1 00:00:00,960 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from stuff 2 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:11,799 Speaker 1: works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast from 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:17,319 Speaker 1: Holly Fry and I'm Tracy Vie Wilson. So, Tracy, I 4 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:20,079 Speaker 1: talk all the time about how much I love Queen Victoria. 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:22,959 Speaker 1: That is true, and how I'm a little afraid to 6 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:25,959 Speaker 1: do an episode about Queen Victoria because I know I 7 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 1: will be a fan girl and I will be totally 8 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:32,720 Speaker 1: unable to be objective if you have it's a problem. Uh, 9 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: it's a problem for a woman that keeps a picture 10 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,199 Speaker 1: of Queen Victoria with her at all time. It's like 11 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 1: my little good luck charm. I know luck isn't real, 12 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 1: but I still love it. But today we're gonna go 13 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: ahead and dive in. And I figured the best way 14 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: that I could maybe do a Queen Victoria episode without 15 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: getting super duper gushy about it, would be to talk 16 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: about one of the major missteps in Victoria's early reign. 17 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: And this may even be one that you know about 18 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,279 Speaker 1: in Passing. It is about Lady Flora Hastings and kind 19 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: of what happened with her in Queen Victoria. But one 20 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:06,559 Speaker 1: thing that really came to light as I was talking 21 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: about this because I was traveling this weekend and I 22 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: was mentioning that it was what I was going to 23 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: work on with friends, and they know some of the 24 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: parts of it, but they really don't know kind of 25 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: the icky ways some of this played out and really 26 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,680 Speaker 1: what the ramifications were in terms of the political landscape. 27 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: So we were going to talk about the Lady Hastings affair. 28 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 1: You've sometimes also seen it listed as the Lady Hastings 29 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 1: scandal or the Flora Hastings scandal, or any number of 30 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 1: variations on those words. But that is what we're covering today. 31 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,040 Speaker 1: So to begin, in eighteen thirty four, Lady Flora Hastings 32 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 1: began her appointment as an attendant to the Duchess of Kent. 33 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: This was three years before Victoria would become queen. She 34 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: was basically walking into a powder keg. She really was, 35 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: because at this point Victoria was fifteen and she was angry, 36 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: She was rebellious, and she was unhappy because she was 37 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 1: a teenager, is what you're telling me, but a teenager 38 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 1: with extra layers. She was at odds with her mother, 39 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:09,239 Speaker 1: Princess Victoria of Sex Coburg Saffield, the Duchess of Kent, 40 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: who we just mentioned, and the Duchess of Kent and 41 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:15,520 Speaker 1: her controller, Sir John Conroy, who Uh, if you listen 42 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: to the episode where I was on stuff mom and 43 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: never told you, and we talked about Queen Victoria, we 44 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: talked about him a lot. Uh. They were notoriously controlling 45 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 1: of the girl who would eventually be Queen. Victoria hated 46 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: them for this, and she was much closer to her governess, 47 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: the Verness Lesen and Conroy and the Duchess resented Lesin 48 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: because of it, so they brought in Lady Flora. She 49 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: was intended, although this was really naively on her part 50 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 1: to serve as kind of a wedge between Lesen and Victoria. 51 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,679 Speaker 1: Conroy and the Duchess wanted Flora to be a companion 52 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,080 Speaker 1: for their teenage charge, and Victoria, as a consequence, was 53 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: really suspicious of the young woman who was suddenly introduced 54 00:02:56,360 --> 00:03:00,080 Speaker 1: into their household. And Lady Flora Hastings was from a 55 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,000 Speaker 1: Tory family and this was in contrast to Queen Victoria 56 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: and Prime Minister Lord Lord Melbourne, who was a wig 57 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: who was her primary adviser once she became queen, and 58 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: because Flora was really not welcomed by Victoria, her role 59 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: pretty much became Lady in waiting to the Duchess of Kent. 60 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,639 Speaker 1: In December eighteen thirty eight, Lady Flora went to Scotland 61 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: to visit her family. Sir Conroy accompanied her and throughout 62 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 1: the trip she just wasn't well. She had this abdominal 63 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: pain and swelling in January, so this was after the holidays. 