The Exiled Princess: Catherine Duleep Singh x Dr Ranj Singh

The Exiled Princess: Catherine Duleep Singh x Dr Ranj Singh

What happens when you're born a princess without a kingdom, fall in love with your governess, and end up risking everything to help people escape the Nazis? This week, Don travels back in time with Dr Ranj and historian Dr Kit Heyam to the extraordinary life of Catherine Duleep Singh, daughter of the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, who was forced into exile in Britain after the British conquest of Punjab. Born a princess in exile, Catherine Duleep Singh lived a life of aristocratic glamour—but behind the scenes, she was battling displacement and colonial expectations.  Enter Lina Schäfer. What began as a governess-and-chaperone relationship became a lifelong partnership—a love story society tried to file under 'just friends.' When the Nazis rose to power, Catherine didn't just survive; she became a resistance hero, using her wealth to save lives and refusing to leave Lina behind. It’s a story of a princess who defied everything to protect the person she loved. A princess. A love story. A suffragist. A resistance ally. And a woman who refused to leave the person she loved behind. History has never been this queer.  #ttqpod Website: www.timetravellingqueers.com [http://www.timetravellingqueers.com]  Instagram: @timetravellingqueers Follow Don One on Insta: @don1drag A Molly House Media Production.  www.mollyhousemedia.com [http://www.mollyhousemedia.com]  Host : Don One Guest : Dr Ranj Singh Historian : Kit Heyam Creator, Writer & Director : David Mark Graham  Writer & Producer : Marie Horner  Executive Producer : Rishi Khosla Set Designer : Ellie Koslowsky  Sound Designer : Jon Gray Dubbing Mixer : Sam Morris Edited by : David Mark Graham Theme music Composer : Adiescar Chase Recorded at www.storyhousestudios.co [http://www.storyhousestudios.co]  CHAPTERS 0:00 - 4:53 Intro 4:54 - 5:48 Time Travel 5:48 - 13:36 Exiled princess 13:36 - 19:05 Governess Lina 19:05 - 23:17 What’s on Trend!? 23:17 - 28:39 The party’s over, The Nazi’s arrive 28:39 - 33:14 The Suffragette sisters 33:14 - 34:15 Ashes to ashes 34:15 - 40:17 Catherine’s Legacy 40:18 - 41:37 Sorting out the fare and outro REFERENCES Catherine Duleep Singh — Historic Royal Palaces, Hampton Court Palace, 2026. Read online [https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and-stories/catherine-duleep-singh/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Princess Catherine and the Jewish Refugees — Tylers Green Church. Read online [https://tylersgreenchurch.uk/princess-catherine-and-the-jewish-refugees/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary — Anita Anand, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015. IMAGE CREDIT Portrait of Princess Catherine Duleep Singh, by Lafayette Studio, 1897.  © Courtesy of Peter Bance Collection. Catherine Duleep Singh (left) with her German governess and lover, Lina Schäfer (right). Addressed to Miss Mayes, signed ‘Lina Schäfer’, 1930. © Courtesy of Peter Bance Collection.

