Weekly history documentaries from a former university lecturer, with an emphasis on royalty & original sources.
WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT: I am a fully qualified historian from Northern Ireland (I get lots of questions about the accent!) whose videos are thoroughly researched and based on a reading of the original evidence. I will never just regurgitate Wikipedia entries at you and there will be no crazy conspiracy theories or claims of alien involvement here unless I'm debunking them. Just 100% history.
Music used in video intros: Friday Fugue, RU-vid Audio Library.
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Gregory does go to Eton - they mention him being away at some point in season 2. I think he's back home in s3 because of his broken arm (and so we can get used to his presence for future seasons). And I know I remember someone (probably Violet?) exasperatedly asking Hyacinth where her governess is during s1, too. I think she's supposed to be about 14 though (they've aged her and Gregory up, I'm pretty sure), so I think she's intentionally spending a lot of time around Francesca since she's the next girl to have a Season, even if it's still a year or two off.
I loved Downtown Abbey however I felt the same about the inaccuracies, maids & servants would never have been that friendly with the family they served only the butler and then the housekeeper would have been that familiar. I know I would have been a scullery maid, no shame in admitting that as I do come from a working class background. Everyone thinks about the glorious dresses etc. Majority of women even upper classes did not own the amount of clothes we do today due to the lack of modern washing machines even some of the cosmetics had poisonous ingredients. Sorry forgot to say thank you for your channel HC xx❤xx
For the governess comment- in season, hyacinth does say something to the effect of "my governess has the same questions as me" when she's asking questions about the prince
I am a nurse. And i have worked with the elderly. I did have a patient that lived to 114. So it can hapoen. But i dont know wjat i think about this story
When I was at boarding school in the 60s, we had an emergency latrine set out side. I have experienced the horrors of using a latrine pit toilet. The heat and foul stink is a memory that has lasted me a lifetime. And the headmasters cat fell in one year. Regards from South Africa
This is heartbreaking this is the first time of me hearing this there so many possibilities what could have had happened women weren’t as seen as important as men we don’t know 100% everything that happened in their lives records get lost overtime either her died young either due to sickness or even foul play or they couldn’t handle her no more abandoning her somewhere or even sell her or hopefully she got a happy ending idk this is one of the oldest unsolved mysteries ever
I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it. I'm not against mixing modern and historical when it's done as parody, actually the series "The Great" does it nicely, but it's so obvious (even the tagline is "an occasionally true story) that there's no danger of misinformation. I can enjoy it because I don't take it seriously and since I do know enough about real history I can tell the difference. Yet I do wonder what is being accomplished (other than sheer entertainment and the almighty dollar) by modernizing period drama ...it even sounds like an oxymoron. You can't claim it's introducing audiences to something they wouldn't have watched otherwise because effort has been made to make it "blend in" with current trends. It's just a modern show with a lavish costume and set budget, but as you rightly pointed out, even those aren't really "period". There's a cost to this (when not completely blatant) because true history has a wealth of wisdom for us, but the Hollywood version glosses over the real gems.
There was a scene when Daphne locked herself in her room with the Hyacinth was asking questions about what would happen to her if she married the prince. Daphne asked her about her being with her governess and Hyacinth said her governess had the very same questions.
The thing that keeps coming to my mind as a laughable inaccuracy is the younger Bridgerton boys being treated as though they are just a good of a catch as the Eldest. They all would’ve needed to establish some form career in some form or another as I doubt they would be supported forever on the family funds which have passed to their elder brother. As a result they have no titles and are not by any means a “catch”. At best they’d be looking for girls who have large dowries. Most likely they’d be studying to become lawyers, doctors, or a solider.
I love history and respect truth TOO much to watch Bridgeton. I tried one episode but could only stand 15 mins before I turned it off forever. TY for the analysis.
