0:00

A quick note about our show. While

0:02

some scenes are dramatized, we promise we did

0:05

our homework and everything is based on facts.

0:08

And a word to the wise, the gloves

0:10

are off. And so are the

0:12

britches. Please expect swearing and some angry

0:14

mobs. It's early morning on November 30th,

0:16

1817, and Carolina Brunswick is lying

0:24

in a soft

0:30

feather bed. The sun is

0:32

streaming through the window as she's listening to

0:34

the sounds of the Adriatic Sea just down

0:37

the hill. Honestly, it's probably

0:39

simpler for me to just say, it's

0:41

a paradise morning in Pissarro, Italy. Yeah,

0:43

sounds like it. Caroline's living

0:46

her best white lotus life right now. A

0:48

few years after her husband George was made

0:51

regent, she packed her bags and made off

0:53

for Europe. He can keep

0:55

dreary old England because she's totally

0:57

in love with Italy. I mean,

1:00

it's been three years of drinking Prosecco,

1:02

dancing until dawn, and just living the

1:04

expat dream life. Just living on a

1:07

bed of carbs. My real

1:09

dream. Caroline reaches

1:11

over to the pillow next to her. But

1:13

it's empty. Her Italian lover

1:15

has already crept back to his room, which

1:18

is probably a good thing because they

1:21

should at least try to behave. Caroline

1:24

knows she's being reckless, but it's hard to

1:26

play by the rules out here in paradise.

1:28

Plus, George and the rest of the stuck

1:31

up Brits feel so far away. So

1:33

Caroline rolls back over and starts to drift

1:36

to sleep. But

1:38

then there's a knock at the door. So

1:40

she pulls a sheet over herself and gets up. It's

1:42

gotta be Loverboy coming by with mimosas,

1:45

right? Caroline smiles

1:47

as she opens the door. But

1:50

it's not him. It's one of

1:52

Caroline's servants, and he looks terrible. His

1:55

faces pale and lined like he's been up all

1:57

night. And then she sees the letter in his

1:59

hand. He told her he

2:01

has bad news. there's been a

2:03

death and the royal family. Suddenly

2:06

that morning sun feels too hot

2:08

and those ways they're too loud.

2:10

Airlines heart starts the thump and

2:12

her ears as she grabs the

2:15

letter. What she's about to find

2:17

out is worse than anything she

2:19

could ever imagine. Everything is about

2:21

such. And Carolinians life

2:23

as he knows it. Wonder.

2:33

A Pet Subscribers to Listen Even The Rails

2:35

early an ad free right now during when

2:37

replaced in the Wonder Iap or an Apple

2:39

podcasts. Are

2:44

wondering time or incest? Is Merwyn Them

2:46

on? I'm broke Griffin, I'm it. Is

2:48

either memorial. This

2:58

two part series is all about

3:00

Carolina Burns It In part one,

3:03

Caroline married Prince George, the fourth

3:05

of Indian, a serial cheater obsessed

3:07

with controlling her. Caroline thought that

3:09

by making him look like an

3:11

ass and the tabloid. But

3:13

as source closes in on the crown, the

3:15

six of their fight get higher and higher.

3:18

Lower part to eat

3:21

pray love. Six

3:29

years. It

3:31

February eighteen eleven and Caroline

3:33

still in England. But

3:35

things are heating up intending to the

3:37

first. Slinky digs in the third of the

3:40

and. She's sitting there

3:42

sipping champagne with England's rock star.

3:44

poet lord byron as he tells

3:46

her about it latest affair a

3:48

few years ago george falsely accused

3:50

her of giving birth to an

3:53

illegitimate child caroline was vindicated and

3:55

ever since then she only hangs

3:57

out with people she knows she

3:59

country that me means the alt-crowd.

4:02

Radicals, artists, poets, basically people like

4:04

us. Love it. A

4:07

couple of Parliament bros come in, looking ragged

4:09

and in need of a drink. Now

4:12

these aren't your grandma's lawmakers. They're

4:14

the bad boy suits who got elected to shake

4:16

things up for the Royalists, which

4:18

is why Caroline tolerates them. But

4:21

tonight when she waves, none of them

4:23

meets her eye. So she checks

4:25

herself. Is she having a wardrobe malfunction?

4:28

I mean, this wouldn't be the first time her boob

4:30

was out at a party. Her and

4:32

me both? Yep. Caroline tells

4:34

Lord Byron to take a hike and pack

4:37

the couch next to her. One of

4:39

the Parliament bros drags himself over, and

4:41

he tells her they just came from

4:43

a very heavy royal meeting. King

4:45

George III has been declared mentally

4:48

unfit to rule, which

4:50

means George IV is now regent,

4:53

which if you'll remember, means

4:55

he is now officially acting manager

4:58

of the country. Caroline

5:00

chokes on her champagne. I mean,

5:02

it's not like she didn't know this would

5:04

happen. The King's health has been failing for

5:06

years. Still though, it's bad news

5:09

for her because it means

5:11

she now has a very, very

5:13

powerful enemy. Okay,

5:19

so let's do a little review from

5:21

the Royal Rulebook. George won't officially be

5:23

king until his dad dies. But as

5:25

regent, he's got a ton of new

5:27

power. And this is like

5:29

that lottery question. What would you do

5:31

if you woke up essentially ruling

5:34

a whole country? Honestly,

5:36

I'd say a prayer for that country. Oh,

5:39

we all would. Power hungry Virgo.

