Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio
Speaker 1: and Aaron Manky. Listener, discretion is advised. Once upon a
Speaker 1: time there was a princess locked away. In this type
Speaker 1: of story, it's always an evil older woman holding the
Speaker 1: beautiful princess hostage. Right and Cinderella, it's the evil stepmother
Speaker 1: who locks Cinderella in her bedroom so that the prince
Speaker 1: won't try to fit the left behind glass slipper on
Speaker 1: her perfect, tiny foot. Rapunzel was locked in a tower
Speaker 1: by the witch who became her guardian, who stole her
Speaker 1: away from her parents as payment for the vegetables they
Speaker 1: stole from her garden. Sleeping Beauty is put to sleep
Speaker 1: by a jealous and malevolent fairy for our Bella Stewart.
Speaker 1: The captor was her grandmother, the formidable best of Hardwick, who,
Speaker 1: through four advantageous marriages, had become the wealthiest woman in
Speaker 1: England and second only to Queen Elizabeth herself. Queen Elizabeth
Speaker 1: the First was famously cag about who would be her successor.
Speaker 1: She hadn't named an air Arabella Stewart was a great
Speaker 1: granddaughter of Margaret Tudor and in serious contention, and so
Speaker 1: Arbella's grandmother, Bess of Hardwick, kept Arbella like a prize jewel,
Speaker 1: secure and locked away. Arbella was incredibly well educated and
Speaker 1: well read, taught and mannered, raised to believe that one
Speaker 1: day she could be a queen. But Arabella didn't want
Speaker 1: to be a queen, not really. She wanted what all
Speaker 1: the princesses who are locked away in fairy tales want
Speaker 1: a man to come and sweep her away. For Arabella,
Speaker 1: marriage ment, freedom. But marriage gets complicated when you're in
Speaker 1: line for the throne, when you're either a threat or
Speaker 1: a pond depending on the day. Young Arabella Stewart I
Speaker 1: had to take matters into her own hands, and it
Speaker 1: had deadly consequences. I'm Danis Schwartz, and this is noble blood.
Speaker 1: Heirs are always a tricky proposition for monarchs. On one hand,
Speaker 1: their essential producing airs is the only real way of
Speaker 1: ensuring your dynasty, of making sure your blood continues to
Speaker 1: rule after you're gone. But as soon as you name
Speaker 1: your successor, you have a target on your back. There
Speaker 1: was probably no one who understood that better than Elizabeth
Speaker 1: the First. Elizabeth had watched her sickly brother Edward become king,
Speaker 1: followed by their sister Mary. Their father, King Henry the eighth,
Speaker 1: had named in his will that Elizabeth then would follow
Speaker 1: after Mary, and Mary was massively unpopular. She was Catholic
Speaker 1: and took to burning Protestants up the stake. Almost as bad,
Speaker 1: she married a Spaniard, and so even when Mary was queen,
Speaker 1: people had started looking around the corner for who would
Speaker 1: come next. There were a number of unsuccessful rebellions to
Speaker 1: put Elizabeth on the throne before her time, and up
Speaker 1: in Scotland, Elizabeth's first cousin, Mary, Queen of Scott's, was
Speaker 1: overthrown in favor of her own son next in line,
Speaker 1: who became King James the sixth. So Elizabeth understood what
Speaker 1: a dangerous proposition it was to give unsatisfied subjects someone else,
Speaker 1: someone better, maybe, to look forward to. And so as
Speaker 1: Elizabeth grew older and it became apparent that the Queen
Speaker 1: would not marry and produced children of her own, she
Speaker 1: refused to name who would be the one to follow
Speaker 1: her on the throne of England. She knew as soon
Speaker 1: as she did she would seed some of her power.
Speaker 1: She would become a royal lame duck. But someone would
Speaker 1: need to be the next ruler of England. Young King
Speaker 1: James of Scotland was the logical choice. A morning you. Now,
Speaker 1: we're going to get into the family tree a little bit,
Speaker 1: so bear with me. James's parents were Mary, Queen of Scott's,
Speaker 1: and her husband, Lord Darnley. Both Mary and Darnley were
Speaker 1: descendants of Henry the Eighth's older sister, Margaret Tudor, Mary
Speaker 1: from her first husband and Darnley from her second. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they were cousins, but that sort of thing was to
Speaker 1: be expected. So their son, James's claim was pretty strong,
Speaker 1: but he was also born in Scotland. He was a foreigner.
Speaker 1: A lot of subjects wanted someone a little more homegrown.