When I visited Scone Palace in 1976, an English tourist asked the guide about the stone. Her (the guide’s) reply was that “It was stolen away from here long ago”. But then she added, cryptically; “But there are those who say that it was not the REAL one…” then with a wink “Did y’ever know a Scot who would let a thing like that go - without a wee fight?”
Royals had many children and their are many of us still some of us not considered royal anymore but we still carry the blood of our anscestors but there really are a lot you to could possibly be related somehow worth finding out with dna ✌️
He usually got to know his conquests. I think it was difficult for him to have essentially a mail-order bride. Even Anne Boleyn was at court for a good while before he took a liking to her.
I do think that big shows /literature e.g. the Crown , Philippa Gregory , bridgerton have their place, though ....in terms of both bringing awareness /interest in different periods and also me going down a rabbit hole of research to actually see if the stories are true on internet , on a personal level.
Ive seen more poo in my life than i care to remember, having worked in nursing homes and doing in-home care. We had a bathroom and an outdoor toilet when i was a kid. I remember using catalogs pages or newspaper. Royalty dying in a toilet pit ? 🤢 oh man, what a way to go☠️🤮 that's probably one of the worst ways to die. I know some people that id LMAO if they died that way.😁
Henry's complaint about doubting Anne's virginity is ironic, considering her replacement, Katherine Howard, wasn't a virgin when she married Henry and she cheated on him.
Yet another interesting video! I could listen to you for hours. I hope that doesn't sound (too) creepy. :D Could you recommend any good non-fiction books on the Hanoverians besides the two you shared in the description box?
Very pretty but arguably the biggest load of tripe on TV. All the actors have clearly been told to avoid using contractions when delivering their lines. They seem to think this makes them sound authentically upper class. In fact all it does is make the acting look stilted. Regency newspapers are full of people using contractions: don’t he; can’t and won’t are just a few examples.
I mean, I don’t watch the show because it’s such nonsense. There’s so little accuracy and I enjoy period pieces. I know it’s fluffy romance, fantasy but they have really gone outside historical fact to the degree that I can’t be bothered with it.
There is a lovely biographical movie about a mixed-race woman who was part of the upper echelons of British society during the Georgian era called Belle. The real Dido Belle Lindsay was illegitimate, but she was raised along with her cousin by their uncle, who was the Lord Chief Justice. Belle isn't 100% accurate, but it is a look at how a woman like her would have navigated the social scene of the time.
I'll never understand RU-vid, you can't show remains , I agree not showing bodies of 99% of the time, BUT, if they are of historical significance, I think it's fine.
i've made my peace with the clothing etc. but i cannot get used to this behavior where at the end of a dance, the couple bow to each other and then He Leaves Her Standing on the Dance Floor instead of escorting her back to her family and/or chaperone. Good grief.
There's this odd series I watched one or two episodes of about the prostirutes you should do too. It's set in the regency era. Sorry I don't know enough to set you in the right direction. Also, the only good thing King Henry V did was not be attracted to Anne Cleves even if he ruined her life by marrying her anyway. I always think the only women he truly respected and cared for were the ones he divorced.
I mean I don't expect historical accuracy at all with Bridgerton. It's like Jane Austen on extreme sweet popcorn and liqueur. Colourful, sweet, crazy but fun.
What really bothers me is that Henry VIII had a habit of destroying all depictions of the wives he killed. Like the fact that no picture of Anne Boleyn survives strongly suggests that he destroyed all traces of her like the evil man he is
Your assessment of Mary is quite balanced but remember that the execution of protestants and the execution of Jane Grey were not her decisions alone...she was advised by her council and Parliament. Even though over a much longer reign Elizabeth had many many catholics executed.
I do accept the argument that there were people talking in her ear and advising her what to do, however I think she was ultimately the boss and when it comes to something like killing a person, the buck stops with her. I know not everyone will agree with me, but I think Mary was a very strong personality (strong enough to stand up to her father for years, even when she was just a teen and in her early 20s) and with the possible exception of her husband, I don't think anyone could really push her around by the end of her life. We can certainly agree to disagree though :-)