5:42

No, I don't know. Honestly, I like to think

5:44

I'd be like a really good, calm,

5:47

fair leader. And I'm sure as

5:49

my best friend you agree. Yeah, I'm pretty

5:51

sure that's what Stalin said. Yeah, totally. Okay.

5:53

All right. No, no, no. But

5:56

here's the thing. George has war on his

5:58

mind. But. A war

6:00

with his wife. Now remember he still

6:02

persists and how bad she made him

6:04

look in the papers. He supposed to

6:06

be beloved by his people and see

6:08

a soft that all up and so

6:10

now it's time for him to make.

6:12

Her pay. Swords put

6:15

the word out that as regent he will

6:17

not grant and audience. To only one

6:19

who associate with Caroline, it's like

6:21

splitting up friend group after a

6:23

breakup. He that it is George

6:26

or Caroline. Obviously George holds all

6:28

the card so everyone chooses. Him.

6:30

So Caroline's new friends are dissing

6:32

her and overnight her party's turn

6:34

into a ghost town. The only

6:36

person who still comes to visit

6:39

her as or seventeen year old

6:41

daughter Charlotte. And she's got to

6:43

be an amazing a woman. She's

6:45

beautiful, the passionate and progressive. Basically.

6:48

The exact opposite of her dad,

6:50

sheath compassionate towards the poor and

6:52

he sympathizes. With the masses and she's

6:54

also a bit of a rule breaker

6:56

Lake and. You're not gonna believe

6:58

that she wears pantaloons under

7:01

her classes. Pantaloons,

7:03

That for yeah, Yeah I

7:05

My God. This.

7:08

Is a very spicy fashion move in

7:10

the early eighteen hundreds. and let's to

7:12

say the twenty twenties if we're being

7:14

honest, A yes. But the thing is,

7:16

the public loves Charlotte and Caroline couldn't.

7:18

Be prouder. Charlotte's. Gonna make

7:20

an amazing queen one day! Too.

7:22

Bad: she's gotta wait until George dies.

7:25

And now that Caroline Social calendar is wide

7:27

open, she wants to help Charlotte find a

7:30

husband. For. Dad wants her to marry

7:32

someone who will make a good alliance. But.

7:34

Caroline's Lake. Marry.

7:36

Whoever you want, Carolina. Also,

7:39

tell Charlotte to make sure to have. Some fun

7:41

along the way. And. By fun

7:43

see means Biblical fun. Oh

7:45

Cuddles, Pantaloons Open girl. Yeah, I mean

7:48

a thing is Caroline's not like a

7:50

regular mom. See the cool mom here?

7:52

So as you can imagine, George

7:54

see all this mother daughter. Bonding.

7:57

He thinks Caroline's a bad

7:59

influence. So he reaches new heights

8:01

as asshole of the century, and

8:03

he forbids Charlotte from seeing her mom.

8:06

Oh wow. Yeah, I hate this. So

8:09

first George has taken away her friends, and now

8:11

he's taking her daughter. And Caroline's

8:13

like, there's nothing left for me here. And

8:16

there's a whole big world outside of England where

8:18

George isn't king, so maybe it's time for me

8:21

to take my act abroad. Caroline

8:24

asks Parliament for an increase to her

8:26

allowance so she can travel. And they're

8:28

like, um, bankroll your eat, pray, love

8:30

trip? I don't think so. To

8:33

which Caroline says, okay, no problem, I'll

8:35

just stay in England. And

8:38

maybe I'll finally get around to writing my

8:40

memoir. I'm thinking a juicy

8:42

tell-all about the future, king. I love

8:44

a good memoir, threat. I love it.

8:47

And Parliament's like, okay, cast your bed, though.

8:51

But this is the olden days, so Caroline needs

8:53

a man to handle her money back in England.

8:56

So she picks one of George's biggest critics,

8:59

this outspoken Parliament member named

9:01

Henry Brougham. He's kind of

9:03

a nerd, but she chooses him because he

9:05

thinks George is an idiot. Love it. Yeah.

9:08

Caroline is sad about leaving Charlie behind, but

9:10

she's a future queen, and she's got to

9:12

learn how to handle shit on her own.

9:15

So Caroline packs her bags and books

9:17

a one-way ticket to Italy. Two

9:24

months later, it's fall in Milan. Caroline

9:27

is day-drinking in a saloon trying to decide

9:29

where to go next. She

9:31

could try a gallery or maybe pop in

9:33

at the opera. Not that it really

9:35

matters, because in Italy, she's all

9:37

about living in the moment. She's

9:40

46, and she feels free

9:42

for the first time in her life. I

9:45

mean, not literally, because when she tries to get up

9:47

for another drink, her dress gets caught

9:49

on her chair. She's

9:51

trying to yank it loose when she

9:54

hears this deep Italian voice

9:56

ask if she needs some help.

10:00

hands untangle the fabric and Caroline looks

10:02

up to see a stranger, a very

10:05

hot stranger. Does he untangle

10:07

her legs? You

10:10

know it. The

10:12

guy's name is Bartolomeo Peogani.

10:15

Bless you. But I'm gonna call him Bart. You

10:19

know how I am with names. Yeah. Bart is

10:21

an out of work soldier looking for a job.

10:24

He tells Caroline he knows the country back

10:26

in front and he can act as her travel

10:28

guide. You know, show her the sights.

