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A quick note about our show.

We do a lot of research for our stories, but we also aren't your high school history class,

so some details and scenes are dramatized.

This episode contains some discussions of religious persecution and violence that may be disturbing to some listeners.

You'll also hear some language that might not be fit for a queen, so please be advised.

It's January 15, 1475, and Isabella is at a palace in Segovia, one of Castile's bustling towns.

She's sitting in the center of a large room, surrounded by a council of stuffy-looking men.

Picture of medieval shark tank, but Isabella's pitch isn't for a new business venture.

It's that she has the right to rule without anyone's help.

Last month, Isabella's half-brother Enrique died without naming an heir. So in the spirit of

dressing for the job you want, Isabella put on a gorgeous jeweled gown, walk through Segovia's

town square, and declared herself queen. But she did it without telling her husband Ferdinand,

and when he got wind of the news, he was pissed.

Now, he did sign a marriage contract that said Isabella would remain an independent queen.

But he assumed she was all talk.

And now that she's walking the walk, he's not having it.

In fact, he threatened to leave her and Castile, which would totally blow up any command

she holds as a newly declared queen.

The unhappy lovebirds are still at an impasse, which is why Ferdinand is now at the palace

sitting across from Isabella.

...