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Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio

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Speaker 1: and Aaron Manky. Listener, discretion is advised. Once upon a

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Speaker 1: time there was a princess locked away. In this type

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Speaker 1: of story, it's always an evil older woman holding the

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Speaker 1: beautiful princess hostage. Right and Cinderella, it's the evil stepmother

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Speaker 1: who locks Cinderella in her bedroom so that the prince

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Speaker 1: won't try to fit the left behind glass slipper on

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Speaker 1: her perfect, tiny foot. Rapunzel was locked in a tower

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Speaker 1: by the witch who became her guardian, who stole her

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Speaker 1: away from her parents as payment for the vegetables they

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Speaker 1: stole from her garden. Sleeping Beauty is put to sleep

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Speaker 1: by a jealous and malevolent fairy for our Bella Stewart.

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Speaker 1: The captor was her grandmother, the formidable best of Hardwick, who,

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Speaker 1: through four advantageous marriages, had become the wealthiest woman in

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Speaker 1: England and second only to Queen Elizabeth herself. Queen Elizabeth

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Speaker 1: the First was famously cag about who would be her successor.

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Speaker 1: She hadn't named an air Arabella Stewart was a great

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Speaker 1: granddaughter of Margaret Tudor and in serious contention, and so

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Speaker 1: Arbella's grandmother, Bess of Hardwick, kept Arbella like a prize jewel,

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Speaker 1: secure and locked away. Arbella was incredibly well educated and

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Speaker 1: well read, taught and mannered, raised to believe that one

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Speaker 1: day she could be a queen. But Arabella didn't want

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Speaker 1: to be a queen, not really. She wanted what all

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Speaker 1: the princesses who are locked away in fairy tales want

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Speaker 1: a man to come and sweep her away. For Arabella,

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Speaker 1: marriage ment, freedom. But marriage gets complicated when you're in

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Speaker 1: line for the throne, when you're either a threat or

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Speaker 1: a pond depending on the day. Young Arabella Stewart I

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Speaker 1: had to take matters into her own hands, and it

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Speaker 1: had deadly consequences. I'm Danis Schwartz, and this is noble blood.

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Speaker 1: Heirs are always a tricky proposition for monarchs. On one hand,

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Speaker 1: their essential producing airs is the only real way of

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Speaker 1: ensuring your dynasty, of making sure your blood continues to

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Speaker 1: rule after you're gone. But as soon as you name

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Speaker 1: your successor, you have a target on your back. There

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Speaker 1: was probably no one who understood that better than Elizabeth

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Speaker 1: the First. Elizabeth had watched her sickly brother Edward become king,

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Speaker 1: followed by their sister Mary. Their father, King Henry the eighth,

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Speaker 1: had named in his will that Elizabeth then would follow

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Speaker 1: after Mary, and Mary was massively unpopular. She was Catholic

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Speaker 1: and took to burning Protestants up the stake. Almost as bad,

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Speaker 1: she married a Spaniard, and so even when Mary was queen,

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Speaker 1: people had started looking around the corner for who would

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Speaker 1: come next. There were a number of unsuccessful rebellions to

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Speaker 1: put Elizabeth on the throne before her time, and up

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Speaker 1: in Scotland, Elizabeth's first cousin, Mary, Queen of Scott's, was

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Speaker 1: overthrown in favor of her own son next in line,

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Speaker 1: who became King James the sixth. So Elizabeth understood what

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Speaker 1: a dangerous proposition it was to give unsatisfied subjects someone else,

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Speaker 1: someone better, maybe, to look forward to. And so as

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Speaker 1: Elizabeth grew older and it became apparent that the Queen

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Speaker 1: would not marry and produced children of her own, she

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Speaker 1: refused to name who would be the one to follow

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Speaker 1: her on the throne of England. She knew as soon

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Speaker 1: as she did she would seed some of her power.

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Speaker 1: She would become a royal lame duck. But someone would

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Speaker 1: need to be the next ruler of England. Young King

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Speaker 1: James of Scotland was the logical choice. A morning you. Now,

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Speaker 1: we're going to get into the family tree a little bit,

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Speaker 1: so bear with me. James's parents were Mary, Queen of Scott's,

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Speaker 1: and her husband, Lord Darnley. Both Mary and Darnley were

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Speaker 1: descendants of Henry the Eighth's older sister, Margaret Tudor, Mary

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Speaker 1: from her first husband and Darnley from her second. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: they were cousins, but that sort of thing was to

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Speaker 1: be expected. So their son, James's claim was pretty strong,

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Speaker 1: but he was also born in Scotland. He was a foreigner.

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Speaker 1: A lot of subjects wanted someone a little more homegrown.