No Kings. No Pronouns: Njinga a Mbande x Dani St James

Travel with us to meet the gender-defying ruler who demanded to be recognised on their own terms. In Episode 3 of Time Travelling Queers, Don One is joined by model, entrepreneur and activist Dani St James and historian Paula Akpan to journey to seventeenth-century Central Africa and meet the extraordinary Njinga a Mbande, the 17th century ruler of the kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba. For more than forty years, Njinga resisted Portuguese colonisation through fearless diplomacy, military strategy and political brilliance. Defying European expectations of how a ruler should look or behave, Njinga embraced masculine dress, adopted a male-coded title and kept a harem of male concubines. Together, Don, Dani and Paula unpack one of history's most fascinating and complex leaders, exploring colonial resistance, gender, power, diplomacy and the legacy of a ruler whose story has too often been overlooked. Expect political intrigue, battlefield strategy, royal drama and a history lesson that proves there was never just one way to rule. History has never been this queer.  #ttqpod Website: www.timetravellingqueers.com [http://www.timetravellingqueers.com]  Instagram: @timetravellingqueers Follow Don One on Insta: @don1drag A Molly House Media Production.  www.mollyhousemedia.com [http://www.mollyhousemedia.com]  Host : Don One Guest : Dani St James Historian : Paula Akpan Creator, Writer & Director : David Mark Graham  Writer & Producer : Marie Horner  Executive Producer : Rishi Khosla Set Designer : Ellie Koslowsky  Sound Designer : Jon Gray Dubbing Mixer : Sam Morris Theme music Composer : Adiescar Chase Special thanks to the incredible historians who gave their time and knowledge as we developed this show; Claire Mead, Jas Bevan Nas, Tim May, Ema Sala, Tallulah Smart, Kit Heyam, Ess Grange, Jonty Stern, Kit Green and Siobhan McGuirk. Recorded at www.storyhousestudios.co [http://www.storyhousestudios.co]  CHAPTERS 0:00 - 03:41 Intro 03:42 - 04:36 Time Travel 04:37- 12:22 No Kings. No Pronouns. Only Rulers! 12:22 - 16:59 Nepo Baby 17:00 - 19:15 The UN Could Never. Njinga the Diplomat 19:16 - 20:48 What's on Trend? 20:49 - 24:54 The consequences of Colonialism 24:54 - 33:28 Njinga takes the Kingdom and another 33:29 37:09 Njinga’s legacy 37:10 - 38:53 Sorting out the fare and outro REFERENCES When We Ruled: The Rise and Fall of Twelve African Queens and Warriors — Paula Akpan, Trapeze, 2025. Go buy this book and see all the amazing and extensive research Paula did to write it - go to www.paulaakpan.com [http://www.paulaakpan.com]  IMAGE CREDIT Queen Nzinga Mbande (Anna de Sousa Nzinga) by Achille Devéria, printed by François Le Villain, published by Edward Bull, published by Edward Churton, after Unknown artist hand-coloured lithograph, 1830s NPG D34632 © National Portrait Gallery, London

The Gender-Bending Outlaw: Mary Frith x Rosie Jones

Meet Mary Frith aka Mary or Moll Frith aka Mal or Moll Cutpurse aka Mary Markham aka Mary Thrift.  - the gender non-conforming outlaw who thrived in the chaos of the early 1600s made breaking the rules an art form. Whether they were the first woman to smoke in public, wearing “men’s” clothes, or pawning stolen goods, Mary refused to play by society's rules.  In Episode 2 of Time Travelling Queers, Don One is joined by comedian Rosie Jones and historian Ess Grange to travel back to the streets of early modern London and meet the extraordinary Mary Frith. Centuries before gender expression became part of everyday conversation, Mary was wearing men's clothes, smoking pipes, wielding a sword, performing on stage and building a reputation as one of London's most notorious rule-breakers.  Together, Don, Rosie and Ess unravel the myths and the facts behind one of history's most unforgettable queer figures, exploring prison stints, theatrical scandals, underworld dealings and the remarkable life of an icon who became larger than life. History has never been this queer.  #ttqpod Website: www.timetravellingqueers.com [http://www.timetravellingqueers.com]  Instagram: @timetravellingqueers Follow Don One on Insta: @don1drag A Molly House Media Production.  www.mollyhousemedia.com [http://www.mollyhousemedia.com]  Host : Don One Guest : Rosie Jones Historian : Ess Grange Creator, Writer & Director : David Mark Graham  Writer & Producer : Marie Horner  Executive Producer : Rishi Khosla Hair & Make Up : Nicole Fairfield Set Designer : Ellie Koslowsky  Sound Designer : Jon Gray Dubbing Mixer : Sam Morris Theme music Composer : Adiescar Chase Special thanks to the incredible historians who gave their time and knowledge as we developed this show; Claire Mead, Jas Bevan Nas, Tim May, Ema Sala, Tallulah Smart, Kit Heyam, Ess Grange, Jonty Stern, Kit Green and Siobhan McGuirk. Recorded at www.storyhousestudios.co [http://www.storyhousestudios.co]  CHAPTERS 0:00 - 03:31 Intro 03:31 - 04:17 Time Travel 04:18 - 07:41 London Is Falling Apart 7:42- 09:25 Did Mary go to America? 09:26 - 12:38 What's on Trend? 12:39 - 27:57 Moll Cutpurse takes to the stage 27:58- 33:08 The Christmas Eve Flashing Incident 33:09 - 39:13 Crime Boss Era 39:14 - 51:28 Life and Death of Mary Frith 51:29 - 53:11 Mary’s legacy 53:12 - 55:28 Sorting out the fare and outro REFERENCES The Roaring Girl, Middleton & Dekker, 1611 The Life and Death of Mary Frith (originally published first in 1662), modern publication edited by Janet Todd and Elizabeth Spearing, 1994.  The Date of the Roaring Girl, P.A. Mulholland, 1977 Mary Frith alias Moll Cutpurse in Life & Literature, Gustav Ungerer, 2000 Plus Ess’ PhD research, not yet published but we will shout about it when it is! IMAGE CREDIT London (Castle Street, Leicester Fields) : Published by W. Richardson, [between 1800 and 1899?]. Wellcome Collection Reference: 2015801i

