Queens Podcast

In Part Two of our series on Charlotte of Belgium (Empress Carlota of Mexico)… we wish we had better news.

When we last left our neglected princess, she and her husband, Archduke Maximilian of Austria, had been approached by Napoleon III and offered the crown of Mexico. Charlotte—starved for purpose and convinced this is her destiny—is all in. Max is less sure, but with the blessing of Pope Pius IX, the new Emperor and Empress set sail for Mexico.

Where the dream immediately implodes.

What follows is one of the most tragic and debated breakdowns in royal history—and the fall of the Second Mexican Empire.

We also draw parallels to one of our classic Queens Podcast episodes on Juana of Castile, another queen labeled “mad” and locked away. If this story leaves you thinking about power, politics, and madness, you can revisit Juana’s story here.

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome + Content Warning (History Tea Time Crossover Intro)

00:51 Previously On: Maximilian’s Mess & The Crown of Mexico

06:47 Sailing to Empire: Papal Blessings, Big Dreams & Bigger Delusions

10:46 Veracruz Reality Check: a Lukewarm Welcome

13:59 Mexico City & the Illusion of Support

18:22 "Hey— Did we just kidnap these kids?" And other bad ideas.

27:19 Empress on a Mission: Charlotte Travels to Europe to Save the Mexican Empire

33:53 Vatican Rejection: The Pope Won’t Intervene—and Charlotte Snaps

44:14 Vienna & Victorian Psychiatry: Diagnosed ‘Madness’ by an ‘Alienist’

47:01 Meanwhile in Mexico: Maximilian Captured, Tried, and Executed

49:54 A Life After the Break: 60 Years in Belgium, Good Days and Ghosts

54:52 What Caused the Collapse? Theories, Bad Medicine, and a Tragic Farewell

Sources


⁠History Tea Time⁠


⁠Thought co

Queens podcast is part of Airwave Media podcast network. Please get in touch with [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Want more Queens? Head to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!
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With a new Wuthering Heights movie on the way (directed by Emerald Fennell), I’m dropping Part One of my Patreon Katy Reads the Classics So You Don’t Have To series on the main feed.

This episode kicks off a six-part recap of Wuthering Heights.

If you’ve always meant to read Wuthering Heights but don’t have time before the movie comes out, I’ve got you. Normally this full six-part series is available for $10, but this week only, you can grab the entire series for $5.

👉 Get the full Wuthering Heights series here (sale runs until Feb 16th) : https://www.patreon.com/collection/1960670

Time stamps:

00:00 Intro

01:28 Katy's Corner: Literature Edition

03:19 Emily Bronte's Life and Inspirations

07:15 Diving into Wuthering Heights

Queens podcast is part of Airwave Media podcast network. Please get in touch with [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Want more Queens? Head to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Never miss a Queens Podcast happening! Sign up for our newsletter: ⁠⁠https://eepurl.com/gZ-nYf⁠⁠
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This week, we’re kicking off a two-part series on Charlotte of Belgium (sometimes known as Carlota of Mexico) while sipping on a Ranch Water. In Part One, we meet Charlotte as a beloved child turned purpose-driven young woman, then follow her whirlwind courtship with Archduke Maximilian of Austria and her arrival at the rigid Habsburg court.

If that court sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve been here before — this is the same world that made life miserable for Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi), married to Emperor Franz Joseph. Charlotte, however, seems to understand the assignment, quickly becoming everything a Habsburg princess is supposed to be… even as her marriage quietly begins to unravel.

From whispered affairs in Italy to a voyage that breaks her marriage beyond repair, Charlotte’s story takes a sharp, devastating turn. And just when it seems like things couldn’t get worse, a knock at the door offers an unexpected — and dangerous — new role: Empress of Mexico.

