Move over Catherine the Great, Anna of Russia is in town. This hard-living, bitter-hearted Tsarina may not be as well known as the so-called Great, but she has more debauched antics and cruel tricks than Catherine would know what to do with.
He's the most legendary warrior king in history. With his 300 brave Spartans behind him, King Leonidas stood against the mighty invading Xerxes and stopped him in his tracks. The story has been told and retold countless times, but how much of what we've heard is true? It turns out, there's a lot more to the ruthless Leonidas than what we saw on screen.
Maria Callas’s career was equal parts iconic and controversial—but it had nothing on her absolutely explosive life behind the scenes.
If the gruesome tale of Eric XIV of Sweden is anything to go by, it was hard out there for a 16th-century king. Then again, Eric was unhinged, immoral, and the perpetrator of one of the most infamous acts ever committed in royal history.
Think Cara Delevingne is scandalous? Meet her great-aunt, Viscountess Doris Castlerosse.
The mysterious “Other Boleyn Girl” will go down in history for her relation to bigger names in Tudor England.
As a daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte, Princess Sophia should've had the world at her feet. Instead, she lived in a near-lifelong lockdown thanks to a family riddled with illness, fear, and scandal.
There’s a long, bizarre history of unique people who have been exploited for the entertainment of others. But the story of the "Queen's dwarf," Jeffrey Hudson, might be the most extraordinary and sad tale of all.
Louise Élisabeth, Duchess of Berry was the 18th-century French princess whose scandalous—albeit short—life had the city of Paris completely enthralled. From her six unsuccessful pregnancies to her exhaustive list of lovers (including, maybe, her own father), she was the train wreck that no one could pull their eyes away from.
Being King Henry VIII’s lover was a dangerous game—just ask his six ill-fated wives. Yet no one played that game better than Elizabeth Blount, one of Henry’s most important yet little-known mistresses.
Irene of Athens wasn't just a figurehead—she was the mastermind behind the Byzantine throne. With beauty, brilliance, and unbreakable will, she didn’t just survive the ruthless game of power—she dominated it.
We can't learn everything in school, and maybe that's a good thing—because these bizarre historical facts are too weird for a textbook.
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