1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 2: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. What would you consider 7 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 2: to be a good legacy for all of human history? 8 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 2: People have wondered this. Is it an estate to leave 9 00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:46,559 Speaker 2: to your children, grandchildren and so on? Is it a 10 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 2: name that your descendants can. 11 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: Be proud of? Is it a statue or a monument? 12 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: You don't have to be a king or a head 13 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: of state to have this kind of thought. Death is certain, 14 00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: so we all hope that some part of us can 15 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: live on, if not through our family or our work, 16 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:05,040 Speaker 1: then through the ways in which we are remembered by 17 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: our communities. Or to quote the great Bruce Lee, the 18 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,759 Speaker 1: key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering. 19 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: But when you achieve a position of great influence, this 20 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,559 Speaker 1: question is practically decided for you. Whether you do good 21 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 1: or great evil, you will always appear on some list 22 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,280 Speaker 1: of royalty or prime minister or generals. A title for 23 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: better or worse is a guarantee that you are an 24 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: exceptional person. If you go to Rome and you visit 25 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: the papal Basilica of Saint Paul, outside of the walls, 26 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: you will see a ring of mosaic portraits lining the walls. 27 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: Each of these shows, in order, the line of popes 28 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: leading back to the early four hundreds. It's an impressive 29 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: piece of work, but I would draw your attention to 30 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 1: one of these portraits. The pope between Benedict the sixth 31 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: and Benedict the seventh. He's known as Pope Donnis the Second, 32 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: and he reigned sometime in the nine seventies. And this was, 33 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: to put it mildly, a pretty chaotic time for papal history. 34 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: All throughout the Middle Ages, conflict within the Christian Faith 35 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: led to several so called anti popes, people who claimed 36 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: to be the true pontiff in defiance of the Roman 37 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: Catholic Church. And it appears that the reign of Pope 38 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: Donnis the Second was during the brief reign of the 39 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:21,680 Speaker 1: anti Pope Bonifice the seventh, who claimed to be pope 40 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 1: for approximately a month in nine seventy four. Now, the 41 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: funny thing about antipopes is that while none of them 42 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: were seen as legitimate, men like Bonifice the seventh, would 43 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,079 Speaker 1: have a ripple effect on papal history. The next pope 44 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 1: who wanted to choose the name Boniface would go for 45 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: Bonifice the eighth rather than share a name with a 46 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:44,839 Speaker 1: former anti pope. Pope Donnis the Second, however, was no antipope, 47 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 1: even if his reign was similarly brief. According to some records, 48 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: it lasted for only three months between August and October 49 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: of nine seventy four. He is remembered in papal histories 50 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 1: as an honorable man of great integrity. And if that 51 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,400 Speaker 1: sounds like a generic, if maybe complementary, description of a pope, 52 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 1: well there's a reason for that. It was common knowledge 53 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: that the roster of popes was flawed, but it wasn't 54 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: until nineteen forty seven that they finally conducted an audit 55 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:15,919 Speaker 1: of the official papal list. It turned up several bizarre 56 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: errors and contradictions. For instance, Pope Anaclidus was listed as 57 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: two different people, a number of popes were absent from 58 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 1: the official count. And then there's Pope Donnis the Second, 59 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: Monsignor Angelo Murcadi, the Vatican Archivist, determined that Donnis the 60 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:36,400 Speaker 1: Second never actually existed. Now, there was a Pope Donas 61 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: who held the title in the six seventies, but the 62 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: successor for the name appears to have been a clerical error. 