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Speaker 1: Are Bella's Stewart's father was Lord Darnley's younger brother, which

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Speaker 1: meant that she was also a descendant of Margaret Tudor. Sure,

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Speaker 1: her claim was a little less strong than James, but again,

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Speaker 1: she was born in England and strength of family claim

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Speaker 1: wouldn't matter quite so much if Elizabeth explicitly declared that

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Speaker 1: she was her successor, and sometime times that's exactly what

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Speaker 1: it seemed like Elizabeth was going to do. But Arabella

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Speaker 1: was more valuable to Elizabeth as a possibility than a certainty,

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Speaker 1: especially as a threat to keep James the sixth and

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Speaker 1: check in case he began to get cocky or was

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Speaker 1: thinking about getting too mad about Elizabeth executing his mother Mary,

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Speaker 1: Queen of Scott's Arabella was right there as a reminder

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Speaker 1: that his ascension to the English throne wasn't guaranteed, and

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Speaker 1: as Elizabeth aged out of the marriageable range, she began

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Speaker 1: to dangle Arabella in front of foreign princes as a

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Speaker 1: marriage prospect, all the more valuable considering Arabella might be

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Speaker 1: the heir to England. But though a number of these

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Speaker 1: marriages were floated, none ever came to fruition, which meant

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Speaker 1: that Arabella remained in her grandmother's custody, kept safe and

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Speaker 1: far away, so that the idea of her could be

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Speaker 1: a diplomatic weapon in Elizabeth's arsenal. Once, when Arabella was

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Speaker 1: a teenager, she was summoned to the glittering court of

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Speaker 1: Elizabeth the First. It was the first time in her

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Speaker 1: life that Arabella was free of her grandmother's oppressive hard

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Speaker 1: Wick Hall. Arbella did everything she could to impress the

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Speaker 1: intimidating Queen, and she did well. Elizabeth called Arabella an

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Speaker 1: eaglet of her own kind, and even remarked to a

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Speaker 1: Venetian ambassador that Arabella might one day quote be as

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Speaker 1: she herself is. But then Arabella, tasting freedom for the

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Speaker 1: first time, did something a little unwise. She flirted. She

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Speaker 1: flirted with Robert Devereux, second Earl of Essex, one of

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Speaker 1: the Queen's favorites, and so Arbella was sent back home

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Speaker 1: to hard Wick Hall with a slap on her wrist

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Speaker 1: and a reminder, you are of noble blood and so

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Speaker 1: your body belongs to the crown. For ten years, Arabella

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Speaker 1: lived in all but exile at Hardwick Hall. It was

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Speaker 1: a decade of strict education, restricted walks and privileges, few visitors,

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Speaker 1: and fewer friends. Her only escape would be marriage, but

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Speaker 1: there was no indication that one would be coming at all.

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Speaker 1: In the prime of her life, she was a pond

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Speaker 1: put back safe in the box. Desperately lonely, Arabella did

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Speaker 1: the one thing she could to contact the outside world.

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Speaker 1: She wrote letters. She wrote increasingly mad, slightly frantic, seemingly

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Speaker 1: manic letters. She claimed in a letter to the Earl

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Speaker 1: of Hertford that she was engaged to his grandson, Edward Seymour.

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Speaker 1: Now the Seymours were also a noble family with valuable

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Speaker 1: royal blood. They were descendants of Mary Tutor, King Henry

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Speaker 1: the Eighth's younger sister. A match between Arabella and Edward

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Speaker 1: Seymour would definitely strengthened her claim to the English throne.

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Speaker 1: But that match, made behind the Queen's back, was all

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Speaker 1: but treason. Edward's grandfather reported the letter to the Queen.

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Speaker 1: Inquiries were made. The Queen's representative, Sir Henry Brunker, came

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Speaker 1: to Hardwick Hall to interrogate Arabella about the letter. Arabella

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Speaker 1: had never even met Edward Seymour. They weren't engaged. Why

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Speaker 1: had she written a treason this letter? Claiming otherwise? Brunker

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Speaker 1: sat with the young, lonely Arabella, sullen and staring up

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Speaker 1: at him with extraordinarily round eyes. He asked her questions,

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Speaker 1: She answered questions. Brounker concluded that she was just a

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Speaker 1: silly girl writing about flights of fancy. The letter wasn't treason,

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Speaker 1: It was the fantasy of a lonely girl using her imagination.

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Speaker 1: They all had a good laugh about that, and after

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Speaker 1: Brunker left, everyone forgot about Arabella again for a little while,

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Speaker 1: but her letters to the outside world didn't stop. They

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Speaker 1: became more manic, more outlandish. Arabella claimed that she had

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Speaker 1: a mysterious lover, that she was engaged and all but

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Speaker 1: married to someone in secret that no one knew about.

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Speaker 1: When pressed, she revealed that her mysterious fiance was none

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Speaker 1: other than her cousin, King James the sixth of Scotland.

