A History Of Royal Scandals

In a four-part series for More4, historian Professor Suzannah Lipscomb investigates the royal family's long history of scandal — from suspicious deaths and sexual indiscretions to reckless spending and disastrous marriages — examining the role the press, Parliament and the public have played in generating outrage across the centuries.

A History Of Royal Scandals Series 1 release dates →

1. E4

   4. Scandalous Marriages

   3 years ago

   Suzannah unpacks royal marriages that proved scandalous across the centuries — from a marriage deemed so wrong it led George III to have a new law written, to the trial of the first "People's Princess," Queen Caroline, and, more recently, Princess Margaret's relationship with Peter Townsend.

2. E3

   3. Suspicious Deaths

   3 years ago

   Suzannah investigates some of the most notorious royal cold cases: did Elizabeth I's favourite murder his wife? Did Queen Victoria's uncle murder his valet? And was Britain's first Georgian king involved in the mysterious disappearance of a Swedish count?

3. E2

   2. Sex and Infidelity

   3 years ago

   Suzannah discovers the marriage scandal that put a royal in the witness box, explores what made Charles II "the merry monarch," and uncovers a sex scandal involving a brothel and a royal prince.

4. E1

   1. Wealth and Opulence

   3 years ago

   Professor Suzannah Lipscomb looks at stories of out-of-control spending, from Henry VIII's Field of Cloth of Gold to the extraordinary debt that George IV accrued

Suzannah Lipscomb returns for an extended, six-part second series, delving further into a thousand-plus years of royal history. She and a range of expert guests explore allegations of murder, sex, witchcraft, crime, financial excess, and affairs within the British monarchy.

A History Of Royal Scandals Series 2 release dates →

1. E6

   6. Affairs

   1 year ago

   Suzannah uncovers historic royal affairs that shocked the public or were hidden away to avoid outcry — including an affair between a royal prince and a famous actress that scandalised Georgian society and produced ten illegitimate children, and Queen Elizabeth I's stepfather entering her bedroom semi-naked when she was just 13.

2. E5

   5. Money

   1 year ago

   Suzannah explores shocking examples of epic royal spending — from Elizabeth I insisting on touring the kingdom with her entire court at huge expense, to the 1821 coronation of George IV, so extravagant it ended a 1,000-year tradition of lavish post-coronation feasts.

3. E4

   4. Crime

   1 year ago

   Suzannah delves into how, across the centuries, members of the British royal family have been both victims and perpetrators of criminal acts, including how Henry VIII and his ministers manipulated the law to convict two of his wives of treason.

4. E3

   3. Witchcraft

   1 year ago

   Suzannah explores the long and complex connection between British royalty and witchcraft — including how Elizabeth I tried to predict the future and sought the "real" philosopher's stone from alchemists, and how two British queens were accused of witchcraft.

5. E2

   2. Sex

   2 years ago

   Suzannah looks into four sex scandals that dragged historical royal reputations through the mud — revealing how the multiple-partner exploits of the Georgian court helped fuel Britain's newly formed tabloid press, and investigating whether 13-year-old King James VI of Scotland was groomed by his 37-year-old uncle, Esmé Stewart.

6. E1

   1. Murder

   2 years ago

   Suzannah examines four suspected royal murder cases spanning almost 1,000 years, including the infamous disappearance of the Princes in the Tower, the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the death of William the Conqueror's son, and asks why a bloody killing was carried out in a Scottish royal palace.