10:31

Caroline takes in his dark eyes, his

10:33

curly black hair, and his broad

10:36

shoulders. And she's like, I'm

10:38

liking the sights already. So Caroline

10:40

hires him to be your personal assistant. He protects

10:42

her from robbers on the dark roads and when

10:44

it's time to find a place to stay, he

10:47

rides ahead to make sure the sheets have a

10:49

high enough thread count. Now,

10:51

Caroline's never met a guy like

10:54

him. He's handsome, he's kind, he's

10:56

super attentive, he's like an

10:58

even better version of Benjamin Barry in How

11:00

to Lose Guy in 10 Days. Oh, Benjamin

11:03

Barry. One

11:06

night after she goes out dancing in

11:08

Naples, Bart escorts Caroline back to her room

11:10

and asks her if he can get her anything else. A

11:13

glass of water, a midnight snack. Instead

11:16

she asks him to book the room next to hers,

11:18

followed by a big wink wink. And

11:21

he's like, hell yes. Now

11:24

Caroline's had lovers before, but she can tell

11:27

that there's something different about Bart. It's

11:29

more than just sex. Most

11:31

nights they actually stay up talking until dawn.

11:34

Bart opens up about taking care of his

11:36

mother and his sister and his young daughter.

11:38

The only thing is, he

11:40

does have one major flaw. He's

11:43

married. I was just gonna say, it's gonna be the

11:45

biggest flaw possible. I know it. But

11:49

Bart's wife seems to be totally out of the

11:51

picture. And honestly, who

11:53

was Caroline to judge? Her husband is very

11:55

much in the picture, and she's still trying

11:58

this relationship out. In fact,

12:00

the only reason she's on this

12:02

all-expenses-paid vacation is because of her

12:04

husband, aka the most powerful guy

12:06

in England, who's funding it. Which

12:09

makes falling for Bart risky.

12:12

A one-night stand is one thing, but

12:15

a full-blown relationship? Caroline

12:17

knows she should have her fun and then

12:19

move on, get out before she gets too

12:21

attached. But when has

12:23

a woman ever done that? But

12:28

now Caroline has to ask herself, is

12:30

this tall glass of prosecco really

12:33

worth her hard-won freedom? Let's

12:37

fast-forward three years to August 1817.

12:42

The sun is setting over an outdoor

12:44

theater in the seaside town of Cesarro,

12:46

Italy. Caroline claps as the

12:48

actors take their vows. And

12:50

then she turns to the guy sitting next to her and

12:53

asks what he thought of the play. He

12:55

says he liked it, though not as much

12:57

as skinny-dipping with her earlier that day. Oh.

13:00

Then he bends over and kisses her

13:02

neck. That's how I like

13:05

every play to end. Yeah, forget the

13:07

play. Her

13:09

swim buddy is none other than good old Bart.

13:12

The two of them are officially an unofficial

13:14

item. It turns

13:16

out he was worth the risk. Because

13:19

what's the point of freedom if you

13:21

can't let yourself fall in love? Amen,

13:23

sister. It's a tagline for my next

13:25

rom-com. Yep. They're on the

13:27

grounds of Caroline's new home, via

13:30

Caprile. Out here, Caroline

13:32

is free to be herself. She

13:35

can sleep all day, wear whatever she

13:37

wants, and do whatever she feels.

13:40

There's no one here to micromanage her.

13:42

It's like all her problems in England

13:44

happen to someone else. And

13:46

actually, technically they are happening to

13:48

someone else. Remember Henry the lawyer,

13:50

the guy in charge of her money? He's

13:53

the one getting all of Caroline's bills. The

13:56

villa, the place, the food, the drinks.

13:58

Henry cannot be. believe how much

14:01

money she's burning through. I mean,

14:03

what's gonna happen if George finds out and

14:05

decides to cut her allowance? Or

14:07

her head off? Either

14:09

or, it's not up. I mean, back

14:11

then, yeah. But Caroline's having too much

14:14

fun to worry about the consequences. For

14:17

the first time in her life, she's

14:19

living her very own happily ever after.

14:21

And things just get better when she hears

14:23

that Charlotte's found a husband. He's

14:26

a Belgian prince, and in her letters,

14:28

she sounds incredibly happy. They're

14:30

even expecting a baby. Oh. Caroline's

14:33

gonna be a grandma. Maybe

14:35

they'll come visit her in Italy. If she

14:38

had her daughter, her grandchild, and Bart

14:40

by her side, well, she'd

14:42

really have it all. But

14:45

unfortunately for Caroline, this is the real

14:47

world, meaning there's no such thing as

14:49

a happy ending, especially not

14:51

for royals. Let's

14:55

step ahead a few months to that fateful

14:57

morning on November 30th, 1817. Caroline

15:03

is relaxing in bed when a servant

15:05

knocks at her door with a letter, and

15:07

he tells her someone in the royal family

15:09

has died. She reads the

15:11

words, but they don't make any sense. Charlotte,

15:15

baby, doctors. Oh,

15:18

no. She shuts her eyes hard, and when

15:20

she opens them again, she takes it all

15:22

in. Charlotte has died

15:24

during childbirth. She and

15:26

the baby are both gone. That is

15:29

probably top five saddest

15:31

things I've heard on any of these shows

15:33

we've done. And there's unfortunately very stiff competition.

15:35

I know. The rough thing a lot. Yeah.

