The English defeat at Maldon was just the beginning; for the next ten years it seemed that nothing would stop the Danes. ibid.
In England Canute went native and became more English than the English. ibid.
The Norman Conquest was a defining, arguably the defining event, in English history … It’s left its mark on us right up to the present. Monarchy by David Starkey s1e3: Conquest
The Norman army sliced through southern England … Submit or die. Within weeks William’s victory was complete. ibid.
He [William] marched his army to York, drove off the Danes and then perpetrated the most infamous event of his reign: the Harrying of the North. ibid.
William’s violent rule also left a stench in the nostrils of his people. ibid.
William Rufus was a highly competent king … but he added nothing more. ibid.
If any women could pull off that challenge it was Matilda. ibid.
Within a year or two he [Stephen] had lost control of the barons. ibid.
Matilda v Stephen: Norman England’s first civil war was about to begin. ibid.
In December 1154 one of the most charismatic of all Kings of England began his reign: Henry II was a star amongst monarchs. Monarchy by David Starkey s1e4: Dynasty
Why the transformation in Becket? ibid.
Henry, King of England, submitted to a public scourging. ibid.
He was defeated in battle by Richard and the king of France. ibid.
Richard ruled the family empire for almost ten years until he was mortally wounded in a siege here in France. But during all that time Richard spent only six months in England. ibid.
But to praise John for being a royal filing clerk … a sign not of strength but of weakness. ibid.
The barons who had come fully armed presented their demands and King John, reluctantly and all ready in bad faith, granted what they wished. The agreement became known as Magna Carta. ibid.
This castle was built by a man whose ambitions were truly imperial: King Edward I, conqueror of Wales and hammer of the Scots. Monarchy by David Starkey s1e5: A United Kingdom
But the second Edward, unconventional and self-indulgent, reopened the old debate about royal power; his weaknesses brought the monarchy to the brink of disaster and may have inflicted a uniquely horrible death on the King. Nor was it all gore and glory. ibid.
By the end of the Edwardian century the shape of an England ruled by King, Lords and Commons was already becoming clear. ibid.
Wales was crushed under the heel of a brutal military occupation. ibid.
Bannockburn became infamous as England’s most shameful defeat by the Scots … Edward fled the battlefield. ibid.
For the first time in England’s history a reigning monarch was formally deposed from the throne. ibid.
Edward [III] was the perfect gentleman … This was a quiet revolution. ibid.
War with France offered the chance of rich booty … He was about to start a war that would last a hundred years. ibid.
Over the next hundred years there were seven Kings and only three of them died in the beds. Monarchy by David Starkey s1e6: Death of a Dynasty
Hope for the future lay with Edward’s eldest son and heir, the Black Prince, but then in 1376 disaster struck: aged 45 he died. In his place his son, the nine-year-old Richard, became heir to the throne … Richard aged only ten became King [Richard II]. ibid.
In 1380 they introduced a new poll tax; not for the last time it triggered a revolt. ibid.
One by one those Lords who had rebelled against him met with his revenge. ibid.
Henry [Bolingbroke] wanted far more than the Duchy of Lancaster: he would settle for nothing less than the crown of England itself. ibid.
Only a year after Henry’s coronation in 1400 the Welsh rose up against England rule, but the greatest threat to England came from within England and from the family which had been his own strongest supporters – the Percys. ibid.
No heir to the throne had served a more distinguished apprenticeship … He fought bravely against Hotspur … This led the English to victory … but suddenly at the age of 35 Henry caught dysentery and died. ibid.
Everything would depend on Henry’s son – the nine month old … Henry [VI] was also named King of France … The government of England and France was divided between the king’s two uncles … French resistance couldn’t be suppressed. ibid.
By the time Henry was 30 he’d lost everything his father had won. Only Calais remained in English hands. ibid.
Now York turned the tables on the House of Lancaster … Henry would remain King whilst he lived, and York would succeed only after his death, but everybody reckoned without Queen Margaret’s ferocious mother-love … She led her forces against York; Margaret was victorious. ibid.
He seized the throne and ruled as King Edward IV; Henry was captured … But then his own followers started to quarrel … A total and final defeat for the House of Lancaster … Henry VI was dispatched with a blow of the head. ibid.
Relations between a state and its people can easily break down ... 800 years ago in England one such crisis – local, limited, particular ... a sort of blueprint ... It’s become a working constitution. David Starkey’s Magna Carta, BBC 2015
King John certainly knew how to abuse power. ibid.
The king would issue Magna Carta, and the barons would swear fealty in return. ibid.
She was our most infamous queen. The second wife of Henry VIII tried on his orders for crimes of adultery and treason. Anne Boleyn was led from her rooms at the Tower of London to her death by an executioner’s sword. The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family, BBC 2021
Thomas Boleyn: the ambitious patriarch; George, the fearless son; the sisters Mary, the reluctant mistress; Anne, the calculating courtier, and their brutal uncle Thomas Howard. The family played a dangerous game and paid the ultimate price. But they left a remarkable legacy. ibid.
But neither Thomas Boleyn or Thomas Howard can match the meteoric rise of the third Thomas – Thomas Wolsey, who has won himself a seat in one of the highest circles of court, the Royal Council. ibid.
But in his daughter Anne he has raised a woman whose ambitions will soon outstrip even her father’s. ibid.
Henry VIII has been on the throne for seventeen years. The Boleyns are one of many ambitious families jostling for power at the Tudor court. Led by Thomas Boleyn this is a dynasty on the make. The Bolyens: A Scandalous Family II
‘I think we can sense that Henry is the one that falls in love first, he is attracted, but Anne does what all Boleyns do and makes use of good opportunity.’ ibid. historian
To help to end his marriage, Henry turns to Wolsey, the most senior churchman in England. ibid.
The deposing of Wolsey is the Boleyn family’s greatest victory so far. ibid.
George and Anne think the absolute power enjoyed by the pope should be challenged. The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family III
The family are seen as dangerous iconoclasts, prepared to smash a thousand years of religious tradition to get what they want. ibid.