1 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:05,840 Speaker 1: Hey, Happy Saturday, everybody. Our network has another new show 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:08,400 Speaker 1: coming out. This one is called Noble Blood and it's 3 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:11,640 Speaker 1: sort of combines history with the true crime show in 4 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: a show that's hosted by Danish Wartz and it is 5 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: produced by Aaron Bankey. So, as its name suggests, it's 6 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: all about royalty, there's also maybe some crime involved might 7 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: not have been considered crime at the time, but maybe 8 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 1: and so to go along with the theme of that show, 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: today's classic is on Charles the ninth of France. He 10 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: was prone to just terrifying periods of rage. You can 11 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: stay tuned at the end of this episode for a 12 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: peek at Noble Blood, although just be forewarned it's a 13 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: little more graphic in the gory details than our show 14 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: tends to be. Welcome to Stuff you missed in History 15 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:56,280 Speaker 1: Class a production of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, 16 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy. 17 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: If you sin and Tracy, it's been a little while 18 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:05,679 Speaker 1: since we've done a Mad Royals episode we have. That's 19 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: a theme that kept cropping up in previous hosts shows 20 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:12,559 Speaker 1: and then it just carried over into our work too. Yeah, 21 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: more than anything else. Ours is more of like a cranky, 22 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: temperamental probably doesn't have control of his emotions kind of royal, 23 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:22,119 Speaker 1: but we'll fit it into mad. There you could say 24 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: he was mad. Uh. And much like many of the 25 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: other mad Royals that we've discussed on the podcast throughout 26 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: the years, Charles the ninth of France, as I just hinted, 27 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: was really prone to fits of rage and these could 28 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 1: be so intense that people at his court feared for 29 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: their lives. And for a quick sort of fun background 30 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: e bit that's not really super important to his biography, 31 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: Charles at ninth was allegedly nicknamed the Snotty King, and 32 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: that was because of a birthmark that he had on 33 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: his upper lip that apparently made it look like he 34 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: had a perpetually running nose, which seems like a terrible 35 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 1: thing for a child to bear. But uh, he eventually 36 00:01:57,480 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 1: grew a mustache to cover it up as once he 37 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: became an adult and was able to grow facial hair. 38 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 1: But that's only the tip of the iceberg on this one. Uh. 39 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 1: And going by his famous portrait from when he was 40 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: just a boy, uh that was painted by Frenchie, either 41 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: this birth birthmark wasn't even that noticeable or the artist 42 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: downplayed it. But that's just kind of a fun little factoid. 43 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:20,519 Speaker 1: As we go into this story about Charles the Ninth, 44 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: he was also the son of Catherine de Medici, So 45 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: his story brushes up against the series that previous hosted 46 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: on the Medici Family. Uh. Katie and Sarah talk a 47 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 1: lot about Catherine in previous episodes, and they bust Smiths 48 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 1: about her reputation. But we're gonna look at this story 49 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: and this piece of history as it relates specifically to 50 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: her son, Charles. Charles was born Charles Maximilian on June 51 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: near Paris, and his parents, as we already mentioned, were 52 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: Katherine de Medici and Henry the second of France. Uh. 53 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:57,799 Speaker 1: And as you said, Catherine was covered at length back 54 00:02:57,800 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: in the Katie and Sarah dates, and the couple all 55 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: so had an older son, Francis the second, as well. 56 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: They had other children. But this is just to kind 57 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 1: of make it clear that at this point Charles was 58 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:10,400 Speaker 1: not immediately next in line for the throne. As a child, 59 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: Charles was really coddled by his parents. His mother ordered 60 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: numerous portraits of her children, and she'd often hire in 61 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: troops of actors and other performers just to keep them entertained, 62 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:24,919 Speaker 1: and that's not unusual for royal families at the time, 63 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: but she is usually described as being really quite doting 64 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 1: on her children on some historians kind of suggests that 65 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: that is what kind of fosters some of their bad 66 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 1: behavior as they grew up, that they just were kind 67 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: of spoiled um. The castle was also filled with entertainments 68 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: of its own. They had a private zoo of exotic 69 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: creatures and plenty of domestic animals available for the young 70 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:53,160 Speaker 1: children's and amusement, and they also had companion children the 71 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: family would kind of hire in and keep handy, so 72 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:00,080 Speaker 1: that each of the royal children had another child the 73 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: same age that they could play with. As you would 74 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: probably expect, the royal siblings were very well educated. As 75 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: a child, Charles showed some natural artistic ability, and he 76 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: seemed to really enjoy literature and writing, but he wasn't 77 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 1: that eager about being a scholar. His school work had 78 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: more to do with making his mother happy than learning 79 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: things for himself. So in the summer of fifteen fifty nine, 80 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 1: Catherine and King Henry the Second's daughter Elizabeth, who was 81 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: four years older than Charles, was married to King Philip 82 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: the Second of Spain in a proxy ceremony, and during 83 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:37,719 Speaker 1: this celebration, uh King Henry participated in a joust and 84 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 1: there was an accident. Unfortunately, his opponent's lance actually shattered 85 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:46,359 Speaker 1: and the King's face was penetrated by splinters from this 86 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:50,359 Speaker 1: damaged weapon in multiple places. Over the course of the 87 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:54,280 Speaker 1: next eleven days, Henry became progressively more and more ill 88 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: due to infection and swelling and a lot of various 89 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: problems going on, and he eventually succumbed to those wounds 90 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: and died on July nine. When Henry the Second died, 91 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: his son, Francis the Second, became the King of France, 92 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: but Francis, who was married to Mary, Queen of Scott's, 93 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:15,559 Speaker 1: did not reign for very long, just seventeen months. During 94 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:19,640 Speaker 1: that time, the teenage king was really influenced by Mary's family, 95 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: and while the Protestant Huguenots of France wanted religious freedom, 96 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: Mary's uncles were very, very Catholic and very against this idea. Eventually, Francis, 97 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:36,279 Speaker 1: his uncle's in law, engineered the execution of fifty seven 98 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: Hugueno conspirators who were put to death for treason. Charles, 99 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,359 Speaker 1: of course, being a young boy and and part of 100 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 1: this royal family, witnessed the entire spectacle of this execution 101 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: along with the rest of his family. Francis the Second, 102 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:54,640 Speaker 1: who had tuberculosis, died of an abscess behind his ear 103 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:59,039 Speaker 1: on the evening of December five, fifteen sixty and at 104 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 1: that moment the crown went to his younger brother, Charles 105 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: the ninth. And before we get on to kind of 106 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: Charles as a child king, it's a little early, but 107 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: I want to go ahead and do a sponsor break 108 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:12,680 Speaker 1: here because that way we can keep kind of the 109 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 1: next chunk of the story altogether. So is that cool 110 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: with you, Tracy, it is, let's do it. To get 111 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 1: back to Charles's story, he was only ten when his 112 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:33,679 Speaker 1: brother died, so his mother, Catherine was named as regent, 113 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:36,160 Speaker 1: and in this role she did everything that a ruler 114 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:39,040 Speaker 1: would normally do, and she stayed by her son's side 115 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: at almost all times. For the rare occasions when she 116 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:45,599 Speaker 1: wasn't with Charles, the servants, of course, were expected to 117 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: report back to her on even the most minute details 118 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:52,719 Speaker 1: in what he was up to. And again that that's 119 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: one of those things that people will talk about in 120 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,040 Speaker 1: history when they're talking about royal families. But it really 121 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 1: is not that unusual. I think most royal parents, particularly 122 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: as you go further back, the habit was kind of 123 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: to keep constant tabs on their kids as they were 124 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 1: doing things. I'm using the air quotes on their own 125 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: because they were never really on their own. But from 126 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: early on, Charles had shown some signs of mental illness. 127 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 1: And this really manifested initially is these fits, uh that 128 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 1: could be attributed to the frustration of a child, Like 129 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: we have all seen a toddler kind of hit the 130 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: wall where they can't they don't have the language skills 131 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: to like explain themselves, so they just kind of have 132 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: these rage fits. But the problem was that this continued 133 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 1: for Charles long past the age where that behavior is 134 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 1: considered normal and part of the growing cycle. He was 135 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:44,640 Speaker 1: also physically pretty weak, although he enjoyed being physically active. 