He was the golden boy of the Elizabethan court—handsome, headstrong, and dangerously entitled. Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, rose fast on charm and royal favor, but fell harder than anyone before him. In this episode, we unravel the dramatic downfall of Queen Elizabeth’s last great favorite: from battlefield glory to courtroom disgrace, from private whispers to public rebellion. Was it ambition, arrogance, or love that led him to the scaffold? You decide.

Treason. Torture. Execution. In this dark journey through Tudor England, we uncover the brutal machinery behind royal justice. From the rack to the axe, from Tower Green to Tyburn Tree—this episode explores how the Crown used pain as power, and fear as law.

You’ll hear the stories of Anne Askew, Lady Jane Grey, Thomas Cranmer, and others who met their fate beneath the sword or in the flames. We’ll walk the blood-soaked paths of the Tower of London, Smithfield, and Oxford—and reveal how some voices, silenced in life, refused to be forgotten.

This is not just history—it’s a warning. Heads Will Roll… and not always the ones you expect.

🎧 The Lion and the Rose Keep your sword sharp—and your history sharper.

🔥 NEW EPISODE – "The Spies Are Coming: Francis Walsingham & The Tudor Shadow War" 🔥

He wasn’t just a spymaster—he was England’s deadliest weapon. Francis Walsingham built a network of spies that exposed traitors, thwarted assassins, and stopped invasions before they began. From uncovering the Babington Plot that sealed Mary, Queen of Scots' fate, to misleading the Spanish Armada, Walsingham’s intelligence web kept Elizabeth I’s enemies one step behind—until the day he was gone.

But who really was the man behind the shadows? How did he intercept secret letters, crack coded messages, and manipulate foreign courts? And why did the man who saved England die broke and forgotten?

In this episode of The Lion & The Rose, we dive into the life and legacy of Tudor England’s spymaster-in-chief—and the deadly game of shadows he played.

🎙️ Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your history fix!

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