64 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 1: In eight thirty nine, Conroy and Lady Hastings returned to 65 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: Buckingham Palace. Flora's discomfort at this point was so great 66 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 1: that she consulted with Sir James Clark, who was the 67 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: physician who normally treated Victoria and the Duchess of Kent. 68 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 1: Dr Clark prescribed a camper opium liniment and rhubarb and 69 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: ipecac pills for the young woman's maladies, and unsurprisingly this 70 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: did not actually do much to help her out. At 71 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: this point the condition had become really chronic. It had 72 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: been plaguing her for weeks, and this is probably where 73 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: we should note that Sir James Clark had begun his 74 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: medical career as a Navy surgeon. Women's bodies were by 75 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: no means an area of expertise for him, and he 76 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: often spoke of his approach to medicine as being one 77 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 1: in which urgent matters were attended to quickly, and less 78 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: urgent and potentially more complicated matters were put off a 79 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:28,800 Speaker 1: little bit to see how they developed so that he 80 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: could get a clearer picture, So that camphor and rhubarb 81 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: and the liniment and pills option were likely all part 82 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: of more of a putting off kind of thing than 83 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: a real attempt to try to remedy the problem. Lady 84 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,599 Speaker 1: Flora thought that either he didn't understand her illness or 85 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 1: he just wasn't paying attention to her descriptions of her symptoms. Yeah, 86 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: and her writings. You can tell She's like, I don't 87 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: think this doctor is really listening to me, which is 88 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:04,279 Speaker 1: something we certainly all deal with sometimes in modern society. So, uh, 89 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,159 Speaker 1: this has been going on for a long time. Uh. 90 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 1: Clark had felt her abdomen over her dress, but that 91 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:13,760 Speaker 1: was the only physical examination of the patient that took place. 92 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: Clark did ask to examine her without her stays, without 93 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: her corsetry, but Lady Flora did not agree to that, 94 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:23,919 Speaker 1: so he had only that cursory examination of her abdomen 95 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,360 Speaker 1: to go on. As far as diagnosis, and he did 96 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,920 Speaker 1: notice that there was something odd, but he couldn't get 97 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 1: any more information about it. So, as is often the 98 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:35,359 Speaker 1: case with chronic conditions, she had good days and bad days, 99 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 1: and there were even times when she thought she was recovering. 100 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,919 Speaker 1: At one point, Hamilton Fitzgerald, who was Lady Flora's uncle, 101 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: got a letter from her in which she mentioned that 102 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,159 Speaker 1: getting a little exercise through walking seemed to really be 103 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:50,840 Speaker 1: helping her. She reported that her strolls were reducing both 104 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:53,600 Speaker 1: the sweat, the swelling and the pain that was accompanying it. 105 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 1: And if you don't know this story and what's going 106 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,640 Speaker 1: to happen, you might be thinking right about now that 107 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: a anthem pain and abdominal swelling might indicate a pregnancy. 108 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:06,599 Speaker 1: And if that's where your mind went, you would be 109 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: thinking very similarly to members of Queen Victoria's household and court. 110 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: So we're going to talk about how this evolved into 111 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:16,919 Speaker 1: a scandal and Queen Victoria's part and all that, But 112 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 1: first we're going to take a quick break for a 113 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: word from a sponsor. Alrighty, hey, it's not really anything 114 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:25,279 Speaker 1: I keep under the rug that I sew, and I 115 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: sew a lot. You do so much, and I like 116 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: to talk about sewing, so I have my own sewing 117 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: blog and I set that up on Squarespace and it 118 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: made it so super simple. So now especially, I have 119 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,920 Speaker 1: blogged on other sewing sites before, like professionally as a 120 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:44,919 Speaker 1: freelance job, and I have to say uploading blogs for 121 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 1: them was always a little bit arduous, and by a 122 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: little bit, I mean a lot. But with Squarespace it 123 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: is super duper easy, and I can just churn out 124 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: a blog. It's pretty much as easy as writing it 125 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,479 Speaker 1: and putting my pictures there and I'm done. I don't 126 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:00,160 Speaker 1: have to fuss with anything. I don't have to worry 127 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:03,360 Speaker 1: about HTML, I don't have to worry about formatting. It's 128 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:06,280 Speaker 1: just the templates make it all super easy, and everything 129 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 1: always looks really clean and really consistent, which I love, love, love, 130 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: love love. Uh. It's simply an easier way to do 131 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: the whole thing. The sites that you make on squares Space, 132 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: they look professional and really really nice, and I still 133 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 1: will crow about how much I love their scalability. I 134 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 1: get such a thrill when I look at my site 135 