Speaker 1: Are Bella's Stewart's father was Lord Darnley's younger brother, which
Speaker 1: meant that she was also a descendant of Margaret Tudor. Sure,
Speaker 1: her claim was a little less strong than James, but again,
Speaker 1: she was born in England and strength of family claim
Speaker 1: wouldn't matter quite so much if Elizabeth explicitly declared that
Speaker 1: she was her successor, and sometime times that's exactly what
Speaker 1: it seemed like Elizabeth was going to do. But Arabella
Speaker 1: was more valuable to Elizabeth as a possibility than a certainty,
Speaker 1: especially as a threat to keep James the sixth and
Speaker 1: check in case he began to get cocky or was
Speaker 1: thinking about getting too mad about Elizabeth executing his mother Mary,
Speaker 1: Queen of Scott's Arabella was right there as a reminder
Speaker 1: that his ascension to the English throne wasn't guaranteed, and
Speaker 1: as Elizabeth aged out of the marriageable range, she began
Speaker 1: to dangle Arabella in front of foreign princes as a
Speaker 1: marriage prospect, all the more valuable considering Arabella might be
Speaker 1: the heir to England. But though a number of these
Speaker 1: marriages were floated, none ever came to fruition, which meant
Speaker 1: that Arabella remained in her grandmother's custody, kept safe and
Speaker 1: far away, so that the idea of her could be
Speaker 1: a diplomatic weapon in Elizabeth's arsenal. Once, when Arabella was
Speaker 1: a teenager, she was summoned to the glittering court of
Speaker 1: Elizabeth the First. It was the first time in her
Speaker 1: life that Arabella was free of her grandmother's oppressive hard
Speaker 1: Wick Hall. Arbella did everything she could to impress the
Speaker 1: intimidating Queen, and she did well. Elizabeth called Arabella an
Speaker 1: eaglet of her own kind, and even remarked to a
Speaker 1: Venetian ambassador that Arabella might one day quote be as
Speaker 1: she herself is. But then Arabella, tasting freedom for the
Speaker 1: first time, did something a little unwise. She flirted. She
Speaker 1: flirted with Robert Devereux, second Earl of Essex, one of
Speaker 1: the Queen's favorites, and so Arbella was sent back home
Speaker 1: to hard Wick Hall with a slap on her wrist
Speaker 1: and a reminder, you are of noble blood and so
Speaker 1: your body belongs to the crown. For ten years, Arabella
Speaker 1: lived in all but exile at Hardwick Hall. It was
Speaker 1: a decade of strict education, restricted walks and privileges, few visitors,
Speaker 1: and fewer friends. Her only escape would be marriage, but
Speaker 1: there was no indication that one would be coming at all.
Speaker 1: In the prime of her life, she was a pond
Speaker 1: put back safe in the box. Desperately lonely, Arabella did
Speaker 1: the one thing she could to contact the outside world.
Speaker 1: She wrote letters. She wrote increasingly mad, slightly frantic, seemingly
Speaker 1: manic letters. She claimed in a letter to the Earl
Speaker 1: of Hertford that she was engaged to his grandson, Edward Seymour.
Speaker 1: Now the Seymours were also a noble family with valuable
Speaker 1: royal blood. They were descendants of Mary Tutor, King Henry
Speaker 1: the Eighth's younger sister. A match between Arabella and Edward
Speaker 1: Seymour would definitely strengthened her claim to the English throne.
Speaker 1: But that match, made behind the Queen's back, was all
Speaker 1: but treason. Edward's grandfather reported the letter to the Queen.
Speaker 1: Inquiries were made. The Queen's representative, Sir Henry Brunker, came
Speaker 1: to Hardwick Hall to interrogate Arabella about the letter. Arabella
Speaker 1: had never even met Edward Seymour. They weren't engaged. Why
Speaker 1: had she written a treason this letter? Claiming otherwise? Brunker
Speaker 1: sat with the young, lonely Arabella, sullen and staring up
Speaker 1: at him with extraordinarily round eyes. He asked her questions,
Speaker 1: She answered questions. Brounker concluded that she was just a
Speaker 1: silly girl writing about flights of fancy. The letter wasn't treason,
Speaker 1: It was the fantasy of a lonely girl using her imagination.
Speaker 1: They all had a good laugh about that, and after
Speaker 1: Brunker left, everyone forgot about Arabella again for a little while,
Speaker 1: but her letters to the outside world didn't stop. They
Speaker 1: became more manic, more outlandish. Arabella claimed that she had
Speaker 1: a mysterious lover, that she was engaged and all but
Speaker 1: married to someone in secret that no one knew about.
Speaker 1: When pressed, she revealed that her mysterious fiance was none
Speaker 1: other than her cousin, King James the sixth of Scotland.
