‘Private Lives of the Monarchs’ Traces Secret Scandals of European Royalty

Rick and Christina Gables May 16, 2020, 10:00 am

Private Lives of the Monarchs - Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret — Courtesy of Smithsonian Channel

Historian Tracy Borman returns to host a second season of Private Lives of the Monarchs, giving viewers an inside look into the more discreet dealings and hidden love affairs of the most controversial figures of European royalty.

Their foibles and fetishes are revealed in the new season premiering Sunday, May 17 on Smithsonian Channel.

From the glamorized and sometimes shocking life of Queen Elizabeth’s sister, Princess Margaret, to the enigmatic Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, the new season unveils some of the more sordid events in royal lives that didn’t make it into history books.

PRIVATE LIVES OF THE MONARCHS S02 STILL PETER THE GREAT

Courtesy of Smithsonian Channel

The season premiere, “Napoleon Bonaparte,” examines the life of one of France’s self-appointed emperor, a man who started with nothing, acquired everything, and lost it all again.

Join Borman as she traces the life of this first Emperor of France, a workaholic and military genius of vaulting ambition who had a stunning rise and fall from power.

PRIVATE LIVES OF THE MONARCHS S02 TRACY BORMAN

Courtesy of Smithsonian Channel

To understand Napoleon the man, Borman visits the palaces from where he ran his empire, uncovering his private relationships and string of affairs, and reveals how the “man of destiny” coped with humiliating defeat.

The subsequent episodes delve behind the public lives of Edward VIII, Princess Margaret and Peter the Great.