15:38

It is just truly awful. And

15:40

Caroline just keeps thinking, this can't

15:43

be. Charlotte was supposed

15:45

to be queen, but more than

15:47

that, she was supposed to be happy. She'd

15:50

finally found someone who loved and appreciated

15:52

her. Her story was not supposed to

15:54

end like this. And

15:56

it gets even worse. Charlotte actually

15:58

died a couple weeks ago. weeks ago,

16:01

which means George never sent anyone to

16:03

tell Caroline. In fact, she's only

16:05

finding out now because a messenger happened

16:07

to be passing through Potharo. While

16:10

Caroline was going about life as normal,

16:12

all of England was in deep mourning.

16:15

Charlotte's death was a huge blow. Her

16:17

reign would have meant a new chapter for England, but

16:20

now that future is dead. And

16:23

now Caroline's future is looking pretty bleak

16:25

too. When Charlotte was

16:27

to be queen, Caroline knew she'd have a permanent

16:29

position as Queen Mother, a lifetime

16:32

of money and protection from the government.

16:35

But now that she's dead, Caroline's

16:37

fate is squarely tied to

16:39

one person. George. The

16:42

worst. Yeah. So here's

16:44

a question for you. Do

16:47

you think grief changed George? You know, maybe

16:49

made him a little more sympathetic. Okay.

16:51

Yeah. I'm going to go out on a

16:54

limb here and say no. Hell of

16:56

a limb you went out on. And you're correct. That'll

16:58

shock you. Charlotte is barely

17:00

in the ground before he turns his

17:02

attention back to destroying Caroline. Since

17:05

George doesn't have an heir and Caroline is

17:07

past her childbearing years, he thinks

17:10

Parliament will finally let him divorce her.

17:13

So while Caroline's still grieving, he starts

17:15

making moves against her. Listen, I don't know if

17:17

I'm being dramatic because I don't know this story

17:20

already, but I hate George more

17:22

than anyone in the entire world that

17:24

we have ever spoken about. Yeah, you're

17:26

not being dramatic. He's awful. In fact,

17:28

he spends the next two years gathering

17:30

intel from spies all over Italy. Caroline's

17:33

lawyer, Henry, warns her that it's looking

17:35

like Parliament is finally going to let

17:38

George divorce her. And

17:40

Caroline's like, but on what grounds?

17:43

Henry tells her that George is planning

17:45

on accusing Caroline of adultery again.

17:49

Only this time he's getting specific. He's

17:51

claiming that she slept with a servant.

17:54

Oh my God. And that he has two

17:56

years of evidence to prove it. As

17:59

Caroline. looks around her house, which

18:01

features many, many paintings of her

18:04

beloved Bart, she knows

18:06

that George may actually have a

18:09

pretty legitimate case against her.

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bite. It's

20:02

January of 1820, and George

20:04

is riding in the Royal Carriage through the

20:06

streets of London. He's skimming

20:08

through a newspaper, desperately looking for some

20:10

good news. Let's just

20:12

say the English son hasn't exactly been

20:15

shining on George since he took over

20:17

as regent. Good. Unemployment

20:19

is through the roof. The factories don't

20:22

have enough money to stay open. The

20:24

people are poor, hungry, and pissed.

20:28

The carriage lurches to a stop, and George

20:30

flies forward in his seat. What

20:33

could it possibly be now? He

20:35

can hear these angry voices outside. There

20:38

are people blocking the road. Clearly

20:41

they don't know there are future kings in this

20:43

carriage. Or do they? George

20:46

opens one of the velvety curtains, and

20:48

a rotten tomato explodes on

20:50

his window. Can I just say we're

20:52

not throwing tomatoes enough anymore? I

20:55

could not agree more. Okay, good. We

20:57

have to bring that back. Bring it back. There's

20:59

a crowd of people outside, and they look

21:01

like they're ready to light the carriage on

21:03

fire. George is having a bad

21:05

enough day as it is. He's on the way

21:08

to see his dad, the king, and

21:10

when he gets to Windsor Castle, the news

21:12

from the doctors is bad. The

21:14

king is officially dying. Which

21:17

means the countdown to George the Fourth

21:19

as king starts now.

21:22

He should be excited, but

21:25

all he can think of are those people throwing vegetables

21:27

or fruits depending on who

21:29

you ask at his window. Right. AKA

21:31

his fuming his whole life for this

21:34

chance. But what's the point

21:36

if your subjects hate you? Throughout

21:39

all of this, George can't help but think

21:41

of his wife over in Italy living the

21:43

good life. He knows all

21:45

about Bart from his spies. So

21:48

every time he pictures Caroline, he

21:50

imagines an Italian stud holding her

21:52

purse. And that's not all he's holding. Hello.

21:57

Now George would never tell anyone this. he

22:00

is jealous. Not a Bart,

22:03

but a Caroline. He thinks he should

22:05

be the one taking lovers and drinking

22:07

at noon. Instead, he's stuck

22:09

in England hiding from a pissed off nation

22:11

that does not respect him. It's what he

22:14

deserves. Exactly. Why should they respect

22:16

him? He can't get a lousy

22:18

divorce from his wife. I

22:20

mean, Henry VIII pulled this shit off years

22:23

ago, like, several times.

