1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky listener discretion advised. A small 3 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: private aircraft tears down a runway. Visibility is low, which 4 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: makes flying difficult. The planed passengers were advised against traveling 5 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: under such conditions, but these warnings were dismissed. You see, 6 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: there's a Kennedy on board, and it's generally a bad 7 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 1: idea to try and tell a Kennedy what to do. 8 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:36,240 Speaker 1: The plane carrying the Kennedy and their romantic partner takes 9 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: off into the uncertain sky. Little do they know that 10 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: this is the last flight they'll lover take. Think you 11 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: know who this episode is about. Think again. Before John F. 12 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: Kennedy Junior and Carolyn beset Kennedy's tragic last flight, there 13 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: was another Kennedy who lost her life in a surprisingly 14 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 1: similar way. I'm Danish Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood. 15 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: The so called Kennedy curse is a favorite conversation topic, 16 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: and with good reason. The Kennedys are the closest thing 17 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:20,679 Speaker 1: twentieth century America had to royalty, and their legacy continues 18 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: on today, for better and worse. The dual assassinations of 19 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 1: President John F. Kennedy and his little brother Robert would 20 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:33,759 Speaker 1: have been more than enough, But the Kennedy family tree 21 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: is heavy of tragedies big and small. Take JFK's eldest sister, Rosemary, 22 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: who sustained brain damage during birth that resulted in the 23 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: family lobotomizing her and eventually hiding her away from the 24 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: public eye. Or JFK's eldest brother, Joe Kennedy Junior, the 25 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: namesake full of Promise, who was killed in action during 26 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: World War II. But there's another sister who made quite 27 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 1: a splash in her day, whose life was defined and 28 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: ultimately ended by her relationship with two different British noblemen. 29 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: Kathleen Agnes Kennedy, often called Kick, was born on February twentieth, 30 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:25,079 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty, the fourth of Joe and Rose Kennedy's nine children. 31 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: She was born into a rocky relationship. Rose had actually 32 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:34,119 Speaker 1: left Joe while she was pregnant with Kick, finally fed 33 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: up with her husband's chronic infidelity. Joe Kennedy was larger 34 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: than life, with an insatiable appetite for power, money, and women. Rose, 35 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: a devout Catholic and former first daughter of Boston wouldn't 36 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,680 Speaker 1: stand for it, but she went back to her husband 37 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: before Kick's birth and channeled her energy into raising the 38 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: perfect brood to carry on on the Kennedy name. Nine 39 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: children eventually filled the Kennedy household, and Kick took on 40 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: the role of eldest daughter. Today, Rosemary's condition would have 41 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 1: been handled differently, but one hundred years ago it was 42 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: just more natural for the family to hand off big 43 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: sister duties to the next girl in line. Money was 44 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: never a concern. Joe Kennedy built a staggering fortune through 45 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: a variety of shrewd and sometimes shady business deals, including 46 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: a stint in Hollywood that earned him millions of dollars 47 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:43,160 Speaker 1: and an extremely public mistress screen legend Gloria Swanson. Throughout 48 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: the Kennedy children's young lives, Joe's fortune kept growing, as 49 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: did his appetite for power. Against this backdrop of wealth 50 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: and dysfunction, Kick flourished. No one called her Kathleen. She 51 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: was always Kick, a tiny dynamo who refused to be 52 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: left behind by her brothers. She wasn't the beauty of 53 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: the family, but she had an irresistible spirit and a 54 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 1: natural charm. That drew people to her. The mythos of 55 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: the family name was baked into the Kennedy children from birth. 