136 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 1: At the same time, he also wasn't the only one 137 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 1: in his family who was prone to developing infections and 138 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: displaying these kind of rage tantrums. His brothers had the 139 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 1: same characteristics. Yeah, this is pretty consistent throughout the family. 140 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:05,520 Speaker 1: Charles was also obsessively interested in hunting. Uh. Hunting, you know, 141 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: very popular, but he was really obsessed with it, and 142 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: the sight of blood during these excursions got him really excited, 143 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,400 Speaker 1: and he seemed to start to crave that excitement, almost 144 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: like an addiction. He got lots of excitement outside of hunting. 145 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: Due to the ongoing religious tensions in France. In fifteen 146 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 1: sixty two, Francis of Gives, who was one of the 147 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 1: same uncles of Mary, Queen of Scott's, who had been 148 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: so influential over his older brother, briefly kidnapped Charles and 149 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:37,440 Speaker 1: his mother, threatening that if the young king entertained any 150 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:41,199 Speaker 1: ideas about becoming a Protestant, they really had no qualms 151 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 1: with getting a new king. Yeah, you can imagine how 152 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: that would be a terrifying event for a young child. 153 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: You know. Again, he was only ten when his when 154 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: he became king, even though he wasn't really ruling at 155 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 1: that point. So this is a lot to deal with. Uh. 156 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:01,800 Speaker 1: Three years after Francis had died, so Charles would have 157 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 1: been on the on the throne, but with his mother 158 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:07,880 Speaker 1: ruling his regent. UH. Charles turned thirteen and shortly after 159 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 1: this he was proclaimed king without his mother's regency. And 160 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:13,680 Speaker 1: you may think that this would have been a problem 161 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:16,320 Speaker 1: for Catherine, but you would be wrong, because she still 162 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: held the power. Charles was very young and indecisive and 163 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 1: as we said, kind of physically weak, and he already 164 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:25,839 Speaker 1: showed these signs of mental illness. And now Catherine was 165 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 1: in this position where really she was still making the decisions. 166 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 1: She had that much influence, but Charles was the one 167 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:35,560 Speaker 1: that was ultimately held responsible for them. Charles had been 168 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 1: named king in August of fifteen sixty three, and starting 169 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:41,080 Speaker 1: in fifteen sixty four, he started a two year tour 170 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:44,559 Speaker 1: of France at the insistence of his mother. In part, 171 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: this was intended to show off the strength of the 172 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,960 Speaker 1: royal house and really try to unite the French under 173 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 1: the king. But the Catholics and the Huguenots continued their 174 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 1: bitter conflict, and during this sort of tour of France 175 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 1: and these tr levels, one of the first real acts 176 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: of violence on Charles's part took place. It's one of 177 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,760 Speaker 1: the first times that we have actual documentation of him 178 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 1: kind of being violent outside sort of a normal scenario 179 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: like hunting um. While he and his mother and this 180 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 1: entourage were traveling from their starting point of Fontainebleu to 181 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:24,319 Speaker 1: their next destination. Charles came across a pig that had 182 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: recently given birth, and he wanted to try to pick 183 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: up one of the piglets, and when he tried to 184 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:34,080 Speaker 1: handle it, the sow attacked him, and his reaction was 185 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 1: incredibly brutal, and he killed the pig and orphaned the 186 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:40,080 Speaker 1: litter and kind of left it that and it was 187 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,560 Speaker 1: again outside sort of the uh you know, it wasn't 188 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:45,440 Speaker 1: like going on a hunt. It was killing this mother 189 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,960 Speaker 1: animal and orphaning all of her piglets. And it's really 190 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:51,280 Speaker 1: the first time that we see him just being brutal 191 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:55,599 Speaker 1: in kind of a senseless way. Throughout the rest of 192 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 1: the royal tour, he performed various acts of diplomacy and 193 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: he made public appearing. Is some of the meetings he 194 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: and his mother took with the Catholic royals of Spain 195 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 1: really stirred the pot with the French wars of religion, 196 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,239 Speaker 1: because the Hugenos saw these meetings is likely being alliance 197 