Home Podcasts THIS IS HISTORY — A DYNASTY TO DIE FOR
THIS IS HISTORY — A DYNASTY TO DIE FOR

THIS IS HISTORY — A DYNASTY TO DIE FOR

Sony Music Entertainment 176 Episodes Aug 18, 2026

This is a story of three brothers, one crown, and not an ounce of loyalty between them. It’s the beginning of the end for England's most storied royal dynasty, the Plantagenets. Dan Jones brings you the story of the Yorkist King, Edward IV – tall, golden, ferocious – a young king who wins his throne on the battlefield and then destabilises it in the bedroom. His secret marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, a Lancastrian widow of minor nobility, detonates the political order. The old guard revolts. The Earl of Warwick aka the Kingmaker, emerges as a lethal enemy. What follows is a sequence of betrayals so baroque they border on the operatic. Alliances invert overnight as Warwick makes daring political moves. Kings drown in malmsey wine, princes mysteriously disappear from Towers and Richard III becomes England’s last ever Plantagenet king. Through this carnage emerges a family that will define English history: The Tudors. In a freezing Welsh castle, a thirteen-year-old Margaret Beaufort delivers a son she will spend decades manoeuvring towards the throne. Henry Tudor's claim is thin. His exile is long. His invasion, when it finally comes, is a bet against every reasonable odds.

Episodes

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S10 E12 | To Bosworth
S10 E12 | To Bosworth Aug 11, 2026 1976 Richard III’s son and heir, Edward of Middleham, dies unexpectedly. Then tragedy strikes twice: his wife Queen Anne dies, too.  Richard, who ruthlessly diverted the line of succession away from his nephews, now has to contend with a dynastic line reset to zero.  His solution? Incest.  His niece, Elizabeth of York — daughter of late King Edward IV — is being pitched as England’s n
S10 E11 | Last Hope
S10 E11 | Last Hope Aug 4, 2026 1953 *THIS IS HISTORY — A DYNASTY TO DIE FOR*  *Season 10, Episode 11: Last Hope* It’s 1482.  Margaret Beaufort and her husband, Thomas Stanley hold the most power in Northwest England…and they’re hungry for more. They’ve asked their pal, King Edward IV, to organise a royal pardon for their exiled son, Henry Tudor, who’s in Brittany. The aim? To marry Edward’s daughter, Elizabeth of York a
S10 E10 | The Princes In The Tower
S10 E10 | The Princes In The Tower Jul 28, 2026 1982 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 salacio
S10 E9 | Kidnap
S10 E9 | Kidnap Jul 21, 2026 2123 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
S10 E8 | No Mercy
S10 E8 | No Mercy Jul 14, 2026 1963 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 h
S10 E7 | The Tribute Act
S10 E7 | The Tribute Act Jul 7, 2026 2024 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
S10 E6 | The Prophecy
S10 E6 | The Prophecy Jun 30, 2026 1890 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
S10 E5 | King Henry’s Second Coming
S10 E5 | King Henry’s Second Coming Jun 23, 2026 1919 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
S10 E4 | The Kingmaker Strikes Back
S10 E4 | The Kingmaker Strikes Back Jun 16, 2026 1805 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
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You may also like: Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford Jun 11, 2026 2678 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 t

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