Charles I of Spain doesn’t seem to be enjoying himself very much in this picture as he listens to the German singer Barbara Blomberg perform. It looks more like his gout is acting up. Nevertheless, the two would have an affair and a son, John of Austria, one of the most charismatic figures of the 16th Century. Barbara wasn’t his only lover, nor was Charles the only king to have one. In fact, the world of monarchs and mistresses seemed commonplace in most courts over the centuries, even to this day. In today’s podcast we look at how much of that was true, starting with the Ferdinand and Isabella all the way to the last Habsburg king, Charles II.
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