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 1: meetings with their enemies. At this point, we should point 198 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:17,720 Speaker 1: out that Charles did not remain physically weak for the 199 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 1: entirety of his life. We mentioned as a child he 200 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:22,200 Speaker 1: was kind of frail um, and as he passed through 201 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 1: adolescence he grew a great deal, although he did always 202 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 1: stay very thin, but he became quite tall um, and 203 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: he just wasn't seen as so much frail, although I 204 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:32,360 Speaker 1: don't think anyone would ever describe him as like a 205 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 1: hulking uh specimen of strength and fitness. But as his 206 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: physical stature grew, his mental state really kind of took 207 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: the opposite track and started to deteriorate. He was very 208 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:48,439 Speaker 1: close to his younger sister Marguerite, who you'll also see 209 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:52,839 Speaker 1: listed as Margaret and sometimes even Margot, and his behavior 210 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:57,400 Speaker 1: was peppered more and more with these angry rages. It 211 00:11:57,480 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: started to seem like his sister was the only one 212 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:01,520 Speaker 1: who was safe from this and who could help calm 213 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 1: him down. Even his mother started to gradually fear him. Yeah, 214 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: I mean, he was always sort of like a hair 215 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 1: trigger kind of potential violent person to be around, which 216 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: I can imagine has no fune whatsoever. Charles also contracted tuberculosis, 217 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:23,840 Speaker 1: just as his brother Francis had, and he came quite 218 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 1: near to dying from it in eight but he did 219 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,640 Speaker 1: recover from that, although after that point his health was 220 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:35,440 Speaker 1: fairly inconsistent. Eventually he developed an abscess in one of 221 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: his arms from being bled routinely in an effort to 222 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: fight this tuberculosis, but even so he managed to recover 223 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:46,400 Speaker 1: and continue his reign. As he recovered from this prolonged illness, 224 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,640 Speaker 1: Charles found love. He met Marie Touchet, and although she 225 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,360 Speaker 1: was from a bougeois family, Catherine approved of her son 226 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:55,680 Speaker 1: taking her as a mistress. She seemed to truly care 227 00:12:55,800 --> 00:13:00,760 Speaker 1: for Charles and she helped calm his unsettled temper. Yeah, 228 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,360 Speaker 1: much like his sister, Like basically, anybody that could be 229 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:05,600 Speaker 1: around that would help keep him a little more relaxed 230 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:07,720 Speaker 1: and a little less likely to be violent. Catherine was 231 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:12,560 Speaker 1: game for that plan. But soon after, in fifteen seventy, 232 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 1: the twenty year old Charles also got married, so he 233 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:19,200 Speaker 1: kept Touche as his mistress, but he married Elizabeth of Austria, 234 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:23,319 Speaker 1: and Charles is said to have actually loved both Elizabeth 235 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:26,160 Speaker 1: and Marie Touche, and the three of them seemed to 236 00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 1: get along fine. You know, Touche understood her position as 237 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 1: mistress and she was very respectful of his wife, and 238 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:36,240 Speaker 1: the wife didn't seem to have, you know, any real 239 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: issues of animosity or jealousy over the mistress, like they 240 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 1: kind of all worked it out. Charles and Elizabeth had 241 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 1: a daughter named Marie Elizabeth, and this was two years 242 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 1: after they got married, but unfortunately the child died at 243 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:52,160 Speaker 1: the age of six. Charles also had a son, Charles 244 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:55,480 Speaker 1: de Vaudois, with his mistress Marie, the year after Marie 245 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:58,679 Speaker 1: Elizabeth was born, and that son lived to adulthood and 246 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:10,000 Speaker 1: he eventually became Duke of Angouleme. So the series of 247 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:13,400 Speaker 1: religious conflicts between French Catholics and Protestants went on in 248 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:16,920 Speaker 1: phases we referred earlier to the French Wars of religion, 249 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:19,640 Speaker 1: and these are they and these went on from April 250 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 1: fifteen sixty two to May. But they were kind of 251 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,200 Speaker 1: in pockets. It wasn't always continuous. There would be moments 252 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 1: of peace and then it would break into another, you know, 253 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:32,000 Speaker 1: fight again, and then they would reach an accord and 254 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,920 Speaker 1: that wouldn't last. But during the reign of Charles the Ninth, 255 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 1: when Catherine de Medici was still incredibly powerful, the politics 256 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 1: of French court were actually a huge factor and influence 257 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: in these wars, Charles's younger brother, Alexandra Eduard, the Duke d'Anjou, 258 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:52,800 Speaker 1: defeated the Huguenos in battle in fifteen sixty nine. That's 259 