56 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:25,320 Speaker 1: They were Kennedy's first individual's second. Joe demanded his children 57 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:30,359 Speaker 1: look polished and American. Rose governed the household like a 58 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: general commanding the troops. That meant weekly whighand with the result, 59 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:41,919 Speaker 1: meticulously logged. Meal plans were scrutinized, activities scheduled, all in 60 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: the name of creating perfect children. Befitting the Kennedy brand, 61 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:52,040 Speaker 1: affection was scarce. Rose's hands were more likely to deliver 62 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:56,679 Speaker 1: punishment than comfort, But Joe's love was never in question. 63 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: Joe had a soft spot for Kick that everyone could see. 64 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: He loved her fearlessness, her drive, her refusal to back down, 65 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:12,160 Speaker 1: no doubt because those qualities reminded him of himself. Like 66 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:18,039 Speaker 1: most royals, Kick's childhood, as structured and emotionally disconnected as 67 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:23,039 Speaker 1: it was, was also full of privilege, with magical summers 68 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: on Cape Cod and the finest education money could buy. 69 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: But then in nineteen thirty eight, everything changed. Franklin Roosevelt 70 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 1: named Joe Kennedy the Ambassador to Britain, a job Joe 71 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:42,599 Speaker 1: had aggressively lobbied for the family sailed for London that March, 72 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:47,480 Speaker 1: greeted by hordes of photographers hungry for pictures of America's 73 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:52,720 Speaker 1: most photogenic political family. One magazine joked that Britain had 74 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 1: received eleven ambassadors for the price of one. The British 75 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,279 Speaker 1: media couldn't get enough of the Kennedys and their lean, 76 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: scrubbed American charm, but Kick quickly became their particular obsession. 77 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: Fresh from her eighteenth birthday, she had arrived to participate 78 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: in the London season when wealthy families paraded their daughters 79 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:20,160 Speaker 1: before eligible bachelors in hopes of securing a match think Bridgerton. 80 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 1: But the Kennedys hadn't bought in all the way. Joe 81 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,960 Speaker 1: and Rose wanted to let Kick get some aristocratic Polish, 82 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:34,120 Speaker 1: then bring her home to marry an appropriate American Catholic boy. 83 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: Peter Grace, heir to a shipping fortune, was already circling 84 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 1: with intentions to propose, but Kick was never one to 85 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: do what was expected of her. Part of Kick's appeal 86 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: lay in her contradictions. Years of running around with her 87 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:55,800 Speaker 1: big brothers and their college friends made her confident and 88 00:06:56,080 --> 00:07:01,839 Speaker 1: socially fearless and comfortable with risque he humor, yet convent 89 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 1: schools had shaped her faith into something deep and genuine. 90 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: She never missed mass and rigorously prayed for her friends 91 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: and loved ones. Kick broke every unspoken rule of British 92 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: debutante culture. She cracked jokes, told stories, and laughed at herself, 93 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: behavior that was practically revolutionary among the buttoned up aristocracy. 94 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: One of her new friends would later say that Kick 95 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: possessed a rare gift. She made everyone around her feel 96 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: more alive. Her coming out was predictably extravagant, leading the 97 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: society magazine Queen to name her quote America's most important debutante. 98 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: It seemed as though every man who met Kick fell 99 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 1: in love with her. But one nobleman managed to break 100 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: through the adoring crowd. William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, or 101 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: Billy as everyone called him, was every bit the formal 102 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 1: brit to Kicks, brash American. As heir to a dukedom, 103 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 1: he was considered such a catch that people had floated 104 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: his name as a match for the future Queen Elizabeth. 