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 1: or check up on something on my phone and it 136 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: looks absolutely beautiful and not the least bit jankie, because 137 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 1: they really know what they're doing. As I said, you 138 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: don't need to know any coding. It is super intuitive, 139 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 1: the tools are easy to use. When I first started, 140 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: there were a few stumbling blocks just because I didn't 141 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 1: know the format, and then I realized they have fabulous 142 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: video tutorials for a lot of the projects that you 143 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,360 Speaker 1: would need to do, like something as simple as uploading 144 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: an image and making sure it's centered. They'll walk you 145 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:53,960 Speaker 1: right through it and then you know it like you've 146 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:56,800 Speaker 1: always known it. It's fantastic. Also, you're gonna get a 147 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: free domain if you sign up for a year with them, 148 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: and if you already have a domain you love, integrating 149 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 1: it could not be easier. I say that from experience. 150 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: So start your free trial site today. Go to squar 151 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: space dot com, and when you decide that you want 152 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 1: to sign up and keep that square space site going, 153 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 1: make sure to use the offer code history to get 154 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: ten percent off your first purchase square Space. You should 155 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:24,680 Speaker 1: So to get back to Queen Victoria and Lady Flora's story, Uh, 156 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:27,280 Speaker 1: the young Queen herself was quite drawn in by the 157 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: possibility of a scandalous out of wedlock pregnancy, so the 158 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 1: young queen herself again. Victoria had taken the throne three 159 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 1: years after Flora had come into the household, and this 160 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: was roughly five years after she had come into the household, 161 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 1: so she had been queen for a little while. At 162 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,679 Speaker 1: this point she was quite drawn in by the possibility 163 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,199 Speaker 1: of a scandalous out of wedlock pregnancy, and she actually 164 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 1: wrote in her journal on February second of eighteen thirty 165 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: nine that Flora's swollen abdomen looked suspicious and that all 166 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,040 Speaker 1: of the ladies of the court had come to the 167 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: same conclusion she had that Lady Flora must be with 168 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:05,840 Speaker 1: child and cast in the role of father in this 169 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,599 Speaker 1: perceived scandal was, of course, the man that Victoria already detested, 170 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 1: her mother's comptroller, Sir John Conroy. Rumors started circulating throughout 171 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,839 Speaker 1: Buckingham Palace. Lady Flora's name basically was being dragged through 172 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:22,480 Speaker 1: the mud and all kinds of whispers beyond behind people's 173 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: fans and exchanging of knowing glances. Eventually, the rumors and 174 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 1: the murmurs got so pervasive that Sir Charles Clark was 175 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 1: once again involved, and when he visited with Flora. Clark 176 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: was quite plain. He explained that all of the ladies 177 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:42,240 Speaker 1: of the court were convinced that she was pregnant and 178 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: that she must be secretly married, or that maybe she 179 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: should be secretly married if she was with child. He 180 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 1: pressed Flora to confess what many believed to be the 181 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:53,840 Speaker 1: reality of her situation. It seemed at this point that 182 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 1: even he really thought she probably was pregnant, and that 183 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 1: might have been why she didn't want him to examine 184 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: her a few weeks prior. But for her part, Lady 185 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 1: Flora was utterly horrified by the accusation and she denied 186 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 1: it vehemently. The doctor told her that if she was 187 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 1: steadfast in this assertion of her innocence, the only thing 188 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 1: that was going to truly clear her name would be 189 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:20,200 Speaker 1: a full medical examination to ascertain the status of her womb. 190 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: This was something of an ultimatum that recommendation of a 191 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: physical exam until Lady Flora was proven by a doctor 192 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 1: not to be carrying a child, Queen Victoria would not 193 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:36,760 Speaker 1: allow her in court. Yeah, this is kind of like uh. 194 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:40,960 Speaker 1: I was talking to our colleague Julie Douglas about this, 195 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:42,760 Speaker 1: and she was saying, like, this is sort of the 196 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,839 Speaker 1: ultimate kind of modern high school clique, but on a 197 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 1: level we can't even deal with because it is royalty 198 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 1: and court and matters of politics. But it's similar stuff, um. 199 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:56,440 Speaker 1: And all of this was of course tied up with 200 00:10:56,559 --> 00:11:01,000 Speaker 1: Victoria's disdain for her mother. Not having her attendant Lady 201 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,600 