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:56,080 Speaker 1: made nineteen year old King Charles a Second incredibly jealous, 260 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 1: and it shifted his sympathies over to the Huguenos. Not 261 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 1: only did not possessed the military or physical prowess that 262 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:06,200 Speaker 1: his brother did, his brother was also clearly his mother's favorite, 263 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:10,840 Speaker 1: So Charles was doubly irritated by his success. Yeah, so 264 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:12,960 Speaker 1: it kind of had more to do with a this 265 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: switch in kind of sympathies towards the Huguenot had more 266 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:18,840 Speaker 1: to do with this brotherly rivalry than it really had 267 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 1: to do with the actual religious and political stuff that 268 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,760 Speaker 1: was going on. But in one Charles met with nobleman 269 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:31,400 Speaker 1: and Huguenot military leader Gaspar de Coligni, and Coligny had 270 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 1: this plan to go up against the Netherlands in Spain, 271 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:36,520 Speaker 1: and he wanted the king to form an alliance and 272 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:39,920 Speaker 1: unite the country's warring religious groups to do so. And 273 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,440 Speaker 1: Charles was actually game for this, uh, and he was 274 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 1: extremely fond of Coligny and is said to have actually 275 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: sometimes called him father, but Charles's mother wasn't really enthusiastic 276 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,680 Speaker 1: about her son's political friends. While she had initially taken 277 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 1: a stance in favor of reconciliation with Huguenos, particularly after 278 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: Mary's Catholic uncle had kidnapped her and Charles, Catherine felt 279 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 1: threatened by the influence that Gaspard de Colony had over 280 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:11,280 Speaker 1: her son. While there's some debate over who exactly ordered 281 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:13,880 Speaker 1: the move, it's believed by a lot of historians that 282 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 1: Catherine conspired to have Colony assassinated. That effort ultimately failed 283 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 1: and he was only wounded. The Hugeno Protestants were, of 284 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 1: course angered at this attack, and King Charles the Second 285 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: promised to investigate. And irritated by the failure of her 286 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: move against Colonny, Catherine kind of took the situation as 287 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: it was and took a new tactic. She advised her 288 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: son that the safest course of action was to have 289 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 1: all of the Hugueno leaders killed and to strike decisively 290 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:49,960 Speaker 1: and quickly. Charles agreed to this plan sort of. Her 291 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:53,040 Speaker 1: haranguing had sent him into a fit of rage eventually 292 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 1: until he finally yelled killed the admiral. If you wish, 293 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:58,720 Speaker 1: but you must kill all the Huguenos so that not 294 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:00,880 Speaker 1: one is left to a lot of to reproach me. 295 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:06,360 Speaker 1: Kill the lot, kill the lot, kill the lot. Conveniently, 296 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:09,600 Speaker 1: during all the scheming, the king's sister, Marguerite de Vala, 297 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 1: was marrying Henri of Navarre, who was the leader of 298 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,920 Speaker 1: the Huguenos, so that meant all of the other Hugueno 299 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:20,399 Speaker 1: leaders were in town to celebrate their wedding. But before 300 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:23,119 Speaker 1: we get to the massacre, I want to talk a 301 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: little bit about this wedding, uh, and not in a 302 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,120 Speaker 1: romantic Let's discuss the dress coin of way. But if 303 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,639 Speaker 1: you think Charles's sister Marguerite was miffed at being married 304 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:37,120 Speaker 1: off to Henri of Navarre, you would be correct. While 305 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:40,639 Speaker 1: the two siblings, Charles and Margot had been close when 306 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:44,399 Speaker 1: they were younger, in fifteen seventy, Margot had been caught 307 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,040 Speaker 1: alone with a lover in the in a bedroom of 308 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:50,760 Speaker 1: the royal home, and Charles was so enraged by this 309 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:53,600 Speaker 1: event that he brutally beat his sister in front of 310 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:59,200 Speaker 1: their mother until she lost consciousness. Her lover, Henri de Guise, 311 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:01,560 Speaker 1: was soon mary it off to a wealthy noble woman 312 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:04,359 Speaker 1: and kind of gotten out of the picture. The rift 313 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:07,160 Speaker 1: between the brother and sister stayed around for the next 314 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:10,240 Speaker 1: two years, but then it widened into a gulf when 315 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 1: it was announced that Marguerite would be married to Nri 316 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:16,080 Speaker 1: of Navarre. The bride and groom had known each other 317 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:19,560 Speaker 1: since there were children, and there was absolutely no affection 318 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 1: between them. Marguerite was fastidious and obsessed with cleoonis and 319 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:29,680 Speaker 1: Ri was not. He had a reputation for his odor yeah, 320 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:33,480 Speaker 1: and she had the opposite reputation. She is uh alleged 321 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: to have been one of those rare people who bathed 322 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:38,919 Speaker 1: every single day during this time, which was not necessarily 323 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 1: common uh. And during the marriage ceremony, Margot is said 324 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:45,879 Speaker 1: to have stood silent rather than utter the words of 325 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,600 Speaker 1: consent to the union when the cardinal asked it of her, 326 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:52,600 Speaker 1: and this became an uncomfortable silence, and eventually Charles, who 327 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 1: had just grown furious at her behavior, stepped behind her 328 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,680 Speaker 1: and pushed her head forward and down in a knot 329 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:04,840 Speaker 1: of scent. So the massacre and the pre dawn hours 330 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:10,280 Speaker 1: of August colony was thrown from his bedroom window. He 331 00:19:10,359 --> 00:19:12,919 Speaker 1: had already been severely beaten and stabbed, and he was 332 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:16,639 Speaker 1: beheaded in the street. This, along with the murders of 333 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:20,040 Speaker 1: additional key figures of Hugano leadership, many of whom were 334 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:22,400 Speaker 1: slain in the Royal Palace where they were wedding guests, 335 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:25,840 Speaker 1: set off a chain reaction of events now known as 336 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:30,560 Speaker 1: the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. As news of the Hugueno 337 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:36,359 Speaker 1: leadership's demise spread, Catholic mobs began attacking and killing Huguenos 338 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:40,399 Speaker 1: throughout the city. The slaughter was just brutal, and it 339 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 1: went on and on. On August, Charles was attempting to 340 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 1: put an end to it by means of a royal order, 341 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:48,760 Speaker 1: but no one paid any attention. As the weeks went on, 342 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,119 Speaker 1: the carnage spread out from Paris into the country. It 343 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:55,520 Speaker 1: went on for almost two months. A rough estimate of 344 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: the death toll is about seventy thousand Hugueno Protestants. Several 345 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:02,359 Speaker 1: of the as were in Paris alone. And I wanted 346 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:04,119 Speaker 1: just to take a side note here. This is actually 347 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:08,760 Speaker 1: the first use of the word massacre in English. Uh 348 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:11,320 Speaker 1: And a lot of the people who were killed were 349 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 1: just like working at their shops, are going about their 350 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:17,359 Speaker 1: normal daily lives. When people burst in and and cut 351 00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 1: them down. Um. The reason I know that is because 352 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,040 Speaker 1: back when we did our episode about the Boston massacre, 353 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:27,640 Speaker 1: which had an extremely small number of people who were killed, 354 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:29,800 Speaker 1: a lot of people that got angry that we didn't 355 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:33,560 Speaker 1: approach that with the proper gravita or like massacres weren't 356 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:36,439 Speaker 1: that big at the time. No, this is the first 357 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,119 Speaker 1: time that the word massacre appeared in English and it 358 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:43,160 Speaker 1: was horrible. Yeah. And I will say there are debates 359 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:48,240 Speaker 1: over the the accuracy of those counts. Uh. Some people 360 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:50,880 Speaker 1: will say the seventy thousand estimate is way too high, 361 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:54,000 Speaker 1: and that the several thousand that were in Paris h 362 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:56,080 Speaker 1: may or may not be accurate as well. But we 363 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 1: know that it was tens of thousands, So even if 364 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:01,680 Speaker 1: it was half that, you're still talking about a great 365 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 1: deal of people. Uh. Henri of Navarre, however, despite being 366 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:10,400 Speaker 1: a Huguenot leader, actually survived the massacre because he converted 367 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:15,560 Speaker 1: to Catholicism. He was kind of swept away uh by 368 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 1: royal guards and kind of given this option. It sounds like, uh, 369 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 1: he would eventually rule France with Marguerite's queen, but that 370 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:25,560 Speaker 1: wouldn't be for a bit. Then this move was also 371 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 1: intended to quell the Hugueno uprising, but what it really 372 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:30,720 Speaker 1: did was to kick off the fourth of the eight 373 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,760 Speaker 1: French religious wars ya. As I mentioned earlier, those those 374 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:36,920 Speaker 1: wars kind of ebbed and flowed and went on and 375 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:40,600 Speaker 1: would erupt in in individuals, sort of what they call wars, 376 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:42,680 Speaker 1: but they went on through this long period of time, 377 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,000 Speaker 1: and they're all linked, all eight of them, as the 378 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:50,080 Speaker 1: French religious wars. We mentioned earlier that Charles had developed 379 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:54,119 Speaker 1: this serious passion for hunting, which is kind of a 380 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:56,359 Speaker 1: very gentle way to put it, and it seems that 381 00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 1: his obsession with it intensified as he grew and came 382 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 1: angrier and angrier, and he kind of developed this blood 383 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:06,560 Speaker 1: lust for the hunt. His preference was to kill with 384 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:08,800 Speaker 1: a knife, because he wanted to be close to the 385 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 1: blood UH, and this seemed to help him sometimes vent 386 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:17,080 Speaker 1: off his violent impulses, but it did not work long term. 387 00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:20,520 Speaker 1: He also developed a taste for torturing animals UH, and 388 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 1: he liked to lash servants rather violently. The stress of 389 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:29,480 Speaker 1: his position, this ongoing physical problems, and the UH, the 390 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,680 Speaker 1: tumult of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre all really took 391 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 1: a toll on Charles. His temper became increasingly hair triggered, 392 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,800 Speaker 1: and he would just fly into violent rages without any warning. 393 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 1: And as winter came on at the end of fifteen 394 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:47,200 Speaker 1: seventies three, he was at this point really quite incredibly frail, 395 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 1: uh in constant pain, as tuberculosis really took a toll 396 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:54,120 Speaker 1: on his body. And his spring of fifteen seventy four 397 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:58,119 Speaker 1: came on. He said to have been sweating blood almost continuously, 398 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:02,800 Speaker 1: and he finally died on seventy four, just a month 399 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:06,720 Speaker 1: shy of his twenty four birthday. It's believed that Charles 400 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:10,320 Speaker 1: remained very melancholy about his involvement in the St. Bartholomew's 401 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:12,719 Speaker 1: Day massacre for the rest of his short life, although 402 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: I was not really mentioned when he gave his confession 403 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 1: on his deathbed, and he was after he passed, succeeded 404 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:22,879 Speaker 1: by his brother Henry the third. So that is our 405 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:26,240 Speaker 1: mad Royal du jour. And as I said at the beginning, 406 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,880 Speaker 1: I was a little you know um in the mad 407 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:33,200 Speaker 1: royal zone. He seems so much to be an angry royal, 408 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:36,200 Speaker 1: and I would be reluctant to diagnose him as insane, 409 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:39,679 Speaker 1: but he certainly seems like someone that is that blood 410 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:44,240 Speaker 1: lusty must be dealing with some severe mental illness. Uh, 411 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:51,960 Speaker 1: but that is the scoop. Thank you so much for 412 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:55,280 Speaker 1: joining us on this Saturday. If you have heard an 413 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:57,480 Speaker 1: email address or a Facebook you are l or something 414 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:00,359 Speaker 1: similar over the course of today's episode, since it is 415 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 1: from the archive that might be out of date now, 416 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:06,080 Speaker 1: you can email us at history podcast at how Stuff 417 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:08,080 Speaker 1: Works dot com, and you can find us all over 418 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 1: social media at missed in History and you can subscribe 419 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 1: to our show on Apple podcasts, Google podcast, the I 420 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:17,920 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, and wherever else you listen to podcasts. 421 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:24,119 Speaker 1: Stuff You Missed in History Class is a production of 422 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,240 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more podcasts for 423 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 1: my Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, 424 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:36,480 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. She was 425 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:40,439 Speaker 1: the fifteen child of the Empress Maria Teresa and was 426 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:43,680 Speaker 1: only gifted with the prize role of Dauphin of France 427 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:48,359 Speaker 1: thanks to random happenstance, an unlikely circumstance be following her 428 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:53,400 Speaker 1: older sisters. Her education up until that last minute betrothedale 429 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 1: had been minimal, but even if she wasn't studious. She 430 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:00,320 Speaker 1: was beautiful and charming and agreeable. She would be happy 431 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:03,880 Speaker 1: in France, marrying the awkward young prince only a few 432 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:07,480 Speaker 1: months her senior. But even if she wasn't, her happiness 433 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,280 Speaker 1: wasn't the point. She was a pawn to secure an 434 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:14,879 Speaker 1: alliance between Austria and France. Twenty two years after she 435 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:19,480 Speaker 1: became a French princess, after two decades of decadence in 436 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:23,399 Speaker 1: the most cultured and luxurious palace in the world, Marie 437 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,480 Speaker 1: Antoinette was alone in a cell in the heart of Paris, 438 00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:31,399 Speaker 1: with mobs outside calling for her head to join that 439 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 1: of her husband and her friends in the guillotine. Marie 440 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 1: Antoinette's prison cell at the Conciergerie was not a place 441 00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:43,640 Speaker 1: of warmth and kindness, but the jail keeper, Madame Rochard, 442 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:45,720 Speaker 1: tried to make the woman who had once lived in 443 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 1: a palace comfortable. Madame Richard, who ran the Conciergerie with 444 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 1: her husband, had watched the queen hang a small golden 445 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:56,639 Speaker 1: watch on the wall of herself, the only bit of 446 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,679 Speaker 1: adornment in the dark room, where the walls dripped and 447 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,160 Speaker 1: owning could be heard from all hours of the night. 