Speaker 1: There was no match between her and her cousin. Historians
Speaker 1: argue about Arbella's letters, whether they're reckless or cunning. Maybe
Speaker 1: an attempt to strong arm her own powerful marriage that
Speaker 1: could position her favorably for the crown. Or maybe Arbella
Speaker 1: was taken with madness, afflicted with the porphyria that affected
Speaker 1: so many others, with royal blood that's swelling in the brain,
Speaker 1: and mania that would come to incapacitate King George the
Speaker 1: Third in more than a century's time. But maybe the
Speaker 1: truth is sim blur than that. Maybe Arbella wrote outlandish
Speaker 1: letters for a very simple reason, the same reason young
Speaker 1: women today post things on the Internet that might not
Speaker 1: be true, things that are inflammatory. Arbella was cut off
Speaker 1: from the world and alone. Maybe she just wanted the
Speaker 1: world to be reminded of her existence. Maybe she just
Speaker 1: wanted someone to notice her. Eventually, Queen Elizabeth the First
Speaker 1: died and King James the sixth of Scotland became King
Speaker 1: James the First of England. And then something amazing happened.
Speaker 1: James invited his cousin to court, and for the first
Speaker 1: time in her life, Arbella got to live on her own.
Speaker 1: She hated court, she hated the drunkenness and the promiscuity,
Speaker 1: the handsome young boys vying for the King's attention, following
Speaker 1: him back to his rooms. But she was free. At
Speaker 1: least she was until she made a tragic mistake. For years,
Speaker 1: Arabella had gently pressed King James to allow her to
Speaker 1: get married. He dodged and demurred, And now Arabella was
Speaker 1: thirty four years old, almost passing the age at which
Speaker 1: should be able to have a child, and a terrible
Speaker 1: realization dawned on her. The King didn't want her to
Speaker 1: get married and have a child. Of course he didn't.
Speaker 1: Any child of hers would be a potential rival for
Speaker 1: opponents of his to rally behind as an alternate ruler.
Speaker 1: That risk would only be compounded if Arabella was married
Speaker 1: to someone of her status of dynastic significance with the
Speaker 1: claim of his own. Arabella realized the truth she was
Speaker 1: never going to be allowed to get married. Her own
Speaker 1: existence was a threat, and that existence was tolerated barely.
Speaker 1: But she could never be permitted to have children of
Speaker 1: her own, and so Arabella took matters into her own hands.
Speaker 1: Without the King's knowledge or consent, Arabella got married to
Speaker 1: a man a decade her junior, a tutor descendant in
Speaker 1: his own right, named William Seymour, the younger brother of
Speaker 1: the Edward Seymour, Arabella had once written letters about marrying.
Speaker 1: Their marriage was an act of treason, it was also
Speaker 1: an act of love. William Seymour was thrown in the
Speaker 1: Tower of London. Arabella was put under house arrest with
Speaker 1: a man named Sir Thomas Perry. Fortunately, when you're rich
Speaker 1: and noble, security isn't too tight. William and Arabella managed
Speaker 1: a few conjugal visits together until rumors reached King James
Speaker 1: that Arabella might be pregnant. The King was outraged. He
Speaker 1: ordered Arabella be transferred north to Durham, where meetings with
Speaker 1: her husband would be impossible. The days before her answer
Speaker 1: were her last chance, Arabella and William needed to run
Speaker 1: away to the continent to safety to be together. On
Speaker 1: the day of her scheduled departure to Durham, Arabella told
Speaker 1: her captor that she was too sick to move. She
Speaker 1: lay in bed, refusing food and water, and said she
Speaker 1: couldn't even support her own weight on her two legs.
Speaker 1: If you want me to come with you to Durham,
Speaker 1: she said, you'll have to carry me. Sir Thomas Perry
Speaker 1: didn't know what to do. He summoned a doctor who
Speaker 1: agreed that yes, the young woman's pulse was weak, and
Speaker 1: Perry wrote to the king, who signed and permitted Arabella's
Speaker 1: transfer to Durham delayed a few weeks. While the party
Speaker 1: was distracted, Arabella put on hose, a man's doublet, a
Speaker 1: black hat, a sword, and boots. She slipped away from
Speaker 1: the house when no one was looking, disguised as a man.
