta began
Speaker 1: weeping uncontrollably tear streaming down her face. Her voice stuttered
Speaker 1: and then disappeared entirely until it was replaced by choking gasps.
Speaker 1: But just as quickly as she descended into tears, Carlotta
Speaker 1: began to laugh. Her heaving sobs transformed into heaves of laughter.
Speaker 1: The Empress doubled over, tears still streaming down her face,
Speaker 1: while she erupted and staccato yelps of laughter that made
Speaker 1: the guards in the room send for help. Carlotta still
Speaker 1: returned to the French president one more time on their
Speaker 1: third meeting. Before Carlotta even spoke, she began to babble
Speaker 1: and twitch. She fainted on a couch and was taken away.
Speaker 1: Maximilian would get no help from France, so next after
Speaker 1: she recovered, and at her husband's request, Carlotta went to
Speaker 1: the Vatican to ask the Pope for support. Since her
Speaker 1: fainting spell in France, Carlotta had become increasingly isolated, it
Speaker 1: and paranoid. She was convinced that she was going to
Speaker 1: be poisoned, and so she stopped eating altogether. With the
Speaker 1: poisoner's plans thwarted, Carlotta assumed that her assassins would resort
Speaker 1: to physical attempts. When Carlotta arrived at the Vatican, she
Speaker 1: wasn't granted a visit, but weeping and frantic, Carlotta pushed
Speaker 1: through the doors until she entered the Pope's private chamber.
Speaker 1: Half starved and half mad, Carlotta snatched a cup of
Speaker 1: hot chocolate from the Pope's hands, dipped her fingers in,
Speaker 1: and started licking them. The hot chocolate from her fingers
Speaker 1: was the first thing she had eaten in days. The
Speaker 1: Pope's food, she assumed, at least, would be free of poison. Please,
Speaker 1: Carlotta begged, chocolate still dripping from her lips. There were
Speaker 1: assassins waiting outside to kill me as soon as I
Speaker 1: leave this building. Please protect me. The stunned Pope wasn't
Speaker 1: sure how to react to the desperate woman, and so
Speaker 1: a bed was set up for Carlotta in the Vatican library.
Speaker 1: Carlotta of Mexico became the first and only woman ever
Speaker 1: to spend a night at the Vatican. For her remaining
Speaker 1: time in the Vatican City, Carlotta did not leave her
Speaker 1: hotel room. Occasionally, she would escape from her room, running
Speaker 1: full speed and outstripping her attendants to get to a
Speaker 1: fountain in the middle of the city, where she drank
Speaker 1: the water using a goblet she had stolen from the
Speaker 1: pope's private chambers. Around this time, Maximilian's stronghold of power
Speaker 1: finally fell, and the Emperor of Mexico was sentenced to death.
Speaker 1: But Carlotta's family, hearing reports of her madness, carefully made
Speaker 1: the decision not to let her know just yet that
Speaker 1: her husband was dead. Using a fake telegram they said
Speaker 1: was from Maximilian, Carlotta's family at her to the family
Speaker 1: castles in Belgium, where she could be confined, watched over,
Speaker 1: and safe. For the next sixty years, Carlotta lived as
Speaker 1: a recluse in a palace, dipping in and out of sanity.
Speaker 1: Her sister in law sealed the windows of Carlotta's private
Speaker 1: room and added padding to the walls. Sometimes Carlotta would
Speaker 1: walk the halls completely nude, whipping herself with a riding crop.
Speaker 1: If any guard tried to stop her, she would start
Speaker 1: calling him the name of her long dead husband and
Speaker 1: try to take him to bed with her. Eventually, of course,
Speaker 1: Carlotta was told that her husband was executed, but it's
Speaker 1: impossible to know whether or not she fully absorbed the information.
Speaker 1: Carlotta finally died at age eighty six of pneumonia, having
Speaker 1: lived to see the invention of cars, Einstein's theory of relativity,
Speaker 1: and the first flame flight. She remained one of the rich,
Speaker 1: just women in the world, living in complete obscurity. Once
Speaker 1: a year, every spring, the former Empress would walk down
Speaker 1: the grassy hills of the palace garden towards a tiny lake,
Speaker 1: where she would extend a delicately slippered shoe to step
Speaker 1: into a boat. Today, the former Empress would say, Today,
Speaker 1: my husband and I are off on our great adventure.
Speaker 1: Today we leave for Mexico. That's the tragic story of
Speaker 1: Carlotta of Mexico. But keep listening after a brief sponsor
Speaker 1: break to hear more about her madness. Historians today argue
Speaker 1: about the nature of Carlotta's madness, whether she actually was
Speaker 1: mad or for mad as could be identified as schizophrenia
Speaker 1: or bipolar disorder. Historical record actually proves that some of
Speaker 1: her paranoia was based in truth. Carlotta was under a
Speaker 1: tremendous amount of stress, as you can imagine, assigned a
Speaker 1: task that was in effect life or death for her
Speaker 1: beloved husband, and she was so anxious that her doctor
Speaker 1: was dosing her coffee with a sedative to calm her
Speaker 1: down without her knowledge. It wasn't poison but there was
Speaker 1: something someone was putting in her drinks, and some people
Speaker 1: even believe that the Empress's madness actually was poisoning. According
Speaker 1: to rumors, when Carlotta was in Mexico despondent over not
Speaker 1: being able to bear a child, a Mexican woman, a
Speaker 1: supporter of Benito Juarez who hated the imperialist's royals, vindictively
Speaker 1: gave her doses of the mushroom teo Na Nacato, saying
Speaker 1: that it would help her conceive a baby. In reality,
Speaker 1: it's a plant that's been shown to induce psychosis. Noble
Speaker 1: Blood is a production of I Heart Radio and Aaron Mankey.
Speaker 1: The show is written and hosted by Dana Schwartz and
Speaker 1: produced by Aaron Mankey, Matt Frederick, Alex Williams, and Trevor Young.
Speaker 1: Noble Blood is on social media at Noble Blood Tales,
Speaker 1: and you can learn more about the show over at
Speaker 1: Noble blood Tales dot com. For more podcasts from I
Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app Apple Podcasts
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. M