448 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,520 Speaker 1: It was a gift from long ago from her mother, 449 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:10,520 Speaker 1: the Empress Maria Therese. Madame Richard had also watched the 450 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:14,679 Speaker 1: guards confiscate the watch five days later. The Queen was 451 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:19,080 Speaker 1: mostly quiet after that, Her hands stayed in her laps. 452 00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:21,600 Speaker 1: She thanked the guards and they brought her food, and 453 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:25,080 Speaker 1: thanked Madame Richard when the jailer brought fresh flowers to 454 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:29,639 Speaker 1: the cell. Before those two were banned. One afternoon, to 455 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 1: try to cheer up the queen, Madame Rochard brought her 456 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 1: own son to the prison. Marie Antoinette had always famously 457 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:39,680 Speaker 1: loved children. She once stopped her carriage to help a 458 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 1: poor boy on the street, paying for his boarding and education. 459 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:46,600 Speaker 1: She had clutched her own children to her so tightly 460 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:49,959 Speaker 1: and for so long that Versailles had wagged their tongues 461 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:54,400 Speaker 1: at her over indulgence. When Madame Richard's son, Fan Fan 462 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:59,199 Speaker 1: arrived at the Conciergerie, Marie Antoinette burst into tears for 463 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: the first time in weeks. Her voice rose above a whisper. 464 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:06,160 Speaker 1: She wailed while hugging the boy, pulling her arms tighter 465 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:10,320 Speaker 1: and tighter around him. It was a cry of misery. 466 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: Van Van was seven at the time, the same age 467 00:27:13,359 --> 00:27:18,040 Speaker 1: as Marie Antoinette's son, Louis Charles, imprisoned somewhere far away 468 00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:22,920 Speaker 1: being re educated by revolutionaries. When Madame Richard took her 469 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:25,600 Speaker 1: son's hand and led him back into the hall, she 470 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:28,320 Speaker 1: confessed to a maid that she had made a mistake 471 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,240 Speaker 1: and she would never again bring fan Fan to visit 472 00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 1: Marie Antoinette. Six months prior, Marie Antoinette's family had all 473 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,199 Speaker 1: been together for what would be the last time. It 474 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:43,399 Speaker 1: was the night before the former King Louis the sixteenth execution, 475 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,920 Speaker 1: and the man now called Louis Capette was permitted one 476 00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:52,200 Speaker 1: last meal. Marie Antoinette and louise younger sister Elizabeth cried 477 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:55,440 Speaker 1: the entire evening, while the children, a boy and a girl, 478 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:59,600 Speaker 1: looked up at their stoic father with wide watery eyes. 479 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 1: Promise me, the once king said to his children that 480 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:05,919 Speaker 1: you will not seek revenge for those who do this 481 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:11,680 Speaker 1: to me. Little Louis Charles nodded his head. Marie Antoinette 482 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:15,359 Speaker 1: would not stop her weeping. She and her husband had 483 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:19,360 Speaker 1: been married for twenty three years. Louis the sixteenth had 484 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,720 Speaker 1: never taken a mistress. Perhaps if he had, things would 485 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,159 Speaker 1: have been easier for his queen some one else to 486 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:28,439 Speaker 1: deflect the gossip and attention. But it was far too 487 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:31,200 Speaker 1: late to try to imagine how things might have been different. 488 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 1: Louis the sixteenth had been sent into to death, and 489 00:28:34,359 --> 00:28:36,600 Speaker 1: his head would be on the guillotine the next morning. 490 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,800 Speaker 1: To stop his wife, and his sister and his children 491 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:45,479 Speaker 1: from crying, Louis promised that he would see them tomorrow morning, 492 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,000 Speaker 1: that he would say one final goodbye. This was just 493 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:52,360 Speaker 1: good night. We'll say goodbye to morrow morning, he lied. 494 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:57,280 Speaker 1: The next morning, Marie Antoinette, now called the Widow Capette, 495 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:05,960 Speaker 1: was taken to a new prison cell. Noble Blood is 496 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,800 Speaker 1: a co production of I Heart Radio and Aaron Mankey. 497 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:11,800 Speaker 1: The show is written and hosted by Dani Schwartz and 498 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: produced by Aaron Mankey, Matt Frederick, Alex Williams, and Trevor Young. 499 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:20,200 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is on social media at Noble Blood Tales, 500 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:22,480 Speaker 1: and you can learn more about the show over at 501 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:25,520 Speaker 1: Noble Blood Tales dot com. For more podcasts from I 502 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 503 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:31,560 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.