63 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: His predecessor, Pope Benedict the sixth, was listed with the 64 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 1: title Dominus d Sutrie after his name in the year 65 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: nine seventy four. Early record keepers appeared to have mistaken 66 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 1: Dominus for another pope rather than an honorific title. The 67 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: mural at Saint Paul's was created in the eighteenth century, 68 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: long after the hopes of the Middle Ages were deceased, 69 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: and thus it was perfectly normal for the artists to 70 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: imagine what someone looked like based on the existing records, 71 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: and yet the artwork outside of Saint Paul's remains. The 72 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: portrait of Pope Donnis the Second, entirely fictionalized, stands alongside 73 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:20,359 Speaker 1: real men who lived at the same time. Due to 74 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: an honest mistake, an imaginary man was memorialized in his 75 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:27,719 Speaker 1: own place of honor, like giving a tombstone to a typo. 76 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: And it really does beg the question for us if 77 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:34,600 Speaker 1: someone who never existed can have such a robust legacy, 78 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: who's to say that ordinary people like you and I 79 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: can't and honestly, past a certain point of record keeping, 80 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,159 Speaker 1: That's all history is stories we've agreed to tell each 81 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:48,119 Speaker 1: other for so many centuries that they've practically become true, 82 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: or at least until someone who's curious enough bothers to 83 00:04:52,880 --> 00:05:09,599 Speaker 1: check your sources. Despite being a royal, Alexandra did not 84 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: have a glamorous upbringing. She came from modest beginnings but 85 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 1: would become a true storybook. Princess Alexander was born into 86 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: the Danish royal family in eighteen forty four. Her family 87 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:24,600 Speaker 1: didn't have a last name in the modern sense that 88 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:26,840 Speaker 1: you and I would recognize. They were known as the 89 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:31,360 Speaker 1: House of Slushwig Holstein Sunderberg Glucksburg, but a traditional last 90 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:35,720 Speaker 1: name definitely would have made recording this episode easier. Her 91 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: parents were fairly low in the royal line of succession. 92 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: Her dad was the king's second cousin and her mom 93 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:44,919 Speaker 1: was his niece, making them I guess double second cousins. 94 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:47,800 Speaker 1: Today that might get some sideways glances, but that was 95 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: actually pretty mild incest. By nineteenth century royal family standards, 96 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 1: everything changed though, in eighteen forty eight, when the king 97 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: died and his son took the throne, the son had 98 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 1: no male heirs, and so a council was held to 99 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: determine the line of succession, and ultimately it was decided 100 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:07,599 Speaker 1: that none other than Alexandra's father would become the new 101 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: Prince of Denmark. Now, surprisingly, this didn't come with much 102 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: in the way of wealth. Alexandra, her parents, and her 103 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:17,840 Speaker 1: siblings all lived in a town home in Copenhagen. It 104 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:20,159 Speaker 1: was a decent place to live by most standards, but 105 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:23,840 Speaker 1: far from a palace. Heck, Alexandra lived in the attic 106 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,840 Speaker 1: with her sister Dagmar, and both of the girls waited 107 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,360 Speaker 1: tables at a local restaurant, which wasn't actually very easy 108 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,480 Speaker 1: for Alexandra. She was partially deaf in one ear, which 109 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: made it difficult to hear the customer's orders. She also 110 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: had a scar on her neck from a childhood accident, 111 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,479 Speaker 1: which she had to cover with a choker necklace. Now, 112 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:45,040 Speaker 1: even though they were working class people, they did receive 113 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:48,359 Speaker 1: some perks as royals. The children had a tutor, a 114 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: kind man who would tell them stories and taught them 115 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: to read and write in English. This was important as 116 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:58,159 Speaker 1: England dominated European politics at the time, with Queen Victoria 117 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 1: ruling since before Alexandra was born, and then in eighteen 118 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 1: sixty three the king died and Alexandra's father took the throne. 