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Speaker 1: There was no match between her and her cousin. Historians

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Speaker 1: argue about Arbella's letters, whether they're reckless or cunning. Maybe

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Speaker 1: an attempt to strong arm her own powerful marriage that

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Speaker 1: could position her favorably for the crown. Or maybe Arbella

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Speaker 1: was taken with madness, afflicted with the porphyria that affected

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Speaker 1: so many others, with royal blood that's swelling in the brain,

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Speaker 1: and mania that would come to incapacitate King George the

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Speaker 1: Third in more than a century's time. But maybe the

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Speaker 1: truth is sim blur than that. Maybe Arbella wrote outlandish

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Speaker 1: letters for a very simple reason, the same reason young

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Speaker 1: women today post things on the Internet that might not

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Speaker 1: be true, things that are inflammatory. Arbella was cut off

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Speaker 1: from the world and alone. Maybe she just wanted the

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Speaker 1: world to be reminded of her existence. Maybe she just

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Speaker 1: wanted someone to notice her. Eventually, Queen Elizabeth the First

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Speaker 1: died and King James the sixth of Scotland became King

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Speaker 1: James the First of England. And then something amazing happened.

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Speaker 1: James invited his cousin to court, and for the first

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Speaker 1: time in her life, Arbella got to live on her own.

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Speaker 1: She hated court, she hated the drunkenness and the promiscuity,

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Speaker 1: the handsome young boys vying for the King's attention, following

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Speaker 1: him back to his rooms. But she was free. At

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Speaker 1: least she was until she made a tragic mistake. For years,

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Speaker 1: Arabella had gently pressed King James to allow her to

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Speaker 1: get married. He dodged and demurred, And now Arabella was

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Speaker 1: thirty four years old, almost passing the age at which

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Speaker 1: should be able to have a child, and a terrible

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Speaker 1: realization dawned on her. The King didn't want her to

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Speaker 1: get married and have a child. Of course he didn't.

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Speaker 1: Any child of hers would be a potential rival for

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Speaker 1: opponents of his to rally behind as an alternate ruler.

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Speaker 1: That risk would only be compounded if Arabella was married

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Speaker 1: to someone of her status of dynastic significance with the

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Speaker 1: claim of his own. Arabella realized the truth she was

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Speaker 1: never going to be allowed to get married. Her own

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Speaker 1: existence was a threat, and that existence was tolerated barely.

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Speaker 1: But she could never be permitted to have children of

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Speaker 1: her own, and so Arabella took matters into her own hands.

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Speaker 1: Without the King's knowledge or consent, Arabella got married to

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Speaker 1: a man a decade her junior, a tutor descendant in

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Speaker 1: his own right, named William Seymour, the younger brother of

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Speaker 1: the Edward Seymour, Arabella had once written letters about marrying.

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Speaker 1: Their marriage was an act of treason, it was also

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Speaker 1: an act of love. William Seymour was thrown in the

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Speaker 1: Tower of London. Arabella was put under house arrest with

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Speaker 1: a man named Sir Thomas Perry. Fortunately, when you're rich

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Speaker 1: and noble, security isn't too tight. William and Arabella managed

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Speaker 1: a few conjugal visits together until rumors reached King James

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Speaker 1: that Arabella might be pregnant. The King was outraged. He

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Speaker 1: ordered Arabella be transferred north to Durham, where meetings with

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Speaker 1: her husband would be impossible. The days before her answer

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Speaker 1: were her last chance, Arabella and William needed to run

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Speaker 1: away to the continent to safety to be together. On

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Speaker 1: the day of her scheduled departure to Durham, Arabella told

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Speaker 1: her captor that she was too sick to move. She

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Speaker 1: lay in bed, refusing food and water, and said she

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Speaker 1: couldn't even support her own weight on her two legs.

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Speaker 1: If you want me to come with you to Durham,

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Speaker 1: she said, you'll have to carry me. Sir Thomas Perry

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Speaker 1: didn't know what to do. He summoned a doctor who

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Speaker 1: agreed that yes, the young woman's pulse was weak, and

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Speaker 1: Perry wrote to the king, who signed and permitted Arabella's

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Speaker 1: transfer to Durham delayed a few weeks. While the party

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Speaker 1: was distracted, Arabella put on hose, a man's doublet, a

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Speaker 1: black hat, a sword, and boots. She slipped away from

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Speaker 1: the house when no one was looking, disguised as a man.