Speaker 1: She and a few loyal servants set out for the coast,
Speaker 1: which she would meet with her husband and they together
Speaker 1: would catch a ship to France. Arabella made it to Blackwater,
Speaker 1: their meeting spot, without any trouble. She and William were
Speaker 1: supposed to meet there at eight to catch a ferry
Speaker 1: to Leith, from which they'd leave to Calais. Eight turned
Speaker 1: to eight thirty, no sign of William. A thirty turned
Speaker 1: to nine. Arabella's companions were getting restless. They pleaded with
Speaker 1: her to just leave down the river with the friendship captain,
Speaker 1: who was ready to take them just a little bit longer,
Speaker 1: Arabella begged. At nine thirty, Arabella finally left the inn
Speaker 1: they were staying at and slowly they made their way
Speaker 1: down to Leith, where they boarded the boat they had
Speaker 1: reserved to take them to France. But again William was
Speaker 1: nowhere to be seen. Again, Arabella begged for the team
Speaker 1: to linger just a little bit longer. The boat was boarded,
Speaker 1: ready to go, and soon the winds were going to
Speaker 1: change and keep them from leaving at all, but Arabella
Speaker 1: refused to leave without her husband. William actually had made
Speaker 1: his escape from the Tower of London as they had planned,
Speaker 1: wearing an apron a wig and a big, bushy fake beard.
Speaker 1: William had disguised himself as a caterer and made it
Speaker 1: onto a horse, but there had been trouble and he
Speaker 1: had been held up and hadn't been able to make
Speaker 1: the rendezvous of Blackwater, and so he had found his
Speaker 1: own ship to take him to leave, But when he
Speaker 1: heard about the changing winds, he bribed the ship to
Speaker 1: take him straight to Calais in France. He figured that
Speaker 1: Arabella would meet him there. Williams escaped from the Tower
Speaker 1: of London made its way to King James, who sent
Speaker 1: his men to give chase. They didn't find William, but
Speaker 1: they did find Arabella, still aboard her ship, waiting for
Speaker 1: her husband, who was already gone. By then, the wind
Speaker 1: had changed and they couldn't outrun the English ships coming
Speaker 1: to capture her. The English ships fired and Arabella surrendered.
Speaker 1: Arabella was imprisoned in the Tower of London, where she
Speaker 1: fell ill and refused all food and care. She died
Speaker 1: five years later, emaciated an alone a princess in a tower,
Speaker 1: imagining that her husband would come and rescue her. He
Speaker 1: never did lance it for this story of Arabella Stewart,
Speaker 1: but stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear
Speaker 1: a little bit more. For what it's worth. William Seymour
Speaker 1: actually did get away to safety from France. He traveled
Speaker 1: to Belgium and lived on the European continent for several years.
Speaker 1: After the death of James the sixth, Seymour asked for
Speaker 1: permission to return to England, which he was granted, and
Speaker 1: eventually he went on to become a well respected member
Speaker 1: of court. He had remarried and had at least eight children.
Speaker 1: Funnily enough, Seymour's second wife was Francis Devereaux, the daughter
Speaker 1: of Robert Devereaux, one of Elizabeth the first's favorites. Devereaux
Speaker 1: had been that man that Arabella had been scolded for
Speaker 1: flirting with at court a lifetime ago. About fifteen years
Speaker 1: before Arabella Stewart made that ill fated decision to marry
Speaker 1: William Seymour in spite of her family's wishes, William Shakespeare
Speaker 1: wrote a play about similar circumstances. He wrote about a
Speaker 1: woman in love with a man and a man in
Speaker 1: love with a woman, a forced exile of fake's illness,
Speaker 1: and a daring escape. It's a play where missed communication
Speaker 1: and wrong timing his tragic consequences. I'm speaking, of course,
Speaker 1: of Romeo and Juliet. But there's another slightly less well
Speaker 1: known owned Shakespeare play in which a young, virtuous woman
Speaker 1: of noble blood marries her lover, only to have that
Speaker 1: marriage dismissed by the King. Coincidentally, like Arabella Stewart, the
Speaker 1: young woman in the play named Imagen is also forced
Speaker 1: to disguise herself as a man. That play is called Symboline,
Speaker 1: and it was written in sixteen eleven. Sixteen eleven just
Speaker 1: so happens to be the exact year that Arabella Stewart
Speaker 1: made her daring escape to reunite with a man that
Speaker 1: she was finally allowed to call her husband. Noble Blood
Speaker 1: is a production of I Heart Radio and Aaron Mankey.
Speaker 1: The show is written and hosted by Dana Schwartz and
Speaker 1: produced by Aaron Mankey, Matt Frederick, Alex Williams, and Trevor Young.
Speaker 1: Noble Blood is on social media at Noble Blood Tales,
Speaker 1: and you can learn more about the show over at
Speaker 1: Noble blood Tales dot com. For more podcasts from I
Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. M