22:25

Yeah. Now, George

22:27

has plenty of evidence to prove Caroline's

22:29

been unfaithful. But the law says that

22:31

she needs to admit to adultery to

22:34

make it official, which seems like a really

22:36

stupid law. It really does. And

22:39

obviously, she'll never do that. In fact,

22:42

Henry has told Parliament that if they

22:44

make these allegations public, Caroline will come

22:46

back to England and make George's life

22:48

a living hall. Now,

22:50

Henry does tell George there's one thing

22:53

that might ensure Caroline stays out of

22:55

sight. And that's the new

22:57

influx of cash. Now,

22:59

at first, George is annoyed. He's

23:01

like, why should I have to bribe

23:03

my estranged wife so she can continue

23:05

her never ending vacation? But

23:08

then he thinks about it a little more. Because

23:10

if Caroline does come back, it'll

23:13

mean a repeat of all the old headaches,

23:15

the fights, the back and forth letters,

23:17

the people loving her and hating him. And

23:20

that's something he definitely cannot

23:23

handle. What a little baby. So

23:25

George follows his pride and agrees to

23:27

pay her off on one condition. She

23:30

can never, ever come back

23:32

to England. And she's like, okay, I

23:35

know, say less. Yeah. Now, George knows

23:37

this can't last forever. But he's happy

23:39

for a temporary band aid. Caroline

23:42

agrees and George is satisfied. But a few

23:44

weeks later, on January 29, 1820, there's a

23:46

new shake up. King George III finally dies.

23:53

Caroline sad to hear it. After all,

23:55

he was her only friend in the royal family.

23:57

Still though, he was old.

24:00

and sick and now he's finally at

24:02

peace. Also now, George

24:04

IV is officially king.

24:07

Arf. Which means

24:09

Caroline is officially queen. Unbarf. I

24:11

forgot about that part. Which means

24:13

change is inevitable. Whether they like

24:15

it or not. A

24:22

few months later, Caroline walks on the

24:24

hall of her stylish apartment. She

24:27

smooths her silk gown and straightens her

24:29

white feathered hat. She's getting

24:31

ready to be adored by her new subjects.

24:34

Because this is her first ever party

24:37

as the Queen of England. She's

24:39

put out a beautiful visitor's book in the Great

24:41

Hall for people to sign. She's

24:43

expecting dozens, maybe even

24:45

hundreds of guests. Let's

24:48

just say this isn't your grandmother's dip party. I

24:50

was going to say, should we have guest books

24:52

at every party we throw? Yes, we

24:54

absolutely should. There's

24:57

a knock on her door and Bart comes

24:59

in looking fresh in a velvet suit. He

25:01

may be a servant, but damn he

25:03

looks like a king. The

25:06

two of them take their seats in the Great Hall. But

25:09

as the hours pass, no

25:11

one shows up. Caroline watches

25:13

the champagne go flat. The

25:16

soufflés collapse. The sun

25:18

sets and not a single person comes

25:20

knocking. Just

25:23

like our dip parties. I know. It

25:27

turns out no one in Europe thinks Caroline

25:29

is actually the Queen. Because if she was,

25:31

what the hell would she be

25:33

doing all the way out here in Italy? They're

25:35

looking at her as like a kid playing dress up.

25:38

And to make things worse, rumors

25:40

start to fly that George plans to strip her

25:42

of her title. Things continue to

25:44

go downhill for Caroline. First,

25:46

the Cardinal of Rome refuses to let her

25:49

see the Pope, which means the

25:51

Catholic Church doesn't acknowledge her as queen. And

25:54

then the rest of Italian high society follows

25:56

their cue. She sends out

25:58

invite after invite. for dinners

26:01

and parties, but no one

26:03

responds. I'm sorry, is no one respecting

26:05

the feather hat? No,

26:08

and it's truly a crime against humanity.

26:10

Yeah. After six months,

26:12

Caroline reaches her breaking point. She

26:15

needs to show the world she will not

26:17

be ignored. And to do that,

26:19

she'll have to go back to England. Good

26:22

thing there's a big event coming up for

26:24

her to crash. George's

26:27

coronation is king. Ooh.

26:30

And it's happening in a few weeks. I

26:32

love it. Now Caroline

26:34

loves Italy, the air, the culture,

26:36

and most importantly, Bart. Romantic

26:39

love is a big deal to her.

26:42

But there's something even bigger, and

26:44

that's the need to be respected. So

26:47

she says it's your full goodbye to Bart. Now

26:50

he's crushed. They've been practically inseparable

26:52

for years. But when she

26:54

tells him that if he goes with her, he might be tried

26:56

for treason, he's like, go

26:58

on girl, get that crowd. You do not need

27:00

someone to help you. He's like, bye. See

27:03

ya. And with that,

27:05

Caroline packs her bags and books a

27:07

one-way ticket back to England. A

27:13

few weeks later, Caroline is bumping along

27:15

the streets of London. She

27:17

thinks back to when she first met here, when she

27:19

was just 27. She

27:22

was a princess full of hope, riding off

27:24

to meet her prince charming in a royal

27:26

carriage. Now she's 52, and

27:28

those hopes have been dashed. The

27:30

carriage she's riding in is a

27:33

rickety piece of shit, but it's all she

27:35

can afford. Because now

27:37

that she's back in England, George is no longer

27:39

footing her bills. She

27:41

tries to make up for her crappy ride by dressing like

27:43

a rock star. She's wearing a

27:45

fur-lined gown and a satin hat with

27:48

birds of paradise feathers. Now

27:50

it may seem like a bit much, but

27:52

to Caroline, it's fashionable armor. Because

27:54

she's riding into battle, and her

27:56

mission is to mess her no-good

27:59

husband up. It's a great

28:01

mission. The carriage grinds

28:03

to a halt and she can hear voices

28:05

outside. The car starts

28:07

rattling as these bodies press up against it.