119 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: Alexandra and Dagmar suddenly became prime targets for marriages to 120 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 1: other royal families. That same year, Alexandra's royal ties and 121 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: strong education brought her to the attention of none other 122 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:21,160 Speaker 1: than Queen Victoria herself. She was looking for a bride 123 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: for her son, Prince Edward. The two were married that 124 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: same year. Alexandra was officially a Princess of Wales, the 125 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: traditional title given to the wife of the heir to 126 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: the English throne. A few years later, in eighteen sixty six, 127 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: Dagmar married the Prince of Russia. They also had a 128 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 1: brother who became the King of Greece. Their family had 129 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: truly moved up in the world. Once in England, Alexandra 130 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: encountered a decadent society, far removed from her life as 131 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: a waitress. Edward and his friends loved to party, and 132 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,679 Speaker 1: Edward had many affairs. Alexandra took all this in stride. 133 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:58,160 Speaker 1: She focused on her home and soon their children. She 134 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:00,760 Speaker 1: had six of them between eighteen six sixty four in 135 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy one, almost one per year. This was incredibly 136 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: taxing on her body, and it led her to catching 137 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 1: a fever, which in turn resulted in her having a 138 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: permanent stiffness in her right leg. She limped from there 139 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: on out. With her limp, her next scar and partial deafness, 140 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: she became very self conscious. She continued to wear choker 141 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 1: necklaces and tried to have her dresses tailored to hide 142 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 1: the limp. She smoked cigarettes to deal with the stress 143 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,680 Speaker 1: of being a princess, and this was uncommon for women 144 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 1: at the time, but she used a cigarette holder to 145 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:36,560 Speaker 1: look more elegant. Before Alexandra realized what was happening, the 146 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,440 Speaker 1: young women in England began to take up the same habit. 147 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:42,680 Speaker 1: They also wore choker necklaces, and some of them even 148 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: wore mismatt shoes and used a cane to imitate her limp, 149 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: and at first she may have thought that they were 150 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:51,719 Speaker 1: mocking her. Her husband wasn't that popular. Actually, he was 151 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: seen as a lazy playboy, so it would figure that 152 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,199 Speaker 1: the public would come after Alexandra too. But in actuality. 153 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:02,120 Speaker 1: When interviewed, many of the young women imitating Alexander's style 154 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: and limp admired her. She seemed like a kind and 155 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: down to earth leader compared to her husband. It was 156 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 1: a rare case of a disability giving rise to a 157 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 1: fashion trend. Edward became king after Victoria's death in nineteen 158 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,800 Speaker 1: oh one. His rule is generally overshadowed by his mother's 159 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 1: as well as by his sons. George the Fifth took 160 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:25,959 Speaker 1: the throne in nineteen ten after Edward's death, and his 161 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:29,960 Speaker 1: mother was always close by his side. Alexander herself is 162 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,080 Speaker 1: often overshadowed by the more famous members of her family, 163 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,320 Speaker 1: but her childhood tutor remained proud of the little girl 164 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,920 Speaker 1: he helped crow into a real life princess. He recognized 165 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:43,440 Speaker 1: the power of her story and her personal growth, and 166 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 1: he would know because he made his own mark on 167 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,120 Speaker 1: history as a lover of classic tales. The man who 168 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 1: gave Us The Little Mermaid Hans Christian Anderson. I hope 169 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: you enjoyed today's guided tour through the Cabinet of Curios. 170 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:04,080 Speaker 1: This show was created by me Aaron Manke in partnership 171 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:07,079 Speaker 1: with iHeart Podcasts. Researched and written by the Grim and 172 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: Mild team and produced by Jesse Funk. Learn more about 173 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:12,839 Speaker 1: the show and the people who make it over at 174 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: Grimandmild dot com slash Curiosities. You'll also find a link 175 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,640 Speaker 1: to the official Cabinet of Curiosity's hardcover book, available in 176 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:24,320 Speaker 1: bookstores and online, as well as ebook and audiobook. And 177 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 1: if you're looking for an ad free option, consider joining 178 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:29,960 Speaker 1: our Patreon. It's all the same stories, but without the 179 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,480 Speaker 1: interruption for a small monthly fee. Learn more and sign 180 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 1: up over at patreon dot com slash Grimandmild, and until 181 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:40,079 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.