Cheers 🥂

Time stamps:

00:00 – Disclaimer from Vulgar History01:26 – Meet Charlotte of Belgium04:25 – A Very Well-Connected Childhood14:17 – From Happy Kid to Purpose-Driven Princess17:08 – Marriage Season Has Entered the Chat18:50 – Enter: Archduke Maximilian24:59 – Love at First Sight (For Charlotte, Anyway)29:15 – Thrown Into the Austrian Court34:28 – Italy: The Honeymoon That Wasn’t41:27 – The Voyage That Broke the Marriage45:53 – Separate Bedrooms Forever47:46 – So… Want to Be Emperor of Mexico?

Sources


Charlotte's Chart


History Tea Time


Thought co


Queens Podcast Empress of Austria aka Sisi series


Behind the Bastards: King Leopold II

Queens podcast is part of Airwave Media podcast network. Please get in touch with [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Want more Queens? Head to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Never miss a Queens Podcast happening! Sign up for our newsletter: ⁠https://eepurl.com/gZ-nYf⁠
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Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a 17th-century Mexican nun, poet, playwright, composer, and all-around intellectual menace to the patriarchy.

In this episode of Queens Podcast, we trace Sor Juana’s rise from hacienda library goblin to celebrated court intellectual and how she used wit, logic, and theology to argue that women deserved education because women are people. Radical stuff.

Paired with a twist on the Paloma cocktail, we explore her poems like You Foolish Men and essays such as Respuesta a Sor Filotea, works that helped shape modern feminist thought centuries before feminism had a name.

Sor Juana did not just challenge misogyny. She out-argued it, and history is still taking notes.

Time stamps:

00:00 Introduction and Content Warning

00:36 Meet the Hosts: Katy & Nathan

01:36 Introducing Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz

02:56 Patreon Shoutouts and Mocktail Recipe

05:31 Sor Juana's Early Life and Education

14:43 Juana's Move to Mexico City

16:45 Life with the viceroy's court

18:28 Juana's Intellectual Challenge

20:55 Becoming a nun

24:59 Juana's Writing Career Begins

26:08 A Close Relationship with Maria Louisa

30:23 You Foolish Men: A Poem of Hypocrisy

37:57 Juana's Feminist Manifesto

43:59 Juana's Downfall and Final Years

47:00 Legacy of a Feminist Icon

Sources:

Dr. Peyton Cristina Del Toro's YouTube

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Biography.com

Poets.org

Queens podcast is part of Airwave Media podcast network. Please get in touch with [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Want more Queens? Head to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Never miss a Queens Podcast happening! Sign up for our newsletter: https://eepurl.com/gZ-nYf
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Today we’re diving into the wildly dramatic life of Mary Shelley, the mother of science fiction and the ultimate OG Goth Girl. From radical feminist and revolutionary parents, to graveyard hookups, to the stormy summer that gave us Frankenstein, Mary’s life was just as haunting as her work.

In this episode, we unpack how Mary Shelley’s grief, genius, and chaotic social circle shaped one of the most influential novels of all time and how she remained quietly radical long after the world tried to tame her.

In this episode, we cover:


Mary Shelley’s radical upbringing and goth childhood


Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and the messiest friend group imaginable


The true origins of Frankenstein


Grief, motherhood, and loss


Mary Shelley’s underrated radical legacy

Time stamps:

00:00 Introduction and New Year Greetings

03:26 Mary Shelley's Early Life and Family

04:37 Mary Wollstonecraft & William Godwin: Radical Parents

16:53 Teenage Years in Scotland (Emotional Glow-Up)

19:43 Percy Shelley has entered the chat

24:09 The Graveyard Scene & Running Away

31:53 Return to England and Family Rejection

36:58 The Birth of Frankenstein

47:26 Loss, Grief & Moving to Italy

54:14 Mary Shelley's Later Life and Legacy

Queens podcast is part of Airwave Media podcast network. Please get in touch with [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Want more Queens? Head to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, check out our⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ merch store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Never miss a Queens Podcast happening! Sign up for our newsletter: https://eepurl.com/gZ-nYf
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