THIS IS HISTORY — A DYNASTY TO DIE FOR

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.

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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

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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

It’s time for a restoration, or rather, re-adeption. 

In 1470, Warwick the Kingmaker seizes his moment and slings Henry VI back onto the English throne. 

It’s fair to say the Lancastrian king doesn’t quite get the significance of this moment. He’s described by one chronicler as being nothing more than ‘a stuffed wool sack lifted by its ears’. 

But Henry makes one pliable puppet for Warwick, who makes himself the king’s lieutenant — basically England’s decision maker in chief. Lining up behind Warwick are a cast of characters who are more than happy to see England wobble, not least the French King Louis XI. 

But beneath Henry VI’s return is a tremor that won’t settle. There’s an ex-king on the loose, and Edward IV is going to do everything he can to avenge his usurpation.  

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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 the weaknesses of Edward IV’s early rule, what Henry VI’s ‘re-adeption’ actually meant, and why Warwick was able to cobble together a coalition that toppled the newly-minted royal House of York. 

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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

It’s a gorgeous, calculated provocation. 

In the summer of 1469, in Calais, the Earl of Warwick, marries his daughter Isabel to George, Duke of Clarence, brother and heir to King Edward IV. 

It’s another shot across the bow to Edward, who doesn’t seem to understand that the kingmaker wants him out. Within weeks, Warwick's rebels crush a royal army at Edgcote and the Kingmaker imprisons the king himself in the Tower of London. 

England collapses into anarchy. 

Warwick, humbled, is forced to release Edward. Astonishingly, he is pardoned. More astonishingly, he rebels again. Defeated at Losecoat Field, he flees to France, where he finds an unlikely ally. 

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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 the "congenital shitbird” that is George, Duke of Clarence. Plus, Dan settles the rumours about whether Edward IV was really illegitimate after all. 

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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