105 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 1: He fell hard for Kick, who initially dismissed him as 106 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: just another stuffy aristocrat, but Billy surprised her. Yes, he 107 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:36,800 Speaker 1: was thoughtful and serious. He was set to inherit a 108 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:41,959 Speaker 1: serious title and took that responsibility gravely. But he also 109 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:48,160 Speaker 1: had a gentle, self effacing humor that delighted Kick. Then 110 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:52,960 Speaker 1: September nineteen thirty nine arrived, and with it the Nazi 111 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: invasion of Poland. Joe Kennedy, worried for his family's safety, 112 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:02,720 Speaker 1: ordered the family to head back to America, and Kick 113 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:06,200 Speaker 1: and Billy started to seem like a case of what 114 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 1: might have been. Back in America, Kick volunteered for the 115 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 1: Red Cross and got a job at the Washington Times Herald, 116 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 1: but her heart remained in England. Of all the Kennedy children, 117 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:24,440 Speaker 1: Kick was the most passionate angliphile and couldn't wait for 118 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: the day she could finally get back. Finally, in nineteen 119 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:31,680 Speaker 1: forty three, she made her way back across the pond 120 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: and found that Billy Hardington hadn't forgotten her. They picked 121 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 1: up where they left off and made up for lost time. 122 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: Their friends didn't understand the pairing. Even Jack and Joe 123 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:49,880 Speaker 1: Junior were baffled by their sister's choice. Kick, having watched 124 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 1: her father's endless affairs and her mother's silent suffering said 125 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:59,479 Speaker 1: she valued Billy's kindness and restraint, and Billy was completely 126 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:04,920 Speaker 1: entramped by Kick's vitality, by her humor, her passionate interest 127 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:09,840 Speaker 1: in politics and ideas around her. Billy seemed to shed 128 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:14,920 Speaker 1: his natural reserve and become more himself. But there was 129 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: one problem, and it was a big one. Billy came 130 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 1: from one of the most stridently anti Catholic families in England, 131 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:27,960 Speaker 1: and it didn't get more Catholic than the Kennedys. Kick 132 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 1: remained a devout Catholic and agonized over what this union 133 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:37,520 Speaker 1: would mean for her family. Billy's parents eventually succumbed to 134 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:42,480 Speaker 1: Kick's charms and advocated in supports of their son's proposal, 135 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 1: but Kick remained conflicted until Billy's attempt at a political career. 136 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:52,440 Speaker 1: Billy ran for a Parliament seat, and Kick was there 137 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: every step of the way. Politics were in her blood, 138 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 1: and her time around her brother Jack during her us 139 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:03,800 Speaker 1: return had peaked her interest. She was invigorated by that 140 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 1: experience and looked forward to more of those similar experiences. 141 00:11:07,679 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 1: At Billy's side, Kick decided to follow her heart, and 142 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:17,760 Speaker 1: she accepted Billy's proposal, despite loud objections from her parents, 143 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 1: especially Kick's mother Rose, Kick married Billy Hardington on May sixth, 144 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:28,760 Speaker 1: nineteen forty four, in a civil ceremony attended by his family. 145 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 1: She wrote to her family to let them know it 146 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:35,440 Speaker 1: was happening, but when the day came, only Joe Junior 147 00:11:35,559 --> 00:11:41,080 Speaker 1: was in attendance. On Kick's ring, Billy had inscribed, I 148 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: love you more than anything in the world. Clearly, the 149 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 1: outspoken American had had a positive effect on the buttoned 150 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:54,200 Speaker 1: up brit They set off for their honeymoon, knowing that 151 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:56,960 Speaker 1: Billy would soon be shipped back out to the front, 152 00:11:57,080 --> 00:11:59,959 Speaker 1: but they didn't care. They were flesh with the glow 153 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:02,760 Speaker 1: of knowing they had the rest of their lives ahead 154 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 1: of them. Of course, the rest of their lives turned 155 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: out to be much shorter than either of them could 156 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:16,120 Speaker 1: have imagined. Kick Kennedy was a newlywed, counting down the 157 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:20,080 Speaker 1: days until her husband would return home. She didn't know, 158 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:24,080 Speaker 1: of course, that she'd already seen Billy for the last time, 159 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:27,319 Speaker 1: and she didn't know that even that wouldn't be the 160 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:31,520 Speaker 1: only tragedy that would befall her family that year. On 161 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:36,320 Speaker 1: August twelfth, just three months after Kick and Billy's wedding, 162 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:41,440 Speaker 1: Kick's brother, Joseph Kennedy Junior, was killed when his plane 163 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:46,120 Speaker 1: exploded during a classified bombing mission. Kick was at the 164 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:49,319 Speaker 1: Cavendish estate with her in laws when the news arrived. 165 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:54,120 Speaker 1: Billy's parents were quietly relieved she was with them rather 166 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:58,080 Speaker 1: than alone when she received word that her beloved older 167 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:01,920 Speaker 1: brother was killed in action. Desperate to be with family, 168 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: Kick flew back to Massachusetts a few days later. As 169 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 1: the last Kennedy to have seen Joe alive, and with 170 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:14,520 Speaker 1: her newly wet glow dimmed but not extinguished, Kik brought 171 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:19,560 Speaker 1: her grieving family some measure of comfort. That comfort was 172 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:23,920 Speaker 1: to be short lived. Less than a month later, Kik's 173 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:28,080 Speaker 1: husband was gone as well. Billy was killed in action 174 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 1: September tenth, nineteen forty four, taken down by a German 175 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:36,680 Speaker 1: sniper on the Belgian Front. The Marchioness and Marquess of 176 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: Hartington had spent fewer than five weeks together as husband 177 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: and wife. Since there had been no time for Billy 178 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: and Kick to produce an air, Billy's younger brother, Andrew 179 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:54,120 Speaker 1: became the next in line for the dukedom. Kick received 180 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: a modest inheritance and retained the title of Lady Hardington. 181 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:02,840 Speaker 1: Friends later Roman marked how cruel it seemed that Kick 182 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,360 Speaker 1: had lost him so close to the war's end, just 183 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:11,440 Speaker 1: when she'd let herself believe he'd survive. But Kick was 184 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:16,160 Speaker 1: first and foremost a Kennedy, which meant that emotions were 185 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: something to be outran, and what better way than by 186 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:25,200 Speaker 1: throwing yourself into work. She returned to the Red Cross, 187 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:31,200 Speaker 1: arranging hospitality for American servicemen and assisting wounded soldiers. Kick 188 00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 1: bought a small townhouse near Parliament and began to establish 189 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 1: herself as a political hostess, entertaining great minds like Winston 190 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: Churchill and George Bernard Shaw. Kick was a social creature, 191 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:49,200 Speaker 1: and her grief hadn't diminished her charms. She may have 192 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,680 Speaker 1: been in mourning, but the men of London were more 193 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:55,400 Speaker 1: than ready to have her back on the market. She 194 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 1: had more suitors than ever. The trouble was none of 195 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:02,480 Speaker 1: them measured up to Billy. Kick spent the next year 196 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 1: and a half immersed in her work, tracking Jack's political 197 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:10,480 Speaker 1: career back in the States and letting the eager bachelors 198 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 1: of London try their best at sweeping her off her feet. 199 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:18,080 Speaker 1: Then she met her next great love, one that would 200 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:23,880 Speaker 1: prove even more controversial than a Protestant nobleman. Peter eighth 201 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:29,560 Speaker 1: Earl Fitzwilliam was a dashing war hero with a fancy pedigree. 202 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:35,280 Speaker 1: He was also a notorious scoundrel, an inveterate gambler and womanizer. 203 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:39,720 Speaker 1: He was also married with a young child, but that 204 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: didn't stop him from falling head over heels for Kick Kennedy, 205 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 1: as had so many men before him. They met in 206 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: June of nineteen forty six at a charity ball she 207 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:56,640 Speaker 1: helped organize. They danced that night and never stopped. Their 208 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:02,680 Speaker 1: affair began, and London society coiled in horror. Nobody could 209 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:08,120 Speaker 1: understand the relationship. Kick was a devout Catholic whose social 210 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: circle was intellectual and politically engaged. Peter was a hard 211 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,640 Speaker 1: partying playboy who never met a bet he didn't take. 212 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:23,000 Speaker 1: They made absolutely no sense together. Friends speculated that since 213 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:27,720 Speaker 1: nobody could replace Billy, Kick had found someone much more 214 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,800 Speaker 1: like her father. They also whispered that Peter must have 215 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 1: been exceptional in bed. It was the only way to 216 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:41,440 Speaker 1: explain Kick's inordinate attraction to someone so utterly different from gentle, 217 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 1: principled Billy. From the start, their romance caused a sensation. 