Blood, Birth, and the Crown: Royal Childbirth in the Middle Ages
Tudors Dynasty & Beyond
RedTop Media / Rebecca Larson
4.4 • 869 Ratings
🗓️ 24 February 2026
⏱️ 55 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode, I’m joined by the wonderful Michèle Schindler to explore one of the most dangerous - and politically charged - experiences in medieval life: royal childbirth.
For queens and noblewomen, pregnancy was never just personal. It was dynastic. The survival of kingdoms rested on their bodies. We dive into what childbirth actually looked like inside medieval chambers - the rituals, the midwives, the prayers, the relics, and the intense female networks that surrounded labor.
What happened when things went wrong? How did repeated pregnancies shape a queen’s health - and her political value? And how did the birth (or death) of an heir change the course of history?
From the expectations placed on royal women to the very real medical risks they faced, this conversation sheds light on the physical realities behind medieval monarchy - and the immense pressure carried by women whose primary duty was to secure the future of a realm.
It’s intimate. It’s personal. And it might change the way you think about crowns and succession forever.
--
You can find Michele's books pretty much anywhere, but here is her page on Amazon - US.
--
Host: Rebecca Larson
Guest: Michèle Schindler
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | immerse yourself in Herbal Essence's new Moroccan Argon Oil elixir, infused with pure |
| 0:07.1 | argon oil. Just one drop delivers up to 100 hours of hair nourishment with the indulgent |
| 0:14.3 | scent of a Moroccan garden. Herbal Essence's new Moroccan Argon Oil Elixir, spark quality hair repair without the price tag. Try it now. Herbal essences new Moroccan-Argon oil elixir. Spar quality hair repair without the price tag. |
| 0:23.3 | Try it now. |
| 0:24.4 | Herbal. |
| 0:25.2 | Essences. |
| 0:26.2 | Surface repaired to smoothness, nourishment with a regimen use versus non-conditioning shampoo. |
| 0:31.5 | This is the Tudors Dynasty and Beyond podcast. |
| 0:35.5 | History with a twist. |
| 0:37.4 | And now your host, Rebecca Larson. |
| 0:40.4 | Hello and welcome back to the show. I'm your host, Rebecca Larson, and I'm very happy to |
| 0:46.1 | welcome back again, Michelle Schindler. Welcome. Hi. I'm glad you have me back. I'm glad to have you back too. |
| 0:55.1 | I always feel like sometimes like there's these long stretches where I go without talking to somebody for a while and there's no reason for it other than just a bunch of other guests popped up in between. |
| 1:06.0 | Yes, and sometimes you look around and it's three months past. |
| 1:10.0 | Yeah, yeah, before we started recording, I was like, how long has it been? |
| 1:14.2 | And you were like, I think it's been a year. |
| 1:15.8 | And I thought, wow, where is the year gone? |
| 1:18.6 | I mean, it's already 2026. |
| 1:20.9 | I know. |
| 1:23.2 | Well, I asked you on today, I should say first to start off, obviously on social media, |
| 1:29.7 | I've been promoting that it's nine years of having the podcast. |
| 1:33.5 | You are one of the wonderful authors who offered to donate a copy of one of your books |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from RedTop Media / Rebecca Larson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of RedTop Media / Rebecca Larson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.