Willy Willy Harry Stee...

Willy Willy, Harry......er.....no. This one doesn't fit into the rhyme, BUT, after lopping Charles I's head off, Oliver Cromwell abolished the Monarchy and led the country himself, so he's a worthy inclusion. In this episode Charlie Higson unpicks Cromwell's life and the reasons why we had 11 years without a King or Queen. His 'proper historian' is Dr Jonathan Healey , author of 'Blazing World - A...

Robbie, Willie, Mattie, Eustace, Harry, Arthur, Edward, Roger… What's that? I hear you say - that's not the normal rhyme - what's happened here? Who are these people? Well, this is another special episode of Willy Willy Harry Stee - a sidebar episode, in which we take a look at some of the people in our history who should have come to the throne but never did. Joining Charlie Higson to find out ab...

Willy Willy Merry Christmas! In this Christmas Special episode, Charlie Higson takes us through the many connections the Monarchy has had with Christmas over the years. Learn about carols you've been singing incorrectly, how early Christmas trees doubled as incendiary devices and hear Charlie and guest Helen Castor discuss one of the greatest seasonal royal films of all time. Hosted on Acast. See...

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, Harry's Twain and Ned The Lad, Mary, Bessie, James The Vain, Charlie...... Charles The 1st, a king so bad he got himself executed and almost finished the Monarchy off for good. But, of course, the story isn't that simple. Luckily for us, Cha...

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, Harry's Twain and Ned The Lad, Mary, Bessie, James The Vain....... As we wave goodbye to the Tudors, we usher in the Stuarts for an episode of plotting, gunpowder or otherwise. In the 'proper historians' chair this week, we welcome Clare Jac...

In this special bonus episode of Charlie Higson's Personal History Of The Monarchy , he's joined by Suzannah Lipscomb , author of A Visitors Guide To Tudor England. And what a visit that would be! It was a time when life was precarious, London was smelly and the next plague was just around the corner! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Once again, the 'Willy Willy' rhyme takes a back seat as Charlie Higson digs into the extraordinary life of Mary, Queen Of Scots. Crowned Queen at 18 months old, made Queen Consort of France before being widowed at 18, her 2nd husband was murdered, her 3rd was one of the murderers! Oh and then she was imprisoned for 20 years before being executed. No wonder so much has been written about her, incl...

This special edition of Charlie Higson's meander through the Monarchy was recorded live at the Chalke Valley History Festival , back in May of 2023. Joining Charlie, on an open air stage in front of a large audience, were historian and co-host of The Rest Is History podcast Tom Holland, Have I Got News For You regular and Private Eye editor Ian Hislop and historian Leanda De Lisle . The topic of d...

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, Harry's Twain and Ned The Lad, Mary, Bessie...... It's part 2 of the story of Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth I and there's a lot to fit in. Plots, suitors, even an Armada and she survives them all. Joining Charlie Higson as he navigates her life...

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, Harry's Twain and Ned The Lad, Mary, Bessie...... Yes, in this episode, Charlie Higson uncovers the life of one of the best known of all the Monarchs, Queen Elizabeth I . And it's a long life, so long in fact that it requires 2 episodes to f...

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, Harry's Twain and Ned The Lad, Mary....... Welcome to our first official Queen as Charlie Higson uncovers the life of Mary I , who, as we saw last episode, quickly saw off Lady Jane Grey before equally quickly seeing off the protestant refor...

Willy Willy Harry Stee..........actually, we'll stop there for this episode. The lady in question was Queen, but only for 9 days and apart from a small apologetic addendum at the end of some versions of the rhyme, Lady Jane Grey doesn't get a mention. They say a week is a long time in politics. Well, it's nothing compared to 9 days in the Monarchy and as Charlie Higson discovers, her tale is a tra...

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, Harry's Twain and Ned The Lad Henry VIII's only legitimate son is crowned King at 9 years old and as Charlie Higson discovers, his should have been the perfect reign, but it will come as no surprise to find out that things didn't go accordin...

So you've done it. You're the King......or the Queen.....you are the supreme ruler.....the big cheese......so surely you're not likely to die like those normal people are you? Except you are and sometimes, in ways even more hideous than your lowly subjects. In this bonus episode, Charlie Higson welcomes Dr Suzie Edge, author of 'Mortal Monarchs - 1,000 Years of Royal Deaths' and 'Vital Organs - Th...

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, Harry's Twain....... Henry VIII gets a second episode in which Charlie Higson tells the story of Katherine, Anne, Jane, Anne, Catherine and Katherine. The Six Wives of Henry VIII. Assisting him on this tumultuous voyage is the husband and wi...

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, Harry's Twain....... Yes, we usher in Henry VIII . He ate a lot. He spent a lot. He married a lot. If that's all you know about the most famous of all our Kings, then listen on as Charlie Higson uncovers Henry's life in the first part of a s...

The Monarchy is a hot topic. Willy Willy Harry Stee from Charlie Higson may be your royal podcast of choice, but David Mitchell wants you to buy his book, which takes the story of the English Monarchy up Elizabeth 1st. The book is called Unruly and in this fun episode, Charlie and David compare notes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, Harry's Twain....... Yes, Charlie Higson's personal history of the Monarchy lands on Henry VII , the victor at the Battle Of Bosworth and our first Tudor King, and it turns out he was a pretty good one! Joining Charlie is this episodes 'Prop...

Welcome to another Sidebar episode from Charlie Higson in his personal history of the Monarchy, Willy Willy Harry Stee . As we wave goodbye to the Plantagenets and that pesky War Of The Roses, we welcome a new Dynasty, The Tudors . To help understand where they came from, Charlie chats to Tracy Borman , a proper historian and author of Crown & Sceptre & The Private Lives Of The Tudors. Hos...

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

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 depart...

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 O...

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 of  Henry VI  and his battles with  Edward IV  continues as  Charlie Higson  tells the story of one of history's biggest power struggles. And you thought the Roy family were bad!!   Plus we hear...

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...

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...