218 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:53,240 Speaker 1: Though they tried staying discreet, word spread quickly. The following summer, 219 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:57,680 Speaker 1: Kick finally confided in Jack during his visit. He had 220 00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 1: always been her closest sibling, so it made sense that 221 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:04,640 Speaker 1: he'd be the first to know. She could trust him 222 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:08,280 Speaker 1: with the secret, but she was terrified of her parents 223 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 1: finding out. After the drama with Billy, she couldn't imagine 224 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:18,080 Speaker 1: what her parents, especially her mother, would say. Now. After 225 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:22,119 Speaker 1: months of agony, the truth finally came out in early 226 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:27,680 Speaker 1: nineteen forty eight at a family reunion. As predicted, Kick's mother, 227 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 1: Rose was apoplectic. Another Protestant, this one with a child 228 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:39,440 Speaker 1: who was planning to divorce his alcoholic wife. Rose threatened 229 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:44,440 Speaker 1: total disownment. Kick would lose her family, her allowance, everything. 230 00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:48,880 Speaker 1: Rose threatened to leave Joe if he didn't support her position. 231 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:53,439 Speaker 1: Rose even followed Kick back to England, berating her adult 232 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:57,000 Speaker 1: daughter in front of her own staff. Rose was certain 233 00:17:57,080 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 1: that by marrying Peter Kick would be rooms winning her life, 234 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:05,840 Speaker 1: but the Kennedy stubbornness was no match even for Rose. 235 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:10,800 Speaker 1: Kick's only hope was appealing to her father. After all, 236 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,280 Speaker 1: she had always been Joe's favorite. They were too alike 237 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,359 Speaker 1: for him not to take her side in this matter. 238 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 1: She called him and begged him to meet her and 239 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:24,280 Speaker 1: Peter while he was in Paris on business. To her 240 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 1: delight and relief, he agreed. Joe, Kick and Peter would 241 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:33,720 Speaker 1: have lunch at the Ritz Hotel on Saturday May fifteenth. 242 00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:38,359 Speaker 1: Kick and Peter planned a quick French getaway that would 243 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:41,440 Speaker 1: end with the happy couple getting the older man's blessing. 244 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 1: On May thirteenth, nineteen forty eight, Peter chartered a private 245 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:51,560 Speaker 1: plane to Nie, planning a brief refueling stop in Paris, 246 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,560 Speaker 1: Peter impulsively called some racing friends to meet for a 247 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:59,240 Speaker 1: quick lunch in the city. A thunderstorm was incoming and 248 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 1: the pilot was eager to take off as quickly as possible, 249 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:06,119 Speaker 1: but Peter's pensant for a good time meant that the 250 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 1: quick lunch stretched to almost three hours. The pilot was 251 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 1: reluctant to take off, stating that they hit the storm 252 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:20,360 Speaker 1: at exactly the wrong moment. But Lord Fitzwilliam wasn't used 253 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:24,560 Speaker 1: to taking no foreign answer. Through a charm, offensive and 254 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:29,679 Speaker 1: probable bribe, the plane took off. The happy couple, eager 255 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:33,880 Speaker 1: to start this new chapter of their lives, Kick wore 256 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:38,720 Speaker 1: her signature pearls and carried her rosary beads. As she 257 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:42,439 Speaker 1: was packing, she had asked her housekeeper to wish her 258 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:45,919 Speaker 1: luck on her journey. Should I cross my fingers? The 259 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:51,840 Speaker 1: housekeeper asked yes, replied Kick, both hands. It wasn't enough. 260 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 1: With poor visibility and loss of radio contact, the small 261 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:00,600 Speaker 1: plane flew directly into the center of the storm and 262 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:03,240 Speaker 1: went down in a field in the south of France. 263 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 1: There were no survivors. Days earlier, Kick had spoken with 264 00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 1: a friend about Billy, about the joy she had felt 265 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,840 Speaker 1: being married to him. Being in love with Peter was wonderful, 266 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:19,840 Speaker 1: but it hadn't erased the joyful memories of her time 267 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:22,920 Speaker 1: with Billy. It was clear that a piece of her 268 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: heart would always remain with him, and she fervently believed 269 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:31,439 Speaker 1: one day she'd be reunited with quote our beloved Billy. 