Speaker 1: in waiting on hand would make the Duchess of Kent's 202 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 1: life more difficult, and moreover, if Flora looked bad, the 203 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,520 Speaker 1: Duchess of Kent looked bad, and Victoria was kind of 204 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:13,920 Speaker 1: in favor of that. So the Duchess was basically given 205 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:17,240 Speaker 1: the exact same ultimatum. She needed to convince Lady Flora 206 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:20,320 Speaker 1: Hastings to submit to an examination or she would just 207 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,000 Speaker 1: have to prepare to do without her Lady in waiting 208 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:27,079 Speaker 1: whenever she was at court. The Duchess was naturally distressed, 209 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:29,800 Speaker 1: both for her own station as well as for the 210 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:33,199 Speaker 1: reputation of Lady Flora, so she advised this young woman 211 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:35,559 Speaker 1: that it would be best if she would simply given 212 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: and let the doctor perform a more thorough examination to 213 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: clear her name and put an end to all of 214 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:46,679 Speaker 1: these rumors. And the Duchess of Kent, interceding, did the trick. 215 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,600 Speaker 1: Lady Flora finally agreed to the exam, although she did 216 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 1: so under the condition that a Hastings family friend who 217 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: was also an experienced doctor, Sir Charles Clark, would also 218 00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: be present. So yes, just to make this confusing for you, 219 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:04,400 Speaker 1: that is another doctor named Clark uh and Lady Flora's 220 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:06,560 Speaker 1: made as well as another Lady of the Court, were 221 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:10,959 Speaker 1: also present throughout the exam. The two doctors made a 222 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: joint statement after the exam quote, we have examined with 223 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 1: great care the state of Lady Flora Hastings with a 224 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,679 Speaker 1: view to determine the existence or non existence of pregnancy, 225 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:24,079 Speaker 1: and in our opinion, although there is enlargement of the stomach, 226 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 1: there are no grounds for suspicion that pregnancy does exist 227 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:34,080 Speaker 1: or has ever existed. But unfortunately the rumors did not 228 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:37,960 Speaker 1: end with that statement. Uh. They mostly were checking to 229 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 1: see if she was a virgin at that point, and 230 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:43,800 Speaker 1: so the doctor that Lady Hastings had insisted be a 231 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:47,880 Speaker 1: participant in this exam, Sir Charles Clark, had apparently mentioned 232 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:50,120 Speaker 1: in sort of an off hand way to Prime Minister 233 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:52,960 Speaker 1: Lord Melbourne that there were rare cases where a woman 234 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: could be pregnant despite appearing to be a virgin, and 235 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 1: that one little remark was really all Melbourne needed because 236 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 1: he was convinced that this must be the case in 237 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 1: Lady Flora's condition as well. He shared this opinion with 238 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,679 Speaker 1: Queen Victoria, but the young Ruler had read the report 239 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:11,800 Speaker 1: that the doctor's made. She had read it herself, and 240 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:14,800 Speaker 1: she really wasn't quite ready to take Lord Melbourne's opinion 241 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:18,800 Speaker 1: as a medical fact. And so the Queen summoned Lady 242 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 1: Flora to visit her, but the Lady in waiting sent 243 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:23,719 Speaker 1: a reply that she was too ill to do so 244 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:27,120 Speaker 1: at that time. Several days later, though, she did feel 245 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: well enough and she went to see Victoria. So the 246 00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:33,720 Speaker 1: Queen's opinion was that she did actually look very ill. 247 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,199 Speaker 1: So Victoria and Lady Hastings made up and they agreed 248 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,840 Speaker 1: to put this whole affair behind them. But while the 249 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 1: two women may have made a sort of piece with 250 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:47,040 Speaker 1: one another, Lady Flora's family tories, who saw the whole 251 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:50,079 Speaker 1: thing is a shameful mark against Melbourne and the Queen 252 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: is some sort of wig propaganda answer John Conroy, were 253 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: simply not ready to leave the matter alone, and really 254 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: Lady Flora wasn't entirely either. She sort of fanned the 255 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:03,600 Speaker 1: flames of this unrest around the matter when she wrote 256 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:06,760 Speaker 1: her uncle complaining that her honor had really been questioned 257 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:09,800 Speaker 1: in a really rude way. Although she did not place 258 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: blame on Victoria at this point for the gossip that 259 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:17,200 Speaker 1: had stained her reputation, Lady Flora's brother, Lord Hastings, was 260 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:20,360 Speaker 1: particularly angry about the way his sister had been treated. 