Royal Scandals
The affairs, poisonings, and succession plots royal courts tried to bury
The Affair of the Poisons: What Really Happened at Louis XIV's Court
The Affair of the Poisons dragged Versailles into a scandal of fortune tellers, poison rings, and accusations against the king's own mistress. Here is what the trial records actually document.
Wu Zetian and the Death of Her Infant Daughter: The Plot That Built an Empress
The story that Wu Zetian smothered her own baby to frame a rival is one of Chinese history's most debated royal scandals. Here is what the record actually supports.
Queen Christina's Abdication: The Monarch Who Walked Away From a Throne
Crowned as a child, raised as a prince, and secretly Catholic in Lutheran Sweden, Queen Christina gave up her throne in 1654. What actually happened at her court, and what was gossip.
The Ottoman Fratricide Law That Let Sultans Execute Their Own Brothers
The Ottoman fratricide law let a new sultan legally execute his brothers to secure the throne. Here is what the law said, and how it was used for over a century.
Catherine the Great's Coup: What Really Happened to Her Husband
Catherine the Great's 1762 coup seized the Russian throne from her own husband. Days later he was dead. Here is what the record documents and what remains gossip.
Catherine Howard: The Teenage Queen Henry VIII Executed
Henry VIII's fifth wife was barely a teenager when scandal caught her. Six the Musical made her famous again - here is what the record shows.
The Death of Crown Prince Sado: A Korean King Who Locked His Son in a Rice Chest
A Korean king sealed his own heir, Crown Prince Sado, inside a wooden rice chest in 1762. Here is what the court record actually says happened, and why.
The Affair of the Diamond Necklace: The Con That Helped Doom Marie Antoinette
The Affair of the Diamond Necklace: a forged signature, a fake midnight meeting, and a necklace she never touched. The con that convinced France its queen was guilty.
The Edward VIII Abdication: The King Who Gave Up a Throne for Wallis Simpson
The Edward VIII abdication was sparked by a king's love for a twice-divorced American commoner, a constitutional crisis that cost him the throne within a year.
The Mayerling Incident: Crown Prince Rudolf's Murder-Suicide Mystery
The Mayerling incident of 1889 saw Austria's heir die with his teenage mistress at a hunting lodge. The Habsburgs called it heart failure; the record differs.
Rasputin and the Romanovs: What He Actually Did at Court
Rasputin held no government post. Here is what the record shows he actually did at the Romanov court, and where the mad monk legend takes over.