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, bu...

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 Fre...

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...

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 t...

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 astonishin...

Hey Dan here. Here’s a podcast from none other than TIH alumna, producer Georgia Mills! 

If you can’t get enough of historical failure after History’s Greatest Fails, give Cautionary Tales a listen. My royal favourites get one month free of a free subscription — look out for the gift link on our Patreon Court Gossip thread. 

In the meantime, here’s a sample episode. It’s the tale of a poet who thought his poem about the Battle of Crecy was going to rival Shakespeare… evidently, it did not. 

William McGonagall's poems are somethi...

Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick, knows there’s no such thing as a free lunch. And the best way to keep the people on your side is through their stomachs. 

It’s a lesson King Edward IV has yet to learn. After marrying for love, and starting a diplomatic thaw with Europe, Edward soon finds out that there’s really only one task that matters: keeping his most powerful subject loyal. 

So the young king allows a raid on a Hanseatic League storehouse on Warwick’s behalf, he moves his entire court to Coventry just to co...

Edward IV marries in secret, then springs the news like a trap. 

England’s new Queen, Elizabeth Woodville, arrives with two sons, a Lancastrian past, and a family ready to take their chance. When the newly-married couple introduces themselves at Reading Abbey, nobles gape. But Elizabeth takes her newfound royal status with aplomb. She stages a dazzling churching, forcing courtiers to kneel for hours. 

Elsewhere, England’s pitiable former king Henry VI is found wandering and locked quietly in the Tower. Elizabeth’s siblings are married into great royal houses at speed, tightening their grip, much to...

A 13-year-old girl labours in a sealed chamber at Pembroke Castle as the plague circles them. Miraculously, Margaret Beaufort survives. Her son does, too. His name is Henry Tudor.

This birth doesn’t register in the minds of many nobles, as they’re focused on England’s first Yorkist King, Edward IV. After his decisive victory at the Battle of Towton, his mission as king is to do what Henry VI couldn’t: rebuild a broken kingdom.

He solidifies power in concert with his ally, the Earl of Warwick, who fanc...

Hello from Dan! Don’t fret. There’s nothing happening to This Is History! I thought I’d give you a little treat ahead of Season 11 of A Dynasty to Die For. The excellent Dr Harini Bhat has kindly given you a special preview of her new podcast, Hidden History. 

She’s a clinical pharmacist and storyteller obsessed with the moments in history that still can't be fully explained. Every week she investigates real events that defy easy explanation. Mass hysterias. Vanished civilizations. Medical oddities. Strange signals. Unexplained phenomena that keep repeating across centuries, as if history is trying...

Three brothers. One crown. And no ounce of loyalty between them.

In the final Plantagenet season of A Dynasty to Die For, Dan Jones traces the spectacular implosion of a dynasty that defined medieval England.

You will meet King Edward IV, who marries for love and splits his court in half. His former champion, the Earl of Warwick, becomes a mortal enemy. Edward’s heirs mysteriously vanish in the Tower of London… just before their uncle becomes England’s last Plantagenet monarch — Richard III.

As the P...

Elizabeth Day grew up in Belfast and would as a child walk past the most bombed hotel in Europe. Dan Jones recalls a Croatian widow whose husband went out for bread and never returned.

In this final episode of History’s Greatest Fails, Dan and Elizabeth name war as history's ultimate failure and reflect on the changes that follow societal collapse.

Together, they draw on conflicts that have changed the course of world history, such as the Hundred Years' War, the World Wars, the Troubles, and the breakup of Yu...

If you’re an artist, when would you like recognition to strike? Do you want it to be in your lifetime, only to be forgotten decades after your death? Or do you want to remain undiscovered, with your story potentially echoing for centuries after you’ve been discovered posthumously?

These are some of the thorny questions Dan and Elizabeth consider in this episode about artistic failure. Together, they trace the stories of artists whose lives don’t neatly match up with the reputations their works have gathered: French writer George Sand, and the painters Vincen...

If you judge him by his own elaborate metrics, Leonardo da Vinci was a failure.

