The Romanov Court: Romance & Ruin | Mary Hamilton

Mary Hamilton was a young woman of Scottish descent who rose to prominence in the Russian court of Peter the Great. Serving as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Catherine I, Mary appeared to have a life worth envying. But behind the elegance of court life, she harbored dark and dangerous secrets.

Set in early 18th-century Russia, this episode examines how power, gender, and fear shaped justice under Peter the Great. While Mary Hamilton’s choices carried deadly consequences, her public execution became one of the most shocking and haunting scandals of the Romanov era.

Support the show