A year ago tomorrow, ULTC dropped its first post announcing the start of our blog. Stefanie and I were unsure if anyone would read it, but we were excited to finally make our longtime dream of a collaborative project centered on royals a reality. We could never have imagined the response that we’ve had in our first year.
In the past 12 months, we have covered the lives and minds of nine royals whose reigns spanned nearly 2,000 years. Together, we explored about the biology underlying roughly two dozen psychiatric and neurological diseases and the roots of about as many wars. We learned about neurotransmitters, hormones, electrophysiology, and genetics as well as religion, geography, legislation, and military strategy. We also managed to restore some reputations along the way, and, what I think is most important, help break some of the stigma surrounding mental illness.
ULTC was joined in its first year by over 2,500 readers and 63 subscribers from 34 countries. Our most popular series was on Alexandra Feodorovna, a complex woman and tragic historical figure who we argue may have struggled with hypochondria. Our readers are just as big of fans of complicated women as we are because our second most popular series was on Princess Diana. Her story has been told countless times before, but never through the lens of her neurobiology. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for joining us on our adventures across time and space and disciplines and diseases.
Stefanie and I set out on this blogging adventure with the hope of considering how the world has been shaped by the mental illnesses of some its most well-known rulers. I think we have accomplished that. And we are just getting started. We have big things in store for the next 365, but we would love to hear from you! What do you want to see next from ULTC? We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you next Friday for a new series you won’t want to miss.
Uneasy Lies the Crown 