Secrets of the Royal Palaces
(2021)Streaming Episode Guide
Season 4
Duty
Episode 4 - 3-30-2024
We uncover secret stories of palace duty; including Queen Elizabeth II’s final balcony appearance; how not to look after the Crown Jewels; and Kate’s first palace assignment abroad.
Haven't Seen
Scandal
Episode 3 - 3-23-2024
This time, we uncover secret stories of palace scandal, as Diana confesses all to one of her closest member of staff, King Charles tries to move out his scandal-hit brother and we reveal the shocking link between Queen Victoria's favourite lapdog and a palace massacre.
Haven't Seen
Private Lives
Episode 2 - 11-11-2023
Stories of palace private life - and the moments the royals wish were private - beginning with the royal family's race to be by Elizabeth II's side in her final moments at Balmoral. The programme forensically examines that day and uncovers how the deep family rift between Prince Harry and the rest potentially caused a tragic delay. Kate Williams shines a light on some of the most remarkable private tales from palace history, including the messy end of William the Conqueror's life when he was buried by a band of hapless monks.
Haven't Seen
Love and Marriage
Episode 1 - 11-04-2023
Uncovering the secret stories of love and marriage from within palaces walls, beginning with the strange mystery of Squidgygate and Princess Diana's intimate Sandringham phone conversations with her 'friend', James Gilbey.
Haven't Seen
Season 3
Episode 8
2-25-2023
Behind-the-scenes tales of Kensington Palace, which started out as Nottingham House until it was bought in 1698 by William III and transformed into a royal residence after a major renovation. Kate Williams explores some of the more gruesome pieces of palace history, including the grim death of Henry Stuart, the murder of Amy Robsart to clear a path for the queen, and the amazing story of Eleanor Cobham, the `Royal Witch”.
Haven't Seen
Osborne House
Episode 7 - 2-18-2023
Behind-the-scenes tales of Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, which was bought by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1840 and was turned into their perfect renaissance hideaway. Kate Williams goes on a culinary adventure and tries traditional Tudor cuisine, including snails and pigs’ feet, while the horrors of the palaces’ bedding ceremony is revealed, where a royal bride is observed on her wedding night to make sure the marriage is consummated.
Haven't Seen
Episode 6
2-11-2023
Exploring St James’s, the palace at the heart of the monarchy built by Henry VIII.
Haven't Seen
Episode 5
2-04-2023
The history of Hampton Court’s Great Hall, a huge dining area built by more than 400 stonemasons, bricklayers, carpenters, joiners and labourers that was also used by Henry VIII to keep an eye on his household. Plus, a look at the 2002 Golden Jubilee Party, which was held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace and is considered to have changed the public’s perception of monarchy.
Haven't Seen
Episode 4
1-28-2023
Exploring Greenwich, the great lost palace, and a look at the Gold State Coach.
Haven't Seen
Episode 3
1-21-2023
Windsor Castle is the largest permanently lived in castle in the world, and it’s still packed with secrets. There is the Welsh Cottage, a 2 fifths life size Dolls house that the young Elizabeth 2nd played in as a child. It had been gifted to her by the people of Wales but she almost never got to play in it, as caught fire on the way to Windsor. We examine the stunning Waterloo Chamber, built from contained courtyard and turned into one of the most stunning rooms in the Palace, dedicated to Britain’s greatest military victory.
Haven't Seen
Episode 2
1-14-2023
Behind-the-scenes tales from the Palaces of Westminster, with the State Opening of Parliament the event where royalty and democracy come together. The Prince’s Chamber was specially built for Queen Elizabeth II to rest before entering the Lords and taking her seat on the palace’s royal throne, while a secret tunnel hidden behind the ancient walls is explored. Other stories featured include a hologram portrait of Elizabeth II and how Charles II dabbled in cannibalism.
Haven't Seen
Episode 1
1-07-2023
More behind-the-scenes tales of the British monarchy’s residences, looking at Queen Elizabeth II added the Royal Gallery to Buckingham Palace after swathes of it were damaged by bombs during the Second World War. Kate Williams explores the make-up used in the Elizabethan court, including arsenic, beetles and the urine of a small boys, and also reveals how George III was imprisoned and tortured in Kew Gardens to hide his mental decline and how Holyrood Palace became the nerve centre of the Jacobite Rebellion.