The Queer King: Edward II x Tia Kofi

What do you get when you put a drag queen, a drag king, a Big Brother star and one of England's most controversial monarchs in the same taxi? In the first episode of Time Travelling Queers, Don One is joined by RuPaul's Drag Race UK star Tia Kofi and historian and Big Brother 8’s Jonty Stern to journey back to the fourteenth century and uncover the extraordinary life of King Edward II. Was Edward II really England's first queer king? Were his relationships with Piers Gaveston and Hugh Despenser love stories, political disasters—or both? And why has history spent centuries obsessing over how he died instead of how he reigned? Expect scandal, court favourites, civil war, royal revenge, dubious death theories, and enough palace drama to rival today's reality TV. History has never been this queer.  #ttqpod Website: www.timetravellingqueers.com [http://www.timetravellingqueers.com]  Instagram: @timetravellingqueers Follow Don One on Insta: @don1drag A Molly House Media Production.  www.mollyhousemedia.com [http://www.mollyhousemedia.com]  Host : Don One Guest : Tia Kofi Historian : Jonty Stern Creator, Writer & Director : David Mark Graham  Writer & Producer : Marie Horner  Executive Producer : Rishi Khosla Set Designer : Ellie Koslowsky  Sound Designer & Dubbing Mixer : Jon Gray Theme music Composer : Adiescar Chase Special thanks to the incredible historians who gave their time and knowledge as we developed this show; Claire Mead, Jas Bevan Nas, Tim May, Ema Sala, Tallulah Smart, Kit Heyam, Ess Grange, Jonty Stern, Kit Green and Siobhan McGuirk. Recorded at www.storyhousestudios.co [http://www.storyhousestudios.co]  CHAPTERS 0:00 - 03:23 Intro 03:24 - 04:06 Time Travel 04:07 - 08:58  For Queer King and Country 08:59 -  11:52 There were two of us in this marriage 11:53 - 13:00 The Favourite number 1 Piers 13:00- 16:20 Whats On Trend!? 16:20-23:40 Piers the favourite continued 23:41 - 37:44 Favourite number 2 Hugh Dispenser 37:45 - 43:17 Revenge is a dish served red hot and pointy. 43:18- 45:30 Is Diana Spencer related to Hugh Despenser? 45:30- 46:56 King Edward II Legacy 46:56- 48:11 Sorting out the fare and outro REFERENCES Edward II the Man: A Doomed Inheritance — Stephen Spinks, Amberley Publishing, 2017. The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327–1330 — Ian Mortimer, Jonathan Cape, 2003. Joan of Kent: The First Princess of Wales — Penny Lawne, Amberley Publishing, 2015. The Queen and the Mistress: The Women of Edward III — Gemma Hollman, The History Press, 2022. Edward I — L. F. Salzman, Frederick A. Praeger, 1968 IMAGE CREDIT Manuscript in Carlisle Castle from c. 14th century and an anonymous 19th century portrait of Edward II by unknown Author, accessed via Wikimedia Commons.

Trailer

History has never been this queer.  Take a seat in the back of our cab with celebrity guests and historians for a ride through queer history, driven by our drag king extraordinaire Don One – hurry the meters running. Every episode uncovers the story of an extraordinary queer person from history, exploring the lives, cultures and moments that helped shape our community. #ttqpod Website: www.timetravellingqueers.com [http://www.timetravellingqueers.com]  Instagram: @timetravellingqueers