28:10

Are they here to protest her? Is

28:12

she somehow even less popular in England than she

28:14

was in Italy? But

28:17

then the voices start to sing. Long

28:20

live the queen. She

28:22

lets out a sigh of relief. Now

28:25

that's what she's talking about. When

28:31

Caroline reaches the house that she's staying in, she

28:34

finds her lawyer, Henry, standing by the door. And

28:36

he does not look happy. He

28:39

can't believe she came back. She

28:41

was supposed to stay in Italy and turn into

28:43

a human Negroni. Doesn't

28:45

she know George is never going to share the

28:47

throne with her? In fact, George

28:49

is refusing to hold a coronation until she's out

28:52

of the way. Oh God. And

28:54

now that she's back, George wants to do

28:56

her dirty. He's trying to

28:58

draft a new law that lets him divorce

29:00

her without her having to admit to

29:02

adultery. To do that,

29:05

he's holding a hearing where his lawyers

29:07

read out all the damning evidence they've

29:09

collected against Caroline in the last few

29:11

years. And then they'll vote on

29:13

whether she's guilty. So in

29:15

short, George is trying to cut Caroline out of

29:17

the process entirely. Checking. Yeah.

29:21

And Caroline's like, uh uh, I

29:23

don't think so. She is not going to

29:25

let them assassinate her character without looking her

29:27

in the eye first. She

29:29

wants to be there for it. Can't

29:32

Henry defend her? And Henry's

29:34

like, technically, yeah. But

29:37

hold up Legally Blonde. George has

29:40

years of letters and receipts. And

29:42

Caroline and her team only have a few weeks to

29:44

mount a defense. That's super

29:46

risky. But Caroline did

29:48

not leave Italy just to lose her power without

29:50

a fight. So she tells

29:53

Henry to trim his mustache and polish his

29:55

boots. Because they're going

29:57

to crash this trial and make it as

29:59

public. as possible. On

30:30

August 17, 1820, Caroline marches into the House

30:32

of Lords in the Palace of Westminster. Her

30:52

face is hidden behind a thick veil, which

30:54

is a good thing because she does not

30:56

want anyone to see how nervous she is. I love the drama of a

30:59

thick veil. I know. We gotta bring

31:01

those back too. Yes! Now

31:04

we've finally come full circle with Caroline

31:06

walking into the trial of her life.

31:10

The hall is crammed with lords and wigs who are craning

31:12

their necks to get a better look at her. This

31:16

is the first time a queen has

31:18

been on trial since Anne Boleyn. And

31:21

considering how that turned out, Caroline

31:23

is feeling shaky. She

31:26

sits down and nods to Henry. It's time for him

31:28

to make his opening statement. The

31:31

plan is simple. Deny, deny, deny.

31:34

Bart was just her extremely attentive

31:36

employee. Everything else is a

31:38

lie made up by a jealous petty king dying

31:41

to get rid of his queen. Yeah, give

31:43

that man a raise. Yes! Caroline

31:45

watches Henry cough and straighten his wig.

31:49

Then he gives her a wink and proceeds

31:51

to pull an orisha and

31:53

go completely and utterly rogue.

31:55

Oh, we love to see it. Yeah.

31:58

He says it's his duty to do everything he can to get rid of

32:00

his queen. can to defend Caroline, even

32:02

if it means discussing the king's

32:04

own crimes. Now

32:06

right away the lords are like, what the

32:08

living fuck is this? And

32:11

frankly so is Caroline. I mean this

32:13

was supposed to be about making her look good,

32:15

not making George look bad. He is

32:17

still in charge of the country. You can't just trash

32:20

the king in front of all of his supporters. I

32:22

mean listen, you ask a man to trim his mustache

32:24

and polish his shoes and he goes to work. What

32:26

if she was, you know? There's no telling what he'll

32:28

do. I mean, Henry is

32:30

playing with fire. He says there's

32:33

nothing Caroline is going to accuse us that George

32:35

didn't do first and worse. If

32:37

she's not fit to be queen, how is

32:39

he fit to be a king? Now

32:42

all the lords were whispering at once. What

32:45

will Henry bring up first? George

32:47

is drinking and partying, the fortune

32:49

he spent on all his mistresses, Lady

32:52

Mariah, aka wife number one. It

32:55

is a bold ass move. Because

32:58

now Caroline isn't on trial. The

33:00

double standard is on trial. A

33:03

man ahead of his time, really. I

33:05

love that the double standard got

33:07

called out in like the 1800s. I

33:10

know. Caroline smiles

33:12

as she watches the chaos. I think of

33:14

that little girl with the house burning in

33:17

the background. Yeah, that kind of energy. Oh,

33:19

perfect. This plan isn't exactly safe. But

33:22

it sure as hell is fun. Next

33:28

up, it's George's lawyers turn to make

33:30

their opening statement. But Henry is

33:32

a hard act to follow. There

33:35

are a lot of notes shuffling, and then one

33:37

of them stands up and mutters something about how

33:39

English women are supposed to be pure. But

33:42

men just aren't strong enough to keep it in their pants.

33:44

Okay, so you admit it. You're

33:46

weak sauce. Weak

33:48

sauce a lot. This

33:51

is just the tip of the misogyny

33:53

iceberg. In the following days, the prosecution

33:55

reads through George's mountains of evidence against

33:57

Caroline, which Henry continues to deny.

