Scandalous Facts About Juicy Court Intrigues Throughout History
What’s a good costume drama without courtly intrigue? Royal courts were more than super households: They were centers of international power. A well-timed whisper in the king’s ear could make (or break) fortunes.
With this much power at stake, royal courts naturally became epicenters for espionage, plotting, and intrigue.
From secret affairs to not-so-secret assassinations, see past the well-dressed courtiers and expose these 50 scandalous facts about juicy court intrigues.
Court Intrigues In History Facts
1. Dee. John Dee.
As a top spy for Elizabeth I of England, John Dee signed his private letters to the queen with codename “007.” Centuries later, Ian Fleming would copy the insignia for his own spy hero, James Bond.
2. Too Close for Comfort…or Plausibility?
The beginning of Lucrezia Borgia’s bad “reputation” began with her annulment from her first husband, Giovanni Sforza. Pope Alexander tried to dissolve his daughter’s now inconvenient marriage on the grounds of non-consummation—much to her husband’s protest. In response, Giovanni made an incredibly disturbing accusation.
He accused Lucrezia of incest with her brother, Cesare. Though the marriage was eventually annulled with none of the incest accusations validated, the damage was done. Lucrezia and Cesare’s relationship would now forever be suspect.
3. The Second Husbands Club
With Giovanni Sforza behind her, Lucrezia's family quickly married her off to Duke Alfonso of Aragon. As it turned out, this second marriage was even shorter than her first union—andten times more violent. On the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, hired killers attacked Alfonso. Miraculously, he survived multiple stab wounds—but the worst was yet to come. A few days later, another group of men burst into his room and strangled the invalid to death.
According to lore, Lucrezia's eldest brother organized the murder, lending fuel to the fire that the siblings shared an, um, unusually passionate relationship.