Long before the Mona Lisa became shorthand for genius, Leonardo imagined himself as something else entirely: a military engineer, a designer of bridges and armoured vehicles, a master of siegecraft and architecture.

In 1482, he wrote a breathless letter to Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, itemising these talents with bravado and noting, quickly, that oh, he could paint, too. Many of his boldest designs never left the page, or arrived centuries too early to be...

What would you do if your life was omitted, reduced to an overlooked footnote, or filed away as an anomaly?

In this episode, Dan and Elizabeth turn a lens on the practice of history itself, interrogating the choices and power structures that have traditionally left women out of the history books.

They retrace the lives of three women who once stood firmly in their moment: Hatshepsut, a pharaoh who consolidated power in Ancient Egypt; Joanna Ferrour, a peasant whose voice briefly direct the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381; and Ada Lovelace, a...

To love is to risk heartbreak.

And while for some, breakups result in renewal, maybe some therapy (or a few months’ spent wallowing), for the historical figures of this episode… a relationship’s end has broken many more things than hearts.

In this episode, Dan and Elizabeth discover the lessons of history’s epic failed romances through three world-changing unions: Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn; Mark Antony and Cleopatra; and Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.

Each couple burned bright and fast, and with their downfall...

He died at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. And we haven’t been able to stop talking about him since.

Yes, it’s time to consider the story of England’s last Plantagenet king, Richard III — a centuries-old tangle involving alleged murder, Shakespeare, vanquish and one mighty rediscovery.

In this debut episode of History’s Greatest Fails, Dan Jones and Elizabeth Day argue that the story of Richard’s rise and fall (and rise again) is much more modern that you’d first believe. Not least because of the reality-TV-sty...

We’re often taught that history’s written by the winners. But we’d like to argue that, in fact, it’s the losers who end up making history. 

In this brand new miniseries from Dan Jones and Elizabeth Day, History’s Greatest Fails aims to answer the simple, but complex, question: Why do losers make history? 

From Richard III, to Vincent Van Gough, to the purposefully forgotten female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, this series is going to help you better understand how the idea of failure changes over time, and what lessons failure has for all of us.  

To learn more about the last time an English king was usurped, listen to Season 7, Bonus Episode 12, where Dan tells the story of Henry VI’s grandfather, Henry Bolingbroke. In 1399, he toppled Richard II to become King Henry IV. 

By 1460, England has emerged into a polycrisis. 

King Henry VI has been relegated to a pawn. His son and wife have been disinherited, with Richard, Duke of York, now heir presumptive. Violence pulses through the countryside. 

In this pivotal chapter of the Wars of the Roses, it appears that Yorkist forces have finally overwhelmed the L...

Royal favourites, we want your voice notes in our new miniseries on historical failures. Look out for Producer Al’s callout post on patreon.com/thisishistory. 

It’s there where you can listen to this week’s bonus episode, where Dan gives an explainer on Warwick's piracy, the value of Calais, and the risks of another royal usurpation. Plus, hear more about Dan’s meltdown over a parking ticket. 

All is not well in a simmering kingdom. 

Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick — a key ally of Richard Duke of York — is holding the last skerrick o...

Royal favourites, we want your voice notes in our new miniseries on historical failures. Look out for Producer Al’s callout post on patreon.com/thisishistory. 

It’s there where you can listen to this week’s bonus episode, where Dan gives you a primer on the pirate-cum-warlord, the Earl of Warwick. Plus, Dan makes good on his promise to tell the story of when he absolutely lost it over something rather inconsequential. 

All the drift and failure of Henry VI’s reign is coming home to roost. The fizzer of a king’s dodging arrows and m...

Royal favourites, we want your voice notes in our new miniseries on historical failures. Look out for Producer Al’s callout post on patreon.com/thisishistory. 

It’s there where you can listen to this week’s bonus episode, where Dan discusses what likely triggered Henry VI’s descent into silence, while he also gives a primer on England’s warring noble families: the Nevilles, Percys, and Courtenays. 

Henry VI isn’t responding to anyone. Not to his physician, nor to his newborn son, Prince Edward. He’s just inert, catatonic. 

If the king’s health is...

