{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"106. Charles Spencer; Historic Monarchs, Worldwide News Reporting and the Ghosts of Althorp","description":"Earl Spencer, best-selling author and historian, has a superb talent for bringing history to life. His new book, The White Ship, explores England\u2019s worst ever maritime and royal disaster, a tragedy that changed the course of European history forever. From childhood trips to an unknown Ibiza, friskings at the iron curtain-era Russian border to covering everything from Cannes to Cairo as an NBC news reporter, the late Princess Diana\u2019s younger brother has fascinating travel tales not least those starting in Althorp, the grand estate the Spencer family have called home since 1508.     On this episode we cover:   The 900-year-old tragedy that shaped British history The inspiration behind his new book, The White Ship Henry I and 19 years of civil war The perils of being intoxicated whilst driving Sea wolves, sea elephants and sea goats Drunken oafs chasing away monks His Queens of England speech at Leeds Castle that inspired the book Henry I, a great king overshadowed by other Henrys Stellar reviews of the book Taking a flash point in an interesting Monarch\u2019s reign The family homestead of Althorp, in the family since 1508 The stately homes of Britain contributing to national heritage His imposing and rather terrifying figure of a grandfather The stately home that was burnt down for one scene in a Hollywood movie  The 98% income tax scuppering many stately homes Sleeping in the nursery with flickering candles and the sound of night watchmen Like being in a museum with a very scary man in charge! The rumoured ghosts in Althorp The ancient sound of people being killed in the former weaponry room (!) Travelling to over 30 countries as an NBC News reporter From Islam in Malaysia to the Cannes Film Festival The privilege of being paid to travel the world The terrible hotel fire he reported on in Cairo The man living in a small cage in Hong Kong Interviewing Mel Gibson in Cannes Don\u2019t mention the diet to the King of Tonga Lisa\u2019s Dad and the Queen of Tonga Lisa\u2019s podcast for India and Pamela Hicks (India was Princess Diana\u2019s bridesmaid Meeting Captain Cook\u2019s tortoise Lisa remembering the whole of Tonga being on a diet People thinking you want your own food when travelling Baked beans in Fiji, fish and chips in Tonga Moving to Johannesburg and exploring Soweto and Swaziland The Scottish man apologizing for slavery Porpoises by the sea making for a better school run than Northampton The Peter Ustinov journey that inspired a trip behind the iron curtain Being frisked at the Finnish-Russian border His step father \u2018being treated better in Nazi Germany\u2019   Visiting Paris with his father and sisters in the late 70s His mother taking them to a tiny unknown island called Ibiza Returning to Normandy to research the book The conflict of development and over tourism Canada having the most cleverly persevered places Civilised wilderness at the lakes north of Toronto Covid being terrible, but has it addressed over tourism..? The joys of teenage interrailing to Istanbul, Dubrovnik\u2026 Being kicked out of the carriage somewhere in Romania Passing fields of Oxen ploughing fields How the discomfort of travel can create the most memorable times Sleeping in a Graveyard in Northern Spain Supertramp, the soundtrack to the foothills of Kashmir and the children who had never seen a Walkman ","author_name":"The Big Travel Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/www.thebigtravelpodcast.com","html":"