261 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:24,360 Speaker 1: He was intent on challenging Melbourne to a duel, and 262 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:27,560 Speaker 1: he placed the blame for the rumors squarely I'm ahead 263 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: of the Prime Minister. After the two men met, though, 264 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 1: Lord Hastings was convinced that Melbourne had attempted to keep 265 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 1: the matter as quiet as a kid, so instead of 266 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 1: looking for a duel, he instead asked to have an 267 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:41,760 Speaker 1: audience with the Queen. And in this request, Lord Melbourne 268 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 1: really did everything he could to block Lord Hastings. He 269 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: really didn't want him speaking to Queen Victoria about the matter, 270 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 1: and eventually Hastings gave up on waiting to see the Queen, 271 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,120 Speaker 1: but he did write a really angry letter to Melbourne 272 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:57,720 Speaker 1: expressing how insulted he was how poorly their family had 273 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 1: been treated and that he still into ended to get 274 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,080 Speaker 1: to the bottom of who it was that started these 275 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:07,080 Speaker 1: terrible rumors about Flora. Lady Flora herself came to the 276 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:11,240 Speaker 1: conclusion that it was Baroness Lazin, Victoria's beloved and trusted friend, 277 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:14,360 Speaker 1: who had started this whole scandal. Flaura wrote a letter 278 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: to her uncle that implicated both Lazin and Lady Portman, 279 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:21,000 Speaker 1: who was one of the Queen's ladies, as the villains 280 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: of this whole affair. She signed off that letter with quote, 281 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 1: I wish you to know the truth and nothing but 282 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:29,800 Speaker 1: the truth, and you are welcome to tell it right 283 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:34,000 Speaker 1: and left and tell it he did. He sent her 284 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: letter to the press for publication. Also published was a 285 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: back and forth between Dour Marchioness of Hastings, that's Lady 286 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: Flora's mother, and Lord Melbourne, in which Melbourne rebuffed the 287 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:47,360 Speaker 1: matriarchs demand that Sir James Clark be removed from his 288 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:51,160 Speaker 1: post as doctor in the Royal household. Similarly rejected were 289 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 1: Flora's mother's demands that the culprit in this scandal be 290 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 1: identified officially. All that correspondence was printed in the Morning 291 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 1: Post and the affair air transitioned from being the talk 292 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: of the court to the talk of all of London, 293 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 1: and it made Queen Victoria and Lord Melbourne looked very, 294 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:11,000 Speaker 1: very bad to the public. It basically made them look 295 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 1: like a couple of uncaring bullies who had victimized a 296 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 1: young girl for the crime of being the Duchess of 297 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:20,080 Speaker 1: Kent's lady in waiting. Yeah, they really were perceived to 298 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 1: just have been complete jerks to this poor young woman 299 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 1: just because she worked for Victoria's mother, who they detested. 300 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:32,360 Speaker 1: And Melbourne seemed to dismiss all of this hubbub as 301 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:35,359 Speaker 1: nothing more than idle gossip. But Queen Victoria was incensed. 302 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:37,720 Speaker 1: It really got to her. She felt that she had 303 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:40,360 Speaker 1: made amends with Lady Flora and from her point of view, 304 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 1: the Hastings family was stirring the pot needlessly after she 305 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:46,440 Speaker 1: felt like she and Flora had worked it all out, 306 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:49,720 Speaker 1: and when the Duchess of Kent took up Ladies Lady 307 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 1: Flora's side in the matter. As this whole you know, 308 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:56,000 Speaker 1: rumor mill continued to happen, it was like throwing gasoline 309 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:00,120 Speaker 1: on a fire. Victoria was absolutely livid and a serious 310 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,720 Speaker 1: tension was kind of ever present in the palace at 311 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:06,080 Speaker 1: this point is the two sides quietly seeded it one 312 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 1: another because everyone divided on either siding with Victoria and 313 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:13,879 Speaker 1: Melbourne or with Lady Hastings. To make matters worse, the 314 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:17,120 Speaker 1: Queen insisted that Flora's illness, which really, I mean this 315 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 1: is being going on for a while. She insisted it 316 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 1: was just some passing ailment and not anything serious, although 317 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: the Lady in waiting was plainly getting worse every day. 318 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:29,199 Speaker 1: The Duchess of Kent was extremely frank and sharing her 319 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 1: belief that Flora was in fact mortally ill. And so 320 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,240 Speaker 1: earnest was the Duchess of Kent's position on Lady Flora's 321 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: health that Melbourne finally became convinced that things were quite serious, 322 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:45,960 Speaker 1: and it genuinely terrified him. Although it did not seem 323 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:48,680 Speaker 1: so much that he was worried about Flora, but he 324 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:50,879 Speaker 1: knew that if she died, her death was going to 325 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:54,080 Speaker 1: make both him and Queen Victoria look even worse than 326 00:17:54,119 --> 00:17:57,159 Speaker 1: they already did. He urged the Queen to make an 327 00:17:57,160 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 1: effort to check up on Lady Flora, because, as he 328 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: put quote, it shows feeling so At first, Victoria was 329 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:07,359 Speaker 1: completely unmoved by these please to offer some kind of 330 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:10,399 Speaker 1: kindness to Lady Flora. But her mind did eventually change. 