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Speaker 1: She and a few loyal servants set out for the coast,

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Speaker 1: which she would meet with her husband and they together

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Speaker 1: would catch a ship to France. Arabella made it to Blackwater,

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Speaker 1: their meeting spot, without any trouble. She and William were

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Speaker 1: supposed to meet there at eight to catch a ferry

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Speaker 1: to Leith, from which they'd leave to Calais. Eight turned

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Speaker 1: to eight thirty, no sign of William. A thirty turned

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Speaker 1: to nine. Arabella's companions were getting restless. They pleaded with

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Speaker 1: her to just leave down the river with the friendship captain,

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Speaker 1: who was ready to take them just a little bit longer,

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Speaker 1: Arabella begged. At nine thirty, Arabella finally left the inn

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Speaker 1: they were staying at and slowly they made their way

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Speaker 1: down to Leith, where they boarded the boat they had

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Speaker 1: reserved to take them to France. But again William was

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Speaker 1: nowhere to be seen. Again, Arabella begged for the team

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Speaker 1: to linger just a little bit longer. The boat was boarded,

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Speaker 1: ready to go, and soon the winds were going to

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Speaker 1: change and keep them from leaving at all, but Arabella

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Speaker 1: refused to leave without her husband. William actually had made

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Speaker 1: his escape from the Tower of London as they had planned,

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Speaker 1: wearing an apron a wig and a big, bushy fake beard.

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Speaker 1: William had disguised himself as a caterer and made it

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Speaker 1: onto a horse, but there had been trouble and he

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Speaker 1: had been held up and hadn't been able to make

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Speaker 1: the rendezvous of Blackwater, and so he had found his

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Speaker 1: own ship to take him to leave, But when he

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Speaker 1: heard about the changing winds, he bribed the ship to

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Speaker 1: take him straight to Calais in France. He figured that

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Speaker 1: Arabella would meet him there. Williams escaped from the Tower

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Speaker 1: of London made its way to King James, who sent

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Speaker 1: his men to give chase. They didn't find William, but

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Speaker 1: they did find Arabella, still aboard her ship, waiting for

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Speaker 1: her husband, who was already gone. By then, the wind

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Speaker 1: had changed and they couldn't outrun the English ships coming

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Speaker 1: to capture her. The English ships fired and Arabella surrendered.

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Speaker 1: Arabella was imprisoned in the Tower of London, where she

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Speaker 1: fell ill and refused all food and care. She died

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Speaker 1: five years later, emaciated an alone a princess in a tower,

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Speaker 1: imagining that her husband would come and rescue her. He

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Speaker 1: never did lance it for this story of Arabella Stewart,

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Speaker 1: but stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear

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Speaker 1: a little bit more. For what it's worth. William Seymour

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Speaker 1: actually did get away to safety from France. He traveled

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Speaker 1: to Belgium and lived on the European continent for several years.

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Speaker 1: After the death of James the sixth, Seymour asked for

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Speaker 1: permission to return to England, which he was granted, and

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Speaker 1: eventually he went on to become a well respected member

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Speaker 1: of court. He had remarried and had at least eight children.

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Speaker 1: Funnily enough, Seymour's second wife was Francis Devereaux, the daughter

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Speaker 1: of Robert Devereaux, one of Elizabeth the first's favorites. Devereaux

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Speaker 1: had been that man that Arabella had been scolded for

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Speaker 1: flirting with at court a lifetime ago. About fifteen years

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Speaker 1: before Arabella Stewart made that ill fated decision to marry

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Speaker 1: William Seymour in spite of her family's wishes, William Shakespeare

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Speaker 1: wrote a play about similar circumstances. He wrote about a

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Speaker 1: woman in love with a man and a man in

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Speaker 1: love with a woman, a forced exile of fake's illness,

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Speaker 1: and a daring escape. It's a play where missed communication

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Speaker 1: and wrong timing his tragic consequences. I'm speaking, of course,

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Speaker 1: of Romeo and Juliet. But there's another slightly less well

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Speaker 1: known owned Shakespeare play in which a young, virtuous woman

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Speaker 1: of noble blood marries her lover, only to have that

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Speaker 1: marriage dismissed by the King. Coincidentally, like Arabella Stewart, the

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Speaker 1: young woman in the play named Imagen is also forced

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Speaker 1: to disguise herself as a man. That play is called Symboline,

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Speaker 1: and it was written in sixteen eleven. Sixteen eleven just

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Speaker 1: so happens to be the exact year that Arabella Stewart

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Speaker 1: made her daring escape to reunite with a man that

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Speaker 1: she was finally allowed to call her husband. Noble Blood

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Speaker 1: is a production of I Heart Radio and Aaron Mankey.

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Speaker 1: The show is written and hosted by Dana Schwartz and

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Speaker 1: produced by Aaron Mankey, Matt Frederick, Alex Williams, and Trevor Young.

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Speaker 1: Noble Blood is on social media at Noble Blood Tales,

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Speaker 1: and you can learn more about the show over at

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Speaker 1: Noble blood Tales dot com. For more podcasts from I

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Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. M