Lucy Worsley's Royal Myths & Secrets

The October Revolution of 1917 has gone down in history as the only Russian Revolution that really mattered. But Lucy Worsley reveals that the earlier revolution in February that year was downplayed in Bolshevik history books and films despite the fact that it was the truly spontaneous popular uprising that swept the Czar from power.

Inside their prison called the House for Special Purposes, the Romanov family is brought down to the basement where they are met with bullets and bayonets.

With the risk of Russia being overrun by Germany and calls for a republic, Nicholas must decide whether he wants to abdicate, ending 300 years of Romanov rule.

Although remembered as "The king who lost America," his subjects were unaware of George's spiral. The public's attention was being diverted to a different political problem.

Lucy Worsley reveals how mental health problems forced King George III to relinquish power to his debauched and extravagant son. Was this really an era of elegance and regal splendor or an age of radicalism and revolution? How were myths and secrets used to save the British monarchy?

The Prince of Wales' secret wedding to Maria Fitzherbert was not considered legitimate in the eyes or the law because Maria was a Catholic. This caused a huge constitutional problem for George.

Martin Luther, a monk, nailed a document on a church door attacking the Roman Catholic church, believing it to be corrupt. However, Luther had hundreds of volumes of writing detailing his life, but there was no mention of this famous act.

As six of Catherine of Aragon’s seven pregnancies ended in tragedy, Henry VIII's eye started to wander, looking for someone who could bear him a son. Then he met Anne Boleyn.

Lucy Worsley investigates the inside story of the English Reformation. Was Henry VIII's desire to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn the real reason for England's split from Catholic Europe? Or was a secret political agenda at work behind the scenes?

Join Lucy Worsley on a journey across Europe to visit the incredible locations where royal history was made. From the Spanish Armada to the French Revolution, learn how royal history is a mixture of facts, exaggeration, manipulation and mythology.

Lucy explores the famous myth that Marie Antoinette uttered the phrase “Let them eat cake." As an Austrian royal in the French court she was notorious for her profligacy and her love of fine clothes and parties. And this was partly why she was blamed for being a cause of the French revolution. But just how fair is this?

During the French Revolution, fearing for their lives, the royal family made an attempt to escape Paris. Late at night they headed east in disguise towards the relative safety of the Netherlands. But they were stopped close to the border and brought back to Paris in disgrace. Lucy finds out they were caught because someone recognized the face of the king from a bank note.