Royal favourites, we want your voice notes in our new miniseries on historical failures. Look out for Producer Al’s callout post on patreon.com/thisishistory. 

There you can also listen to this week’s bonus episode, where we discuss the Duke of York’s super-royal credentials, and why the Duke of Somerset fails upward. 

Henry VI’s royal court breathes a collective sigh of relief — Queen Margaret of Anjou is pregnant. It’s a welcome addition to what remains of a vanishingly thin Plantagenet dynasty. 

Aside from Henry, this is the first royal birth in...

Don’t forget! Dan’s gifted you his favourite bonus episode from this season. To listen for free, simply search for the last episode before this one. 

England is descending into mob rule. Henry VI has presided over a catastrophic loss over almost all of the Plantagenet possessions in France, and many in the realm want a scapegoat. Assassinations of powerful officials including the Duke of Suffolk, William de La Pole ensue. And in the summer of 1450, the violence comes to a head. Rebels led by military captain Jack Cade storm London in an echo of the Peasa...

Hello! We’ve gifted one of Dan’s favourite bonus episodes from Season 9 just for you. To listen to all bonus episodes, ad-free, subscribe at patreon.com/thisishistory

Dan and Producer Al explore the likelihood of Margaret of Anjou, the English queen, having been a sleeper agent for the French. How involved was she in getting Henry VI to give up Maine? And what made Henry so useless? Did he have any redeeming features?

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Royal favourites, we want your voice notes in our new miniseries on historical failures. Look out for Producer Al’s callout post on patreon.com/thisishistory  

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester — Henry V’s last surviving brother — is lost in delusion. He still believes England can somehow hold its possessions in France, even as its soldiers are exhausted, its treasury is drained, and its enemies grow stronger by the day. Across the Channel, King Charles VII of France hardly needs to fight; he simply needs to wait for England to collapse under the weight of its own war.

But...

Royal favourites, we want your voice notes in our new miniseries on historical failures. Look out for Producer Al’s callout post on patreon.com/thisishistory  

England’s grip on France is collapsing. After more than a century of brutal conflict, English forces across the Channel are exhausted, bankrupt, and beaten down.

In London, hopes rest on King Henry VI — now an adult and expected to rescue his father’s dying empire. But Henry is no warrior king, and the French are dismantling England’s hard‑won gains with shocking ease.

Then, a new force ente...

Owen Tudor is running out of time. With Queen Mother Catherine de Valois dead, their once‑secret marriage — and the Tudor bloodline it produced — is suddenly exposed. The English court is alarmed, the line of royal succession is in question, and powerful enemies are closing in.

But political panic is only the beginning. When Eleanor Cobham is accused of witchcraft and plotting against King Henry VI, England is convulsed by one of the most explosive scandals of the 15th century. Accusations of sorcery, prophecies of regicide, and ruthless factional battles collide at the heart of the medieval court...

The royal court isn’t exactly celebrating after the death of Joan of Arc. A dangerous liaison erupts between the widowed Queen of England, Catherine de Valois, and a Welsh suitor called Owen Tudor. 1430s England is not a safe place for the Welsh, let alone someone who risks muddying the royal lineage. It has become vanishingly thin after the death of King Henry V, and the crowning of nine-year-old King Henry VI as King of France hasn’t allayed the court’s fears about a fragile crown.

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You can now WATCH this episode over on YouTube at youtube.com/@thisishistorypod 

Henry VI now rules England… as a kid. As the adults take charge around him, the English war effort in France has been held together increasingly with a shoestring. But now the English have a new problem on their hands: a peasant girl who says she has God on her side. Her name is Joan of Arc.  

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Want to delve deeper? Become a This Is History Royal Favourite subscriber on Patreon, where you can listen to this week’s bonus episode w...

With Henry V gone, we kick off this new season with a baby on the throne and all the resulting complications that come with this complex scenario. Power is tussled over between the king’s uncles, as a new cast of figures come into play under Henry VI. Meanwhile, across the Channel a new problem begins to surface for the English in the iconic form of Joan of Arc.

You can now WATCH this episode over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thisishistorypod

Want to delve de...