331 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:13,120 Speaker 1: We'll talk about that in just a moment, but first 332 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:15,040 Speaker 1: we're going to take another brief break to talk about 333 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:18,439 Speaker 1: one of our awesome sponsors. So when word was finally 334 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:21,760 Speaker 1: sent by another doctor, this time Sir William Chambers, that 335 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:24,240 Speaker 1: the Queen should postpone a ball that was scheduled for 336 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:28,600 Speaker 1: June eighteen thirty nine out of respect for the seriousness 337 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:32,920 Speaker 1: of Lady Flora's condition, Victoria heeded his word. She did 338 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:36,920 Speaker 1: cancel the event, and finally realizing that things were indeed 339 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:40,200 Speaker 1: very serious, planned to visit Lady Flora that very day. 340 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:42,200 Speaker 1: And remember this is June, and this had been going 341 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: on since January, so she had been just ill for 342 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 1: at this point, almost half of the year. However, at 343 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:51,440 Speaker 1: this point Lady Flora just wasn't feeling well enough for visitors. 344 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:55,000 Speaker 1: The next day, the Queen did visit, and she instantly 345 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:57,959 Speaker 1: was sobered up to the gravity of the situation. She 346 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,000 Speaker 1: wrote in her diary that Lady appeared quote literally like 347 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:05,320 Speaker 1: a skeleton, but the body very much swollen, like a 348 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 1: person who is with child. A searching look in her eyes, 349 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 1: a look rather like a person who is dying, and 350 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:17,240 Speaker 1: the two women really spoke only briefly. According to Victoria's writings, 351 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:19,639 Speaker 1: Lady Flora told her that she had been grateful for 352 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:22,320 Speaker 1: all that the Queen had done for her, and Victoria 353 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:25,000 Speaker 1: said that she hoped to see Lady Flora again when 354 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:28,080 Speaker 1: she was feeling better, and at that point Flora, who 355 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:30,960 Speaker 1: clearly understood what was going on with her health, said 356 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: that they were not going to see each other again. 357 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:38,560 Speaker 1: On July thirty nine, at just after two am, Lady 358 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 1: Flora Hastings died in her bedroom in Beckingham Palace. Her 359 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:44,600 Speaker 1: brother was with her, as was his wife, and Queen 360 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,200 Speaker 1: Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent, was there as well. 361 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:51,800 Speaker 1: And when Lady Flora's body was examined by Sir Benjamin Brodie, 362 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 1: who was a well respected surgeon of the time, he 363 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:57,159 Speaker 1: found that Flora was indeed a virgin right up until 364 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 1: her death, and he also found a significant tumor on 365 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:05,080 Speaker 1: her liver. The press had a field day publishing opinions 366 00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:07,920 Speaker 1: about how guilty Victoria should have felt over the death 367 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:10,879 Speaker 1: of the innocent Lady Flora, who had been subjected to 368 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:15,760 Speaker 1: such nasty treatment by the Queen's gossipy court. Privately, Victoria 369 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:18,439 Speaker 1: was outraged over this, pointing out that she had not 370 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:22,879 Speaker 1: killed the girl. Public opinion about the Queen was definitely 371 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,320 Speaker 1: soured by this entire scandal, and as she traveled in 372 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:28,959 Speaker 1: her carriage throughout London for the remainder of that summer, 373 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,520 Speaker 1: she was often hissed at openly and booed, and men 374 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:35,800 Speaker 1: would refuse to raise their hats as she passed, and 375 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:39,160 Speaker 1: at some point people would even shout Mrs Melbourne after 376 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:41,959 Speaker 1: the carriage because they felt that she had been so 377 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:46,080 Speaker 1: heavily influenced by Melbourne's belief that Lady Flora had been pregnant, 378 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:50,160 Speaker 1: even though in that initial examination by the two doctors 379 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:53,960 Speaker 1: she had appeared to be a virgin. Pamphlets circulated the 380 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:58,680 Speaker 1: streets of London detailing the evil and nefarious influences Victoria 381 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:02,800 Speaker 1: held close in her cabinet. They called out Baroness Lazon 382 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: as a foreigner, answer James Clark as a worthless physician. Basically, 383 00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:09,320 Speaker 1: everybody who was close to the Queen wound up being 384 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:12,320 Speaker 1: smeared in some way, and by extension, the Queen was 385 00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:15,840 Speaker 1: as well. When the Royal morning carriage was sent to 386 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 1: Lady Flora's funeral services. A police guard attended it because 387 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: Melbourne was so afraid of an attack. Uh there was 388 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:25,520 Speaker 1: no serious attack. There were perhaps some stones thrown, but 389 