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PODCAST

Willy Willy Harry Stee...

Charlie Higson"s History of the Monarchy. In each new weekly episode, Charlie and his friendly experts....(ie REAL historians)...learn all about one of our Kings or Queens and ask searching questions like:Were they any good?What did they actually do?Why did so many die from an exploding stomach?It"s the story of families at war....literally! New episodes every Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

history

All Episodes

1:11:49

Book Companion - Richard III

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2026/03/06

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry Dick John Harry Three, One Two Three Neds, Richard Two, Henry's Four Five Six.........then who? Edward Four Five...Dick The Bad!Yes, Charlie Higson lands on Richard III. Was he Dick The Bad or should we celebrate him as one of the good ones?Here to argue his case is the Chairman of the Richard the Third society, Matt Lewis. Also don't forget that Charlie's book of this podcast, Willie Willie Harry Stee is out now, with illustrations by Jim Moir, or Vic Reeves as you may

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50:43

Book Companion - Edward V

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2026/02/27

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry Dick John Harry Three, One Two Three Neds, Richard Two, Henry's Four Five Six.........then who? Edward Four Five....As he wades through the Wars Of The Roses, Charlie Higson reaches a king whose reign can be measured in days, Edward V. As one of the two Princes In The Tower along with his brother Richard Of Shrewsbury, Edward's life was short and tragic.In a departure from the norm, instead of the usual 'proper historian', Charlie invites a fellow history fan to join

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1:07:32

Book Companion - Edward IV

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2026/02/20

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry Dick John Harry Three, One Two Three Neds, Richard Two, Henry's Four Five Six.........then who?King Edward IV that's who!The tale of bloody battles continues as Edward returns for a second stab at the crown as Charlie Higson makes sense of civil wars and the struggle for ultimate power.This episode's proper historian is James Hawes, author of The Shortest History Of England.Plus! A special guest historian returns as Helen Castor brings us the sad postscript to the

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1:10:41

Book Companion - Henry VI - Part 2

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2026/02/13

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry Dick John Harry Three, One Two Three Neds, Richard Two, Henry's Four Five Six.........What happens when a King goes wrong? The story ofHenry VIand his battles withEdward IVcontinues asCharlie Higsontells the story of one of history's biggest power struggles. And you thought the Roy family were bad!!Plus we hear about the formidableMargaret Of Anjouas we welcome backHelen Castor,author of She Wolves,Joan Of Arc &Blood & Roses and do remember that Charlie's book

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1:11:29

Book Companion - Henry VI - Part 1

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2026/02/06

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry Dick John Harry Three, One Two Three Neds, Richard Two, Henry's Four Five Six.........The story of Henry VI is a tangled one, intertwined with Edward IV and, not something to be rushed. So over the next two episodes, Charlie Higson unpicks the story of a man who became king, then was deposed only to become king again, only to be deposed.....again!It's a fascinating story which takes in a couple of wars, one civil and one against the French and even Joan of Arc makes an

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1:12:48

Book Companion - Henry V

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2026/01/30

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry Dick John Harry Three, One Two Three Neds, Richard Two, Henry's Four Five....... In this episode, Charlie Higson looks at the second-most famous Henry.....Henry V. As you'll hear, Henry was one tough bugger!Battle Of Agincourt? Easy!Arrow embedded in your face? 'Tis but a scratch!His reign was short but he got things done as you'll hear along with Charlie's proper historian this week, Dr Rory Cox, all round Henry V expert and author of Origins Of The Just War. And

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1:12:18

Book Companion - Henry IV

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2026/01/23

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry Dick John Harry Three. One Two Three Neds, Richard II, Henry's Four........ yes, welcome to the next batch of Henry's, starting with Henry IV. Forget what Shakespeare said. In this episode, you'll hear Charlie Higson continue his voyage through history with a story of a King who lived fast and died young without really achieving much, while this episodes proper historian, Ian Mortimer, author of 'The Fears of Henry IV: The Life of England's Self-Made King', argues that

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1:03:15

Book Companion - Richard II

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2026/01/16

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry Dick John Harry Three. One Two Three Neds, Richard Two........ Charlie Higson's canter through the Monarchy takes us to Richard The 2nd.You'd think by now that they'd have got the hang of this whole King thing. What to do. What not to do. Well, they hadn't and Richard II is a good example of the 'What Not To Do' category.Charlie's proper historian this episode sees the return of Helen Castor, author of 'She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth' and 'The

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1:00:29

Book Companion - Edward III

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2026/01/09

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry Dick John Harry Three, One Two Three Neds..... Yes, its another chance to hear Charlie Higson reach the third of his Neds, Edward III and for once in our story he actually turned out to be a half decent king, or so it was thought at the time.Find out how he contended with fighting the Scots, the French and the Black Death.Charlie's proper historian this episode is Helen Carr, author of the best-selling book The Red Prince: John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.And speaking

