Welcome to the British History Podcast.

My name is Jamie and this is Episode 314.

Athol Red.

Are you ready?

This show is ad-free due to member support and is a way of thanking members for keeping

the show independent I offer members only content, including extra episodes and rough transcripts.

You can get instant access to all the members extras by signing up for membership at the

British History Podcasts.com, and thank you very much to Silas, Laurie and Jane for signing

up already.

King Edward had died under mysterious and apparently violent circumstances.

In the next in line for this incredibly bloody throne of England was his 12-year-old little

brother, Athol Red.

Nowadays you might hear of this boy who becomes king being called by another name, Ethol Red

the Unready.

It's a good nickname, at least as far as unflattering nicknames go, and you probably imagine

a king who was unprepared for his duty.

And if you know a little bit more about what comes next, you likely have a picture in your

head of a king who was unprepared for war.

But this modern nickname wasn't actually the original one, and the original as far as

political smears go was even better.

The real moniker was Athol Red Unread.

And if you spoke Old English, you'd be laughing right now, because Athol Red Unread is actually

...