What's So Royal about Christmas?

Episode 39 of the Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things podcast, hosted by Daily Mail, titled "What's So Royal about Christmas?" was published on December 22, 2025 and runs 26 minutes.

December 22, 2025 ·26m · Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things

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Summary

A seasonal cracker from the podcast that loves Royals and history - listen now.In this special edition of Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams unwrap the surprisingly rich, and frequently eccentric, festive legacy of the monarchy. From a 10th-century duke reinvented as a Victorian Christmas hero, to Henry VIII moonlighting as a carol writer, to the Tudor court’s rather questionable idea of “seasonal cheer,” it turns out the royals have been shaping our holidays for over a millennium.We travel from medieval Bohemia to Cromwell’s anti-Christmas crackdown, before settling by the fire with Victoria and Albert, the couple who practically invented the modern festive season. Along the way, we explore SEDITION in much-loved carols, rogue wassailers, musical monarchs, and a surprising link between the Windsors and “Good King Wenceslas.”This episode asks the big question: what have the royals ever given us for Christmas?Quite a lot, as it turns out.Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate WilliamsSeries Producer: Ben DevlinProduction Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Content Editor: Joseph PalmerExecutive Producer: Bella SoamesA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode Description

A seasonal cracker from the podcast that loves Royals and history - listen now.

In this special edition of Queens, Kings & Dastardly Things, Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams unwrap the surprisingly rich, and frequently eccentric, festive legacy of the monarchy. From a 10th-century duke reinvented as a Victorian Christmas hero, to Henry VIII moonlighting as a carol writer, to the Tudor court’s rather questionable idea of “seasonal cheer,” it turns out the royals have been shaping our holidays for over a millennium.

We travel from medieval Bohemia to Cromwell’s anti-Christmas crackdown, before settling by the fire with Victoria and Albert, the couple who practically invented the modern festive season. Along the way, we explore SEDITION in much-loved carols, rogue wassailers, musical monarchs, and a surprising link between the Windsors and “Good King Wenceslas.”

This episode asks the big question: what have the royals ever given us for Christmas?

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams

Series Producer: Ben Devlin

Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini

Content Editor: Joseph Palmer

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Sign up to Palace Confidential, the FREE royals newsletter from the Mail's top experts. Delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday, it's the smartest way to stay in the royal inner circle. Just head to dailymail.co.uk/palaceconfidential to sign up today.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.