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 1: it was not a major situation. The Hastings family also 390 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 1: returned the money that Queen Victoria sent to Lady Flora's 391 00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:36,159 Speaker 1: maid and the blinds of the hasting families. Scotland residences 392 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:38,880 Speaker 1: were always closed whenever the Queen was in the country 393 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:42,639 Speaker 1: for several years afterward, so Queen Victoria was in the 394 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:46,199 Speaker 1: midst of a really dark time. This constant criticism of 395 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 1: her behavior towards Lady Flora deeply affected her, and even 396 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:51,800 Speaker 1: though she claims to feel no guilt in the matter, 397 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,400 Speaker 1: really odds are that her conscience was eating away at her. 398 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:58,520 Speaker 1: She said that if she had just been a regular person, 399 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 1: she would have run away and left the country. And 400 00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 1: Lord Melbourne was also knocked down a few pegs in 401 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,960 Speaker 1: all of this. He really did come around a feeling 402 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:10,800 Speaker 1: that he had handled things very poorly in a couple 403 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 1: of different ways. One in not shifting the blame for 404 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:16,760 Speaker 1: the whole matter squarely on the Queen's ladies in order 405 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:19,119 Speaker 1: to protect the monarch, which he felt was part of 406 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:23,360 Speaker 1: his duty, and he felt guilty for having advised Victoria poorly, 407 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:27,000 Speaker 1: and hopefully he felt guilty for his part in spreading 408 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:31,359 Speaker 1: horrible rumors. The Lady Hastening scandal was really one of 409 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:35,480 Speaker 1: Victoria's greatest missteps in her early reign, both because she 410 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 1: had treated this young woman quite poorly and because she 411 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:41,119 Speaker 1: had handled the matter very poorly in a political sense. 412 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 1: It took her quite a while and her getting married 413 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:46,680 Speaker 1: to Albert to really live down the damage that was 414 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:52,040 Speaker 1: done to her image during this whole scandal. Yeah, thankfully, uh, 415 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,600 Speaker 1: you know, Albert kind of gave Queen Victoria a much 416 00:22:55,640 --> 00:23:01,399 Speaker 1: needed layer of thoughtfulness and calm my. Uh you know, 417 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:04,520 Speaker 1: he became a sounding board for her, and she did 418 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:06,040 Speaker 1: have a little bit of a temper, and to have 419 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:08,320 Speaker 1: someone around that was so close to her that she 420 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:12,040 Speaker 1: could kind of talk things through with, I think really 421 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:15,119 Speaker 1: helped her as she moved on through her career as queen. 422 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:19,080 Speaker 1: But yeah, the Lady Hastings scandal, it's heartbreaking because there 423 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,359 Speaker 1: were a lot of people hurt and damaged in the 424 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:26,480 Speaker 1: whole thing when it was really completely not what anybody 425 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: thought it was. Well and like with the state of 426 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 1: medical care and surgery where they were at the time, 427 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:35,000 Speaker 1: It's it's extremely unlikely that even if they had correctly 428 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:37,480 Speaker 1: detected what was the matter, that they could have done 429 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:42,359 Speaker 1: anything about it. Like, yeah, extremely unlikely that a different 430 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 1: course of events would have saved her life, But a 431 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:47,119 Speaker 1: different course of events definitely would have made her last 432 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 1: months less horrible, right, Like how sad that she was 433 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:55,040 Speaker 1: dying and she was having to write all these letters 434 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:58,240 Speaker 1: about how she was being treated, and you know, trying 435 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,840 Speaker 1: to figure out who had done it at end to 436 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:06,800 Speaker 1: go through and yeah, it's bad. So I love you, Victoria, 437 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:09,120 Speaker 1: but that one was ugly. You did some bad things 438 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:11,239 Speaker 1: along with the good things, And I can acknowledge that 439 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:15,879 Speaker 1: I'm only laughing at my own ridiculousness, certainly not at 440 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:19,320 Speaker 1: the horribleness of someone dying. I do have some more 441 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,359 Speaker 1: peppy listener mail, though, that we can switch to. Okay, 442 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,760 Speaker 1: if you're game. I actually have two things. One is 443 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:29,040 Speaker 1: uh a lovely holiday card we got and it came 444 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 1: from so far away that it got here a little 445 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:33,320 Speaker 1: bit late, but I love it. Uh. It is both 446 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:38,639 Speaker 1: a beautiful card and a postcard, and they are from St. Petersburg, Russia, 447 00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:41,359 Speaker 1: and it says, Hello Holly and Tracy. I really like 448 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 1: your podcast. I'm writing to wish you happy New Year 449 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:47,720 Speaker 1: and merry Christmas. Today is December, so probably you'll get 450 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:49,800 Speaker 1: this letter by the end of January, which is correct. 