34:01

Then one day, George's lawyers tell the guards

34:03

to bring in the witnesses. The

34:06

doors open and a group of these

34:08

nervous-looking men and women march in. Caroline

34:11

knows who they are at once. They

34:13

are her servants from Italy. But

34:16

when she waves at them, they ignore her. One

34:19

by one, they take the stand and tell the

34:21

story of Caroline and Bart's epic romance. They

34:24

lay out all of their most intimate moments in

34:26

front of the court. Their sunset

34:29

swims, candlelit dinners, romantic

34:31

thataways. Is this the

34:33

day NDAs were

34:35

created? Probably God!

34:40

The lords start to hyperventilate.

34:42

This is too hot for them to handle in those

34:44

wigs. The irony is, Caroline

34:46

knows a lot of these gas bags

34:48

from the party she used to throw at Montague

34:51

House. These same dudes who

34:53

are acting all scandalized are the ones who

34:55

used to take shots and get freaky in

34:57

her living room. So

34:59

she knows it's not the sex they have a

35:01

problem with, it's the fact that Bart

35:03

is a servant. To them,

35:05

Caroline is totally from the left. But

35:09

when she leaves Westminster at the end of

35:11

the day, Caroline sees something that raises her

35:13

spirits. There's a crowd of

35:15

people outside and they're all chanting her name.

35:19

There's factory workers, mothers, wives

35:21

who are sick of being

35:23

mistreated by their own shitty husbands. They're

35:26

young, they're old, they're rich, they're poor. Teenagers

35:29

are scratching pro-Caroline graffiti onto

35:31

stone walls. People

35:33

are passing around broadsheets, or flyers as

35:35

we call them now, that

35:38

all say the same thing, they're

35:40

still on Caroline's side. A

35:42

few lords come out of the parliament building to a

35:44

chorus of boos. They make

35:46

a beeline for their carriages. The

35:49

pro-Caroline fans keep up their posts for

35:51

weeks. It's like supporting Caroline has

35:53

become a fad. Or worse

35:55

for some, the beginning of

35:57

a movement. The

36:04

trial wages for months as Henry fights

36:06

every piece of evidence George's team throws

36:08

at him. People are

36:10

getting antsy and no one more than

36:13

George. He wants us over and

36:15

to get that crown on his beady little

36:17

head because he's

36:19

delaying the coronation until the trial is

36:21

done. In the

36:23

fall of 1820, it's finally Judgment

36:26

Day. Now Caroline

36:28

isn't allowed to be in the room when the

36:30

Lords make their final decision. They

36:32

make her wait it out in a private room upstairs.

36:35

Henry finally comes in a few hours

36:38

later with a huge smile on his

36:40

face. Okay. He tells her

36:42

they're throwing out the bill. Wow.

36:46

Love it. Yes. Caroline

36:48

nearly passes out from relief. Henry

36:51

explains to her that even though the Lords

36:53

all know she's been sleeping with Bart for

36:55

years, they're too scared of

36:57

a public backlash to take Caroline's title

36:59

away. So despite any

37:01

crimes she might have committed, she's

37:03

still the queen the people want.

37:06

It's a huge victory, not just

37:08

for Caroline, but for women everywhere.

37:11

She's shown the world that you can't punish a

37:13

woman for being herself. At least

37:15

not without looking like a gigantic asshole. Caroline

37:19

gives Henry a big hug. They did

37:21

it. They did it, Jill. They did it, Jill.

37:24

Then she wipes her eyes and straightens herself

37:26

up because it's time to get ready.

37:29

She has a coronation to dress up for. It's

37:35

July 19th, 1821, AKA Coronation Day. Caroline

37:41

wakes up early to get to Westminster with

37:43

the rest of London's fanciest citizens. She

37:46

watches as close to 5,000 men and

37:48

women make their way inside. There

37:51

are even more people watching from the streets, all

37:53

desperate to catch a glimpse of their new king.

37:57

Now these are mostly George fans, so when Caroline steps up to

37:59

the top of the list, out of her carriage

38:01

wearing a silver coat that matches her diamond

38:03

and feather headpiece. The George

38:05

fans are like, whoa, isn't that

38:07

a bit much? Okay, let's have

38:10

some respect for fashion here. I know.

38:12

Go back under your bridge. But

38:15

Caroline doesn't give a damn about the stuffy

38:17

crowd. She just smiles at them. But

38:20

her smile drops when she reaches the

38:22

doors of Westminster, because her

38:25

passage is being blocked by a group

38:27

of these burly doorkeepers. Now,

38:30

Caroline's confused. Did they not

38:32

just see that the Queen of England arrived?

38:35

She taps one of them to move aside, but he

38:37

just shakes his head. Somewhere

38:39

inside the building, George is laughing.

38:43

Because he hired a bunch of famous boxers

38:45

to guard the door today. He

38:48

gave them all the express purpose

38:50

of keeping Caroline out, with a

38:52

secondary goal of embarrassing the shit out of her.

38:55

Wow. Caroline tries to run around to

38:57

the other entrance, but there's a guard there too.

39:00

She asks to be let in, slams

39:02

the door in her face. How is

39:04

that allowed? I know. Tell me you're

39:06

in the patriarchy without telling me you're in the patriarchy. Yeah.

39:09

Caroline straightens up and looks at

39:11

the crowd that's gathered outside. Some

39:14

of them look away, but others are

39:16

smirking. And in that moment,

39:18

she sees what they see. A spectacle.