Haven't Seen
Season 2
Buckingham Palace
Episode 8 - 2-26-2022
44m
Buckingham Palace is known throughout the world as the headquarters of the royal family, and is one of our most recognisable palaces.
6.8/10Haven't Seen
Whitehall
Episode 7 - 2-19-2022
44m
London's lost royal palace Whitehall is destroyed, but if you know where to look, it is still possible to find the remnants of what was once the largest palace in Europe.
Haven't Seen
Kensington Palace
Episode 6 - 2-12-2022
44m
Kensington Palace had always been a party palace but a gap in succession made way for foreign import George 1st of Hanover and his refurbishments.
6.6/10Haven't Seen
Brighton Royal Pavilion
Episode 5 - 2-05-2022
43m
Brighton's Royal Pavilion was built by Prince Regent, George IV in 1787. He took a small beach house and turned it into a flamboyant multi-domino-Saracenic wonder palace.
Haven't Seen
Versailles
Episode 3 - 1-22-2022
44m
Versailles is one of the most enormous and impressive palaces in the world. Louise XIV built it in 1634 as a way of controlling the French aristocracy.
7/10Haven't Seen
Windsor Castle
Episode 1 - 1-08-2022
44m
Kate Williams explores some of the more gruesome stories of Windsor Castle history, including the death of Princess Charlotte in 1817.
7/10Haven't Seen
Season 1
Palace of St James
Episode 8 - 2-20-2021
45m
Hidden in Central London, the Palace of St James is the real seat of royal power. Originally built for Anne Boleyn, by the time it was finished her marriage with Henry VIII was over.
Haven't Seen
Holyrood House
Episode 7 - 2-13-2021
45m
Holyrood House in Edinburgh has a bloody history - Mary Queen of Scots saw her secretary murdered in front of her there, and it is also where her second husband was murdered.
7.4/10Haven't Seen
Kensington Palace
Episode 6 - 2-06-2021
Kensington Palace has been home to many Royals since the 17th Century. Christopher Wren expanded Nottingham House into a palace, which some describe as a bit of a 'botched job'.
6.8/10Haven't Seen
Highgrove
Episode 5 - 1-30-2021
Highgrove House in Gloucester is the smallest royal residence currently in use, with nine bedrooms. It is Prince Charles's own creation and features a garden described as an 'organic oasis'.
6.7/10Haven't Seen
Sandringham House
Episode 4 - 1-23-2021
45m
Sandringham in Norfolk was purchased in 1861 for the rakish Prince Edward, to curb his ways, but it proved to be the perfect palace for a party.
7.2/10Haven't Seen
Windsor Castle
Episode 3 - 1-16-2021
Some dramatic events have taken place at Windsor Castle, which was built more than 900 years, guided by Edward III and his obsession with tales of Camelot. There is a look at one of the most popular exhibits at Windsor - Queen Mary's Dolls' House - and Kate Williams revisits some of the castle's darker times, including the year when bubonic plague caused Queen Elizabeth to isolate at Windsor, and the death of Prince Albert in 1861.
6.9/10Haven't Seen
Haven't Seen
Buckingham Palace
Episode 1 - 1-02-2021
An unveiling of some of the many secrets held by Buckingham Palace, including its former rat problem, and the part it played in Charles and Diana's courtship.
6.8/10Haven't Seen
Top 5 Highest Rated Episodes 7.4/10 7.2/10 7/10 7/10
Holyrood House
Episode 7 - 2-13-2021
45m
Holyrood House in Edinburgh has a bloody history - Mary Queen of Scots saw her secretary murdered in front of her there, and it is also where her second husband was murdered.
7.4/10Haven't Seen
Haven't Seen
Sandringham House
Episode 4 - 1-23-2021
45m
Sandringham in Norfolk was purchased in 1861 for the rakish Prince Edward, to curb his ways, but it proved to be the perfect palace for a party.
7.2/10Haven't Seen
Windsor Castle
Episode 1 - 1-08-2022
44m
Kate Williams explores some of the more gruesome stories of Windsor Castle history, including the death of Princess Charlotte in 1817.
7/10Haven't Seen
Versailles
Episode 3 - 1-22-2022
44m
Versailles is one of the most enormous and impressive palaces in the world. Louise XIV built it in 1634 as a way of controlling the French aristocracy.
7/10Haven't Seen