451 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,640 Speaker 1: We did well, better late than never, as we see 452 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,280 Speaker 1: in Russia. We say that here as well, So I'm 453 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:58,960 Speaker 1: looking forward to your new podcast is best Podcasts, best 454 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,800 Speaker 1: wishes a category enough from Russia, and she also sent 455 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:04,480 Speaker 1: us a beautiful holiday card and she translated it for 456 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 1: us because it is in Russian and it's she says. 457 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,119 Speaker 1: It says, best wishes from Father Frost. A good job podcasting. 458 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:13,840 Speaker 1: You are cool. Thank you for your show. It's so 459 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:15,800 Speaker 1: pretty and nice. Super love it. Thank you for sending 460 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:18,320 Speaker 1: us that. What a wonderful treat to get a small 461 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:22,840 Speaker 1: parcel from so far across the globe. The other one 462 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 1: that I have is an email that we received from 463 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:27,760 Speaker 1: our listener Caroline, and it is actually going back a 464 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:30,919 Speaker 1: bit to our history of peanut butter. She says, I 465 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 1: just finished listening to your podcast on peanut butter. I 466 00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:35,600 Speaker 1: realized I hadn't had peanut butter in years and had 467 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 1: to go out and buy some the ecological crunchy kind 468 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:40,360 Speaker 1: that I had to stir, she says, with a smiley face. 469 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:42,479 Speaker 1: I love old ads and they can tell us so 470 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:45,360 Speaker 1: much of the social history of previous eras. And your 471 00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:47,760 Speaker 1: podcast made me think of the one that she attached. 472 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:50,440 Speaker 1: It's a She attached the photograph and then she translated 473 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:54,440 Speaker 1: for us. It's from nineteen sixty advertised in Donald Duck magazine. 474 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:56,960 Speaker 1: It's in Norwegian, but the text reads, and this is 475 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:01,800 Speaker 1: her own translation, power food for riotous askulls. Healthy kids 476 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:04,160 Speaker 1: have a vitality that can take the breath away from 477 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,720 Speaker 1: any adults. They need plenty of calories. Therefore, you should 478 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:11,320 Speaker 1: give the kids Mills peanut butter on their sandwiches. Nutritious 479 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:14,879 Speaker 1: and super tasty topping just right for children's taste buds. 480 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:17,879 Speaker 1: Mills peanut butter is a natural product made from freshly 481 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,600 Speaker 1: roasted peanuts without any added sugar. When it comes to calories, 482 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 1: Mills peanut butter is on level with our most valuable 483 00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:28,280 Speaker 1: sandwich toppings. Other than the focus on healthy calories, she says. 484 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:30,960 Speaker 1: And the picture of the blonde, blue eyed boys, yes, 485 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,520 Speaker 1: this is also a cliche. And Scandinavia, we do not 486 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,679 Speaker 1: actually look like that. I like to note that the 487 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:38,760 Speaker 1: product was so new that they had not yet come 488 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:40,960 Speaker 1: up with the Norwegian name for the product, and that 489 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:42,679 Speaker 1: they had to point out on the label that it 490 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:45,160 Speaker 1: was in fact a sandwich spread. I hope this ad 491 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:47,520 Speaker 1: brought some joy to you. Thank you for the wonderful podcast. 492 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:50,919 Speaker 1: It really did. I loved it. I love the the 493 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:53,879 Speaker 1: old school kind of health and vitality advertising of a 494 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:56,560 Speaker 1: lot of foods, and that one is spectacular. So thank 495 00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:00,320 Speaker 1: you so much, Caroline. I really really enjoyed it. If 496 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:01,960 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us, you can do 497 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,440 Speaker 1: that at History Podcast at house to Works dot com. 498 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:07,920 Speaker 1: You can also connect with us at Facebook dot com, 499 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,080 Speaker 1: slash missed in History, on Twitter at misst in history, 500 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,040 Speaker 1: on pinterest dot com, slash mist in history at miss 501 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:16,679 Speaker 1: in history dot tumbler dot com, and on Instagram at 502 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:20,040 Speaker 1: misst in history. You can basically connect with us anywhere. 503 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:22,240 Speaker 1: If you go online and search mist in history, you 504 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:24,040 Speaker 1: will bring up a lot of our social as well 505 00:27:24,119 --> 00:27:27,840 Speaker 1: as our website just missed in history dot com, where 506 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:31,320 Speaker 1: you can check out our archives of every episode that's 507 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:34,040 Speaker 1: ever happened, show notes for every episode. Tracy and I 508 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,680 Speaker 1: have worked on, as well as a variety of other goodies. 509 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:39,119 Speaker 1: You can also visit our parents site, which is how 510 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,159 Speaker 1: staff works dot com. So we encourage you to come 511 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:43,479 Speaker 1: and visit us at Misston history dot com and how 512 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:50,280 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com for more on this and thousands 513 00:27:50,320 --> 00:28:05,000 Speaker 1: of other topics. Is it how stuff works dot com.