x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

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

1:03:15

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

en

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

en

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

en

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

en

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

en

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

en

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

en

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

en

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

en

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

en

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

en

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

en

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

en

1:05:35

Book Companion - William II

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/10/23

In this second chance to hear episode, Charlie Higson continues his voyage through the rhyme of 'Willy Willy Harry Stee', stopping at the second Willy, King William the 2nd otherwise known as William Rufus. This week's proper expert is James Hawes, author of the smash hit 'The Shortest History of England’, who’s been in the bestseller charts as both a crime novelist and a popular historian.In this episode, find out how the Norman invasion directly led to Brexit!It really is a real life version of

en

54:28

The Far Right History Hijack

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/10/21

In the special episode of Willy Willy Harry Stee, Charlie Higson digs deep into the way history is being used, or mis-used. His guest is Dr Rachel Moss, a medieval historian at the University of Northampton, who has been awarded a prestigious joint research grant from the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust to investigate how far-right groups in Britain have historically misused medieval imagery and narratives to promote extremist ideologies.Rachel explains just how long this has been happening

en

59:28

Book Companion - William I

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/10/16

With the publication of the book of the podcast, Willie Willie Harry Stee, (available now in ALL bookshops, both those made of bricks and those made of data), Charlie Higson thought it would be a good idea to give you another chance to hear the podcast version of the monarchs, in order, starting with William the Conqueror, otherwise known as William the Bastard.The question is WHY was he known as this?The answer is.....well, Charlie will explain along with proper historian, Judith Green.You can buy

en

48:22

THE BOOK OF THE PODCAST!!

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/10/09

Welcome to this very special episode, timed to coincide with the official launch of Charlie Higson's book of the podcast, Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee: An Epically Short History of Our Kings and Queens. Charlie is joined by the book's illustrator, formerly known as Britain's Top Light Entertainer under his stage name Vic Reeves, the acclaimed artist Jim Moir.The book is OUT NOW so order it here.....

en

49:24

Book Club - WILLIE WILLE HARRY STEE

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/10/02

And so it came to pass thatCharlie Higson'sepic podcastWillie Willie Harry Steemade its long awaited transformation fromPodcasttoBook!Yes, onOctober 9th, Charlie's personal history of the monarchy becomes a literary work, with deliciously witty illustrations by Jim Moir.It's a rip-roaring romp through history that takes in the Normans, Plantagenets, Tudors, Stuarts, Hanoverians and Windsors, not to mention the infamous Blois (how can we forget them?).But hang on......how can Charlie interview

en

51:15

Book Club - Ring Of Fire

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/09/25

In this episode of his Willy Willy Harry Stee Book Club, Charlie Higson looks at a new book which uses eye-witness accounts to paint a stark picture of the start of World War 1. As war broke out in the summer of 1914, not a nation on Earth understood the magnitude of what they were about to face. To win it, whole populations must be mobilised, and neutrality was impossible to practice.Our understanding of this complex conflict has been coloured by a blinkered approach to popular history. It has

en

1:00:46

Summer Book Club - How to Kill a Witch

Willy Willy Harry Stee... ·

2025/09/19

In this edition of the Summer History Reading Book Club, Charlie Higson is on a witch hunt.As a woman, if you lived in Scotland in the 1500s, there was a very good chance that you, or someone you knew, would be tried as a witch. Witch hunts ripped through the country for over 150 years, with at least 4,000 accused, and many women's fates sealed by a grizzly execution of strangulation, followed by burning.In their book How to Kill A Witch: A Guide For The Patriarchy writers and podcasters Claire

en

167 results

Similar Podcasts

The Old Front Line

Paul Reed

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

جنود خلدهم التاريخ

ALSUMOOD PODCAST

Film History - Daily

Inception Point Ai

Madonna - Biography Flash

Inception Point Ai