270 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:35,680 Speaker 1: No one could have predicted how soon that day would 271 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:41,960 Speaker 1: actually come. Joe Kennedy was in Paris when he got 272 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,359 Speaker 1: a call from the Boston Globe letting him know that 273 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,080 Speaker 1: his daughter had been killed in a plane crash. Since 274 00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: he was the only family member in the country. He 275 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:55,480 Speaker 1: was tasked with traveling to the crash site to identify 276 00:20:55,520 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 1: his daughter's body. When they handed him Kick's personal belongings, 277 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,840 Speaker 1: Joe discovered that among her items was a birth control device. 278 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:09,520 Speaker 1: It was an undeniable symbol of exactly what kind of 279 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:13,160 Speaker 1: life his daughter had been living. She had been traveling 280 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:17,280 Speaker 1: alone with a married man. For an old school Catholic 281 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 1: as well as a father, it must have been a 282 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 1: heavy thing to reckon with the news media couldn't find 283 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:27,880 Speaker 1: out about this. The scandal would impact too many lives. 284 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:33,479 Speaker 1: Kick's family, Peter's family, and Billie's family joined forces and 285 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:39,720 Speaker 1: immediately began operation damage control. At Peter's estate, servants rushed 286 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:44,119 Speaker 1: to erase all traces of Kick's presence. For Peter's wife, 287 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:48,440 Speaker 1: Bobby arrived from London. Letters from Peter and Kick were 288 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:54,399 Speaker 1: burned in massive bonfires. Andrew Cavendish, Kick's former brother in law, 289 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:58,639 Speaker 1: worked the phones, making sure that the official story was 290 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:03,280 Speaker 1: consistent and Peter were merely friends who had happened to 291 00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 1: run into each other at the Ritz, and that Peter 292 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,600 Speaker 1: had graciously offered her a seat on his chartered plane, 293 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:16,080 Speaker 1: nothing more. The misinformation campaign worked headlines announced chance invite 294 00:22:16,119 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 1: sends Kennedy girl to her death. Billy's parents, the Duke 295 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 1: and Duchess of Devonshire, made an extraordinary offer to the Kennedys. 296 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:28,480 Speaker 1: They'd bury Kick in the family plot at Chatsworth, the 297 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:33,159 Speaker 1: family estate. They knew about Peter, but they had adored 298 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,399 Speaker 1: Kick their daughter in law, and didn't resent her for 299 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:41,160 Speaker 1: seeking love after their son was gone. Even more remarkably, 300 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:46,199 Speaker 1: the staunchly anti Catholic family offered to give Kick a 301 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:50,959 Speaker 1: Roman Catholic funeral. Joe was the only Kennedy who had 302 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 1: attended the funeral on May twentieth. Jack JFK had planned 303 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 1: to come, but turned back at the last minute to devastate. 304 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 1: To attend, the Duke and Duchess stood as chief mourners, 305 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:10,960 Speaker 1: alongside Joe and the younger Cavendishes. The Duchess personally selected 306 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:16,159 Speaker 1: the words for Kick's gravestone, Joy she gave Joy she 307 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:22,360 Speaker 1: has found. Rose refused to attend her daughter's funeral, instead 308 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:26,880 Speaker 1: checking herself into a hospital. Not a single Kennedy, ever, 309 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:31,720 Speaker 1: publicly acknowledged the affair. In her memoir. Years later, Rose 310 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:35,199 Speaker 1: would write that Kick died quote flying in a private 311 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:38,160 Speaker 1: plane with a few friends to Paris, where her father 312 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:42,360 Speaker 1: was waiting to meet her. The sanitized version approved by 313 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:45,879 Speaker 1: all three families, putting on a good front until the 314 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:51,240 Speaker 1: very end. Kick Kennedy lived for only twenty eight years, 315 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,680 Speaker 1: but she packed more into them than most people manage 316 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:59,840 Speaker 1: in an entire lifetime. She dazzled London society, defied her 317 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:04,800 Speaker 1: powerful family twice for love, and carved out an independent 318 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:09,200 Speaker 1: life as a political hostess and widow, all while maintaining 319 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:14,520 Speaker 1: her faith and her essential warmth. Her legacy was inevitably 320 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:19,320 Speaker 1: overshadowed by her more famous brothers, their political careers and 321 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,800 Speaker 1: their own tragic deaths. Her younger brother, Bobby, grew up 322 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 1: worshiping Kick. His first child