England’s greatest warrior-king is gone and on the throne… a baby.

In season 9 of This Is History: A Dynasty to Die For, acclaimed historian Dan Jones charts the turbulent story of Henry VI, an infant monarch whose reign is beset by relentless struggles for power both at home and abroad as we enter a brutal era of English civil war - the Wars of the Roses.

Scandal, madness and witchcraft form a backdrop to the young king’s troubles in England, while in France, Henry V’s hard-won legacy b...

In the final episode of Dan’s three-part retelling of the Nativity we enter the gospel of Matthew, as we explore the story according to him. Matthew is all about Jesus’s royal line so expect kings, royalty and great gifts. Plus, the notorious King Herod beckons - one of the most formidable and dangerous tyrants in the whole region.

Want to delve deeper? Become a This Is History Royal Favourite subscriber on Patreon. You get ad free listening, exclusive behind the scenes videos, and a weekly bonus episode. On this week’s bonus episod...

The story continues as the holy family make their way to Bethlehem for a Roman census. Along the way they meet classic characters from the Nativity including an inn keeper and some shepherds who, while watching their flocks, get jump scared by an angel into going to visit a baby in a manger. But why is Luke, the gospelist, telling us all this? Who is the Jesus Christ he is trying to present in this gospel?

Want to delve deeper? Become a This Is History Royal Favourite subscriber on Patreon. You get ad free listening, exclusive behind...

Dan kicks off a new three part series with a retelling of the biblical tale of Mary, Joseph and the whole Gospel-featuring Nativity crew, asking questions about why they say what they say - why sometimes they agree, and sometimes they disagree. 

In this first episode we meet a peasant girl called Mary who gets jump scared by an angel and thereafter has quite a lot of information to get her head around. First on the list is learning she’s pregnant despite being a virgin and having to explain this fact to her carpenter husband…

Wan...

Henry V stands at the peak of his power. He’s not just England’s king—he’s heir and regent of France. But for Henry, two crowns aren’t enough. His eyes are fixed on the ultimate prize: the Holy Land. A crusade promises glory, conquest, and divine favor. To Henry, it’s more than ambition—it’s obedience to the only master he truly serves: God. Yet destiny has its own designs, and the Almighty may not share Henry’s plan…

To hear about how the French fared under Henry’s rule, listen back to our last miniseries, T...

Henry V’s lightning campaign across France is sputtering. His army is exhausted, starving, and dangerously restless—a powder keg waiting to blow. The French know time is on their side; all they have to do is wait. But then, in a shocking twist, Dauphin Charles strikes a fatal blow: the assassination of John of Burgundy, the one man who could match Henry move for move. Suddenly, the game changes—and the stakes skyrocket.

To hear the French perspective of John the Fearless's murder, listen back to The Enemy of My Enemy, from our last miniseries, The Glass...

Surely Henry V can’t like what he’s about to do, but he knows enough about what cruelty can deliver. It’s 1418 and his forces have been instructed to lay siege to Normandy’s glittering capital, Rouen. If he takes this city, Henry places himself in prime position to take the French crown. With this stakes this high, Rouen’s starved and desperate citizens call for help from Paris. It falls on deaf ears. 

To hear about the last time an English monarch invaded France, listen back to The Battle of Crecy in season 6. 

Remember, yo...

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In northern France, Henry V spots a glaring weakness — an undefended flank begging to be conquered. It’s the perfect chance to flip the script on history and avenge England’s humiliation in 1066, when William the Conqueror launched his invasion from Caen. Now, Henry storms that very town, rewriting the legacy of Normandy with fire and steel.

But...

We have a small favour to ask! We’ve put together a survey about This Is History, and it would mean a lot to us if you could fill it out. You can find it at: https://bit.ly/4oFyVRg 

Fresh from his jaw-dropping triumph at Agincourt, King Henry V rides into London not just as a victor—but as a legend. The city explodes in celebration: mock castles tower over cheering crowds, wine gushes from fountains, and the streets roar with praise for England’s warrior king. But behind the spectacle, Henry is already scheming. Cold, calcula...