So when did The British Empire begin? Well, the idea of it was probably much earlier than you think and in this episode Charlie Higson is going to be asking questions about a time in English history when English monarchs seriously started looking at colonising other nations.

And to assist Charlie in his quest, he's invited James Hawes back on the show. James is the author of The Shortest History of England and as well as looking at Empire, he also explains how England has been - and in many ways still is - split between a French elite and an English man in the street.

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In this third series of Willy Willy Harry Stee, Charlie Higson is looking at the interesting characters who pop up alongside the monarchs and there are few more interesting than Eustace The Black Monk.

Don't be fooled by the 'Monk' part of his moniker. Eustace was a Pirate, a Mercenary and other very un-Monk-like things.

To help Charlie tell his fascinating tale, he's joined by Dr Sean McGlynn, author of Blood Cries Afar: The Forgotten Invasion of England and Kill Them All: Cathars and Carnage in the Albigensian Crusade.

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In this episode, Charlie Higson uncovers the rather amazing story of King Louis Of England.

"Who's that", you say? Well, just over 800 years ago Louis, son and heir of the king of France, rode through the streets of London and was acclaimed king of England by cheering crowds.

And yet you've probably not heard of him. Well, lucky for us, Cath Hanley is something of an expert on Louis having written the excellent book Louis: The French Prince who invaded England and she returns from her guest appearance in Series 1 to discuss the king we never knew we had.

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Imagine the scene. You're the king but through tragic circumstances you have no legitimate male heirs. To maintain the lineage, you agree with those in power that your daughter would become Queen on your death. They all agree. Jobs a good 'un.

That is until you die and your daughter's pesky cousin, a bloke, nips in and steals the crown.

Farfetched? Not at all and in this episode, Charlie Higson uncovers the life of the woman who had the throne pinched from under her, Empress Matilda.

To assist Charlie, he is joined once again by best-selling author and historian Helen Castor, author of She Wolves and last year's acclaimed The Eagle & The Hart - The Biography of Richard II.

Oh and if you haven't listened to Episodes 5 & 6 of the first series of Willy Willy Harry Stee, you might want to start there, it tells the story of Matilda's father, Henry I and her throne-stealing cousin, Stephen.

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In this special Medieval guest-fest, Charlie Higson welcomes not one but THREE fabulous historians to the show, recorded live in front of an audience at the British Library, as part of Medieval Fest! which took place in December 2024.

The discussion was 'How To Depose A Medieval Ruler', and Charlie was joined by a star-studded team of experts – Nathen Amin (Son of Prophecy: The Rise of Henry Tudor), Helen Castor (The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV) and Lubaaba Al-Azami (Travellers in the Golden Realm: How Mughal India Connected England to the World)

It's a chance to take a deep dive into medieval plots, conspiracies and power.

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In this special episode, Charlie Higson gets the inside story of an extraordinary exhibition that runs at The British Library until March 2nd 2025, Medieval Women: In Their Own Words

The exhibition includes some rare and wonderful documents, manuscripts and even music, so to explain its creation, Charlie chats with Ellie Jackson, one of the curators of this remarkable collection.

To book your tickets to see the exhibition, click here..... https://medievalwomen.seetickets.com/timeslots/filter/medieval-women-in-their-own-words?utm_source=digital&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=medieval_women

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What was life really like for women in the medieval period? How did they think about sex, death and God? Could they live independent lives? And how can we hear their stories?

Lucky for us, Hetta Howes has asked all these questions and come up with some pretty compelling answers, all neatly told in her new book Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife.

In this special episode, Charlie Higson chats with Hetta about the lives of four incredible women from this period, Marie de France, a poet; Julian of Norwich, a mystic and anchoress; Christine de Pizan, a widow and court writer; and Margery Kempe, a "no-good wife".

It's a fabulous listen!

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