was born in nineteen fifty one, 323 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:33,760 Speaker 1: a daughter he named Kathleen Hardington Kennedy, but no one 324 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:37,159 Speaker 1: was ever allowed to call her Kick. Kick was a 325 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,159 Speaker 1: woman who made her own way in a man's world 326 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:44,760 Speaker 1: during an era when that simply wasn't done. If she 327 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:47,200 Speaker 1: had been a man, there's no telling what she might 328 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:52,480 Speaker 1: have accomplished. Instead, she's something of a footnote in Kennedy history, 329 00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:56,280 Speaker 1: the sister who died young in a plane crash with 330 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:01,120 Speaker 1: a married man and in a twist that herself might 331 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:06,280 Speaker 1: have appreciated, Bobby's son, Robert Junior, named one of his 332 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:10,920 Speaker 1: daughters Kick. In twenty twenty four, this modern day Kick 333 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:14,960 Speaker 1: Kennedy made a splash in the tabloids when she was linked, 334 00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 1: possibly erroneously, to Ben Affleck, proving that times may change, 335 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,560 Speaker 1: but the Kick Kennedy name is still always good for 336 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:30,320 Speaker 1: a headline. That's the tragic life of Kick Kennedy. But 337 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:33,919 Speaker 1: keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear a 338 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:46,200 Speaker 1: bit about another scandalous mistress. Here's the final irony. Kick 339 00:25:46,359 --> 00:25:49,199 Speaker 1: died as a mistress to a married man, but she 340 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,159 Speaker 1: and all of her siblings owed their very existence to 341 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:59,880 Speaker 1: a different mistress entirely. Rose Kennedy's father, John Honey Fitzger, 342 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 1: was the former mayor of Boston who fiercely opposed his 343 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:08,359 Speaker 1: daughter Rose's marriage to Joe Kennedy. It got so bad 344 00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:12,000 Speaker 1: that he was willing to derail her college plans to 345 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:16,159 Speaker 1: keep her away from the young man. A daddy's girl herself, 346 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,679 Speaker 1: Rose would have most likely heeded her father's wishes, But 347 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:25,200 Speaker 1: December nineteen thirteen, right in the middle of Honey's reelection 348 00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: campaign for mayor of Boston, he received a blackmail letter. 349 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:34,320 Speaker 1: Its message was clear, withdraw from the race for mayor or. 350 00:26:34,359 --> 00:26:38,200 Speaker 1: The sender would expose his affair with a cigarette girl 351 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:42,840 Speaker 1: named Toodles, who was the same age as his daughter, Honey. 352 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:46,919 Speaker 1: Fitzgerald claimed he had barely done more than kiss Toodles 353 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,680 Speaker 1: on a dance floor, but it was enough. The scandal 354 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:55,080 Speaker 1: would bring shame crashing down on his carefully constructed image 355 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:59,720 Speaker 1: of family values. He withdrew from the mayoral race, citing 356 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:05,320 Speaker 1: quote health reasons, and Rose's idealized image of her father 357 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 1: was forever shattered. Not only had he acted immortally, but 358 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:13,840 Speaker 1: he'd been forced to slink away with his tail between 359 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: his legs. Rose lost all respect for her father and 360 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,159 Speaker 1: hitched her fate to a man who was by no 361 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:25,480 Speaker 1: means perfectly behaved, but who never backed down from a fight. 362 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:30,360 Speaker 1: So Rose married Joe Kennedy, after all, the man her 363 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:34,879 Speaker 1: father had deemed unworthy, And from that union came a 364 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 1: pack of dynamic children who would shape American politics and 365 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:45,600 Speaker 1: culture for generations, including a president and attorney general, a senator, 366 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:50,760 Speaker 1: and one rebellious, short lived daughter who chose a life 367 00:27:50,840 --> 00:28:04,320 Speaker 1: of love and excitement over family approval. Noble Blood is 368 00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:08,040 Speaker 1: a production of iHeart Radio and Grim and Mild from 369 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:12,080 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, 370 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:17,440 Speaker 1: with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Courtney Sender, 371 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,439 Speaker 1: Amy Hit and Julia Milaney. The show is edited and 372 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:26,840 Speaker 1: produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising producer rima il Kaali 373 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:31,400 Speaker 1: and executive producers Aaron Manke, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. 374 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 375 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.