Queen Victoria
Rattus gets Queen Vic and daughter Beatrice to talk family, food and upset tums!
The writers and cast behind Horrible Histories wonder what it might be like if Queen Victoria had her own podcast. It is set in her later years, after Prince Albert’s death.
Victoria’s co-host is her youngest child, Beatrice. Beatrice tries to pull Victoria out of her grief over Albert and they end up bickering about how controlling Victoria can be over her children, especially Beatrice.
There are two mock adverts; the first is for a Victorian-era Mourning Clothes company and the second is for Cytos bread, said to help digestion, and which really existed. Throughout the episode Victoria has terrible wind. There’s a quiz question, which reveals she was the first Queen to ever give birth under anaesthetic.
Beatrice pleasantly surprises her mother with special guest, Abdul Karim, her Indian secretary. This Indian character brings some Indian food for the Queen to try and we learn a little about her eating habits. Karim also reveals that the game snakes and ladders originated in India.
Unfortunately he also brings a cobra with him, which gets loose and causes havoc. Furthermore, the rich food affects Victoria’s already delicate digestion, and the pod comes to a chaotic end as Victoria demands that Beatrice fetch her some Cytos bread.
Rattus offers some context at the top and tail of the episode, which also features two songs from the TV series – Meet My Family and Mambo No 10.
The minipod that goes with this episode features a mock advert for John Boyd-Dunlop’s innovative new bicycle tyres.