Wars of the Roses Part Two – The Reign of Henry VI

Historic Royal Palaces Podcast

Historic Royal Palaces

London, Palace, Tower, Historic, Conservation, Royal, Lecture, Learning, Kensington, Hampton, Kew, Banqueting, History, Court, Of, House, Palaces

4.6 • 635 Ratings

🗓️ 4 July 2024

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this second episode of our five-part series on the Wars of the Roses, we investigate the reign of Henry VI and the start of the dynastic struggle that was the Wars of the Roses.

Henry has often been blamed for the start of the conflict because of his methods of kingship. His experience with mental health challenges was little understood by his contemporaries, and arguably by historians today. This episode will explore the explosive atmosphere of his reign, what factors created it, and ultimately how the Wars of the Roses began.

Curator Charles Farris is joined by Historic Royal Palaces' Head of Research Anthony Musson, and Lynsey Metcalfe who is studying for her PhD at the University of Cambridge.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to this new series on the Historic Royal Palaces podcast.
0:08.0	I'm Charles Farris and I'm a curator and historian at the Tower of London.
0:13.0	In this new series we'll be exploring the conflict that's known as the Wars of the Roses,
0:18.0	a time of bloody battles, heroes and villains alike,
0:22.6	and legendary acts of vengeance and betrayal that have inspired centuries of writers.
0:28.6	Unpicking any history is no easy task, and that is certainly true of the Wars of the Roses.
0:35.6	So in this series, we're going to try and lay out the facts and interrogate the key characters and major events of this time.
0:44.3	Our aim is to better understand the stormy and often polarised narratives around the Wars of the Roses.
0:52.3	We're going to question the context behind why the Crown was able to be usurped multiple times,
0:58.0	how women wielded power at a time when men fought on the battlefield,
1:03.0	and ultimately we want to examine how a new dynasty was able to rise from the ashes of such violence and turmoil.
1:11.6	Joining us for this five-part series is an amazing line-up of expert historians
1:17.6	who are intimately connected with the sources.
1:20.6	This history is woven into the very stones of the Tower of London.
1:25.6	And as you may know, I'm a medievalist myself, so I can't
1:29.4	wait to explore this history with you. Join me as we step into the world of the Wars of the Roses.
1:37.5	Please be aware that these episodes contain discussions of themes which listeners may find
1:42.9	distressing or triggering, including violence,
1:46.2	prejudice and mental health.
1:49.3	Hello listeners and welcome to episode two of this very exciting series.
1:54.9	Today we're going to be examining the reign of Henry VI and the beginning part of the Wars
2:00.1	of the Roses. We'll be considering
	...

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