39:21

A middle-aged woman huffing and puffing in

39:23

a big, silly dress. And

39:26

then the worst thing happens. A few of

39:28

them start to laugh. Caroline

39:30

runs to her carriage and closes the door. After

39:33

months of defending herself against the

39:35

tyrant, she somehow ended up as

39:37

a big joke. She's a punch scene.

39:40

She can already imagine the cartoons that they'll

39:43

publish in tomorrow's paper. Sadly,

39:45

if the tale is old as time, the

39:48

media cannot resist kicking a girl when

39:50

she's down. The articles

39:52

that run over the next weeks are

39:55

just gleeful replays of Caroline's rejection at

39:57

Westminster. Because what do you

39:59

think sells better? Another story about a

40:01

badass queen or a story about her fall

40:03

from grace. God, and we still

40:06

learned nothing. I know. I know. Two

40:08

hundred years later. Yeah. Want to win the same shit? Yep.

40:11

Caroline is sick with shame. She

40:14

can feel it in the pit of her stomach. She

40:16

tries to ignore the papers and distracts herself

40:18

with friends. But that pain only

40:21

gets worse. Eventually,

40:23

she calls a doctor who tells her

40:25

that she really is sick and it's

40:27

serious. She was probably

40:29

suffering from stomach cancer, but they didn't

40:31

have a diagnosis for it back then.

40:34

Wow. Caroline becomes convinced

40:36

she's going to die. And

40:38

since she couldn't control her life, she at least

40:40

wants to control her death. She

40:42

starts making plans for her funeral. First,

40:45

she wants to be buried in Brunswick.

40:48

England does not deserve her. She

40:51

also asked to be buried under

40:53

a large plaque that says, Caroline

40:55

of Brunswick, the injured queen of

40:57

England. Ooh. Okay. Yeah. But

40:59

what scares Caroline most isn't the idea

41:01

of dying. It's that no one will

41:03

miss her once she's gone. Caroline

41:09

dies on August 7th, 1821. When

41:13

George gets the news, he's like,

41:15

phew, huge relief. I

41:17

don't care what that asshole said when he got the news. Yeah,

41:20

there it is. His first

41:22

order of business is to make the national

41:24

mourning period as short as possible. He

41:28

doesn't want to give people a chance to mope. If

41:30

this guy put half the energy he puts in, I

41:34

love that he's the only one that's allowed to throw

41:36

a tantrum too. I know. But it's

41:38

women who are hysterical. Yeah. A

41:41

week later, rain is falling as a

41:43

first drive Caroline's coffin through central London.

41:46

George had the bright idea to reroute the procession

41:49

to go the long way at the last minute

41:51

to avoid a big crowd. Too

41:53

bad for George though his plan failed.

41:55

Because despite his efforts, thousands

41:58

of people saw up to bid Caroline give out. Men,

42:01

women, children, they

42:03

stream out of alleyways and down the

42:06

street. They flow out

42:08

from doorways and cram themselves around the carriage.

42:11

The police try to break up the crowd, but there

42:13

are just too many of them. They

42:15

start to chant and riot. Despite

42:18

what the reporters were writing, the public

42:20

disposed her to support her. Even

42:23

in death, Caroline chose Georgia. They

42:26

may be his subjects, but they'll always

42:28

be her people. They

42:31

want to say goodbye to the woman who gave them all

42:33

a voice. An injured

42:35

queen, totally. But also

42:37

the people queen. Caroline,

42:40

who spent a lifetime searching for love,

42:42

dies cherished by an entire

42:45

country. So

42:50

there we have it, Brooke. The story of

42:53

Queen Caroline. What's your thoughts? You

42:55

know, I, you know, screw

42:58

George, obviously, forever. Yeah. Um,

43:00

I really enjoyed this story. Like not knowing it

43:02

ahead of time. It was really

43:04

interesting to listen to. Caroline is

43:07

a queen. Yeah, an affluent queen.

43:09

And I am forever on her side. And

43:12

yeah, it was a really sad

43:14

story, but honestly,

43:17

well-behaved women rarely make history. There

43:19

it is. There it is. This

43:29

is a preload part two of our

43:31

two part series on Caroline of Brunswick.

43:34

We use many sources when researching our

43:36

stories, but we especially recommend the trial

43:38

of Queen Caroline, the scandalous affair that

43:40

nearly ended a monarchy by Jane Robbins

43:43

and the unruly queen, the life of

43:45

Queen Caroline by Flora Fraser. You

43:48

can follow us, your hosts on socials at

43:50

Arisha Sidmer Williams and at Brooke's different.

43:53

I'm Arisha Sidmer Williams and

43:55

I'm Brooke Sifrin. Our senior story editor is

43:57

Pauline Scriven who also wrote this episode. and

44:00

our associate producer is Hannah Ward. Sound

44:02

Design is by Sam Ada. Our coordinating

44:04

producer is Sophia Martens, and our senior

44:07

managing producer is Ryan Lue. Julie McGruder

44:09

and Rachel Engelman are our series producers.

44:11

Our senior producer is Natalie Sheesha. Our

44:13

music supervisor is Scott Velazquez for Free

44:15

Sound Sync. And our executive producers are

44:18

Ginny Bloom, Baron O'Flaherty, and Marsha Louis

44:20

for Wondery. Follow

44:38

Even The Royals on The Wondery app, Amazon Music,

44:40

or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen

44:42

to every episode of Even The Royals early and

44:45

ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in The

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Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Before

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you go, tell us about yourself by completing

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a short survey at wondery.com.