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1:09:34

Book Companion - Edward II

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2026/01/02

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry Dick John Harry Three, One Two Three Neds..... So goes the rhyme Charlie Higson learnt at school, each a Monarch and each seemingly unable to learn any lessons from their predecessor, as ably demonstrated by this episode's King, Edward The 2nd. Find out how his disastrous relationships, especially with Piers Gaveston gave rise to his downfall at the hands of his own wife Queen Isabella which led to a particularly unpleasant end.Charlie's proper historian this episode is

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49:14

Book Club - Eleanor

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/12/23

In this episode Alice Loxton joins Charlie Higson to talk about her new book, ‘Eleanor’.In 1290, England mourned the death of a queen, Eleanor of Castile, beloved wife of King Edward I, the warrior king.Her body was carried on a 200-mile journey from Lincoln to London, a solemn procession that would become immortalized in stone.To mark the places where it laid, a heartbroken Edward commissioned twelve magnificent Eleanor Crosses.More than seven centuries later, Alice Loxton set herself an epic

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1:13:59

Book Companion - Edward I

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/12/19

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry, Dick, John, Harry Three, One Two Three Neds.........Well in this episode Charlie Higson concerns himself with Ned No.1..Edward The 1st, Edward Longshanks or The Hammer Of The Scots, although whilst he did a lot of hammering, the nails weren't really driven home very well.Charlie's 'Proper Historian' for this episode is the excellent Marc Morris, author of A Great & Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain and speaking of books, remember that you can

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51:45

Book Club - The Map Men

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/12/12

In this BRAND NEW episode from Charlie Higson, he mixes History and Cartography to bring you the authors of a book that shows that a map might not be the honest, accurate and useful tool you once thought. Born on Youtube, The Map Men has been an internet sensation and their new book 'This Way Up' is a funny and fascinating journey into the maps that messed up: big time!In this chat with Mark Cooper-Jones and Jay Foreman (aka, the Map Men) Charlie finds out how they got into the world of mad maps in

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58:34

Book Companion - Henry III

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/12/05

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry, Dick, John, Harry Three.........Charlie Higson continues his canter through the Monarchy and along with Henry, comes Simon De Montfort.Was Henry weak and inept while Simon held the real power?We'll find out as Charlie welcomes this week's proper historian, Sophie Therese Ambler author of a biography of Simon de Montfort called -The Song of Simon de Montfort: England's First Revolutionary and the Death of Chivalry. If you'd like to read all about it, remember that this

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1:15:59

Book Companion - King John

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/11/28

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry Dick John.........Charlie Higson's romp through the middle ages lands on King John, who hasn't been fondly remembered.BUT...was he really that bad a King?Well, yes. He really was. In fact he was worse than we thought.Find out just how rubbish a monarch he was as Charlie digs into his hopeless life, together with this episode's proper historian, Professor Nick Vincent. And, while you're listening, why not order the book of the podcast! WIllie Willie Harry Stee with

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1:05:14

Book Companion - King Richard 1

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/11/21

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry Dick....... In this episode, Charlie Higson explores Richard I, or to give him his popular name Richard The Lionheart.Noble, considerate and fair.....according to Walt Disney, however Charlie digs a little deeper and finds a King of England who, well, wasn't in England very much.With guest proper historian, the excellent Dan Jones, author of The Plantagenets & Essex Dogs to help him, Charlie uncovers the REAL Richard I.And remember, Willie Willie Harry Stee, the

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1:03:05

Book Companion - Henry II

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/11/14

Willy Willy Harry Stee, Harry......yes, Charlie Higson reaches Monarch number 5 in the shape of Henry II, a man who fought and married his way to the top only for his wife and sons to rebel against him and start a revolt.What would you do?Well in this episode you'll find out exactly what Henry II did and how he did it.Helen Castor, author of 'She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth' is Charlie's guest 'proper' historian.Of course, you can also now read about Henry by buying the book

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58:54

Book Companion - Stephen & Matilda

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/11/07

The saga continues as Charlie Higson brings you the story of Stephen & Matilda. When Henry I died, the crown should have fallen to his daughter, the Empress Matilda.BUTStephen of Blois got there first to claim the crown and together with his wife, a different Matilda, Matilda of Boulogne.....it all went horribly wrong as you'll hear.Charlie's proper historian guest is Cath Hanley author of Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior.And remember, Willie Willie Harry Stee, the book of the podcast, is out

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57:47

Book Companion - Henry I

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/10/31

Imagine you have two brothers. One of them is King of England, the other two want to be. What would YOU do?Well how about this. You have the brother who is King killed in a convenient hunting accident, then lock the other one up for the rest of his life.Farfetched? Then listen on as Charlie Higson continues his personal history of the extraordinary story of the Monarchs of England, assisted by this week's proper historian, Lord Charles Spencer.And remember, Willie Willie Harry Stee, the book of the

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38:34

Book Club - The History Gossip

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/10/29

In this, the final episode of the Summer / Autumn History Book Club, Charlie Higson welcome a talented young historian who is really making waves in the social media world.Katie Kennedy, also known on Tik Tok as 'The History Gossip' is dedicated to popularising history and making it accessible and relatable – and she’s done all this while being a student and studying history at university.Earlier this year, she wrote her first book, called Was Anne of Cleves a Minger?It presents a fun and

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174 results

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