THIS IS HISTORY — A DYNASTY TO DIE FOR

Richard Duke of Gloucester has the crown in his sights. But first, he needs to clear the room.

Allies become enemies. Councillors are arrested. Lord Hastings is dead. And Edward IV’s heirs are locked in the Tower of London. Then Richard needs to sell himself.

A preacher declares Edward IV’s children illegitimate while Richard positions himself as the antidote to his brother’s salacious decadence. Richard’s going to be England’s pious, orderly, righteous king. Or so he claims.

The heirs locked in the tower slowly slip from public view — and history has never stopped asking about where they went.

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As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime on the royal court on Patreon at patreon.com/thisishistory. It’s where you get your bonus episodes, and on this week’s episode Dan tries to understand why Elizabeth Woodville handed her son over to Richard III from sanctuary at Westminster Abbey. Plus, learn more about how Richard tried to legitimate his claims to the throne by sullying his deceased brother’s reputation.

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

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Presented by Dan Jones

Producer - Alan Weedon

Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman

Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock

Executive Producer - Louisa Field

Executive Producer - Dan Jones

Production Manager - Jen Mistri

Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan

Head of Content - Chris Skinner

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Edward IV finally has it all. With his enemies vanquished, the Yorkist king can now focus on what really matters to him — pleasure.

But, after one fateful fishing trip, he drops dead at 41. The kingdom is now left to his 12-year-old son, Edward V.

It’s not like England hasn’t seen this before. After all, Henry VI ascended to the throne at nine-months-old. So the realm expects another royal council to steer things on Edward’s behalf until he gets older. And there’s a long list of nobles who are more than happy to shepherd the young king.

This includes Edward IV’s brother, Richard Duke of Gloucester, who has other plans. Diabolical plans that will change the course of Plantagenet — and indeed English history — forever.

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As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime on the royal court on Patreon at patreon.com/thisishistory. It’s where you get your bonus episodes, and on this week’s episode Dan tells us about why Edward’s gluttony was his undoing, and just how much life the Yorkist king packed into his 41 years. Plus: Hear about what links Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth II in the afterlife.

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

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––

Presented by Dan Jones

Producer - Alan Weedon

Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman

Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock

Executive Producer - Louisa Field

Executive Producer - Dan Jones

Production Manager - Jen Mistri

Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan

Head of Content - Chris Skinner

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A grieving George Duke of Clarence wants someone to blame for the tragic death of his wife and spare heir.

Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence, dies during childbirth in December 1476. Their infant son dies shortly afterward.

It’s a moment that would push anyone to the brink, but in George’s hands, it turns bloody. He sets his sights on two low-ranking staff members in the Clarence household, creates a kangaroo court, and sends them to the gallows.

This act of extrajudicial killing isn’t seen as a lapse from someone wracked with grief, but something entirely in keeping with what many see in George: someone who is greedy, volatile, and profoundly disloyal.

It’s these qualities that make King Edward IV realise England won’t be at peace with George alive. So naturally, he reaches for a supply of Portuguese wine to sort things out once and for all.

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As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime on the royal court on Patreon at patreon.com/thisishistory. It’s where you get your bonus episodes, and on this week’s episode Dan explains why the ‘rule of law’ could be made brittle for certain nobles under Edward IV’s reign. Plus, we hear about whether George Duke of Clarence was a medieval gold digger, and why he decides to play “silly buggers” with a crystal ball.

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

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Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

––

Presented by Dan Jones

Producer - Alan Weedon

Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman

Associate Producer - Dulcie Whadcock

Executive Producer - Louisa Field

Executive Producer - Dan Jones

Production Manager - Jen Mistri

Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan

Head of Content - Chris Skinner

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1475, nobody wants a Henry V impersonator, but Edward IV goes ahead and does his best impression anyway. 

Edward, buoyant from vanquishing his enemies at home, now wants to re-unite the kingdom against its longtime enemy: France. He wants the family heirlooms back: Normandy and Gascony. 

So he assembles the biggest army in living memory — about 13,000 strong — and launches an assault on Paris, via Calais and Agincourt. Another Duke of Burgundy allies with England, too. 

But Edward IV is no Henry V. Edward’s first allegiance is to pleasure, and it’s a fact the French King, Louis XI, ruthlessly exploits. 

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As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime on the royal court on Patreon at patreon.com/thisishistory. It’s where you get your bonus episodes, and on this week’s episode Dan reveals whether the Hundred Years’ War was actually over by Edward IV’s invasion. Plus, more on why Henry Tudor’s the new pawn to be traded between Edward, Louis XI, and the Duke of Burgundy. 

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A Sony Music Entertainment production. 

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts 

To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com 

Learn more about your ad choices. 

Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 

––

Presented by Dan Jones

Producer - Alan Weedon

Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman

Junior Producer - Dulcie Whadcock

Executive Producer - Louisa Field

Executive Producer - Dan Jones

Production Manager - Jen Mistri

Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan

Head of Content - Chris Skinner

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The not-completely-there king, Henry VI, isn’t someone you’d associate with clarity, but in 1470, he sees something with absolute focus. After being presented with his 13-year-old namesake, Henry Tudor, he tells everyone gathered at Westminster Palace that the young Henry is ‘the one’. 

While his mother, Margaret Beaufort’s thrilled, there is a slight hitch to Henry’s apparition. There’s still an exiled Edward IV on the loose, and he’s about to launch an assault on the coalition that ejected him from the throne at the Battle of Barnet. 

It’s going to be open season on everyone in the Lancastrian royal court. Warwick the Kingmaker doesn’t know what’s about to hit him. 

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As always, Dan’s royal favourites can chime in anytime on the royal court on Patreon at patreon.com/thisishistory. And don’t forget to listen to this season’s accompanying bonus episodes for this miniseries, where Dan and Producer Al discuss Henry VI’s powers of prediction, Margaret Beaufort’s political manoeuvring, and why the Battle of Barnet was fought against all logic. 

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A Sony Music Entertainment production. 

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts 

To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com 

Learn more about your ad choices. 

Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 

––

Presented by Dan Jones 

Producer - Alan Weedon

Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman

Executive Producer - Louisa Field 

Executive Producer - Dan Jones

Production Manager - Jen Mistri 

Production Coordinator - Eric Ryan 

Head of Content - Chris Skinner

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices