Episode
S9 E9 | Madness Descends
- Published
- Mar 3, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1875
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
Royal favourites, we want your voice notes in our new miniseries on historical failures. Look out for Producer Al’s callout post on patreon.com/thisishistory. It’s there where you can listen to this week’s bonus episode, where Dan discusses what likely triggered Henry VI’s descent into silence, while he also gives a primer on England’s warring noble families: the Nevilles, Percys, and Courtenays. Henry VI isn’t responding to anyone. Not to his physician, nor to his newborn son, Prince Edward. He’s just inert, catatonic. If the king’s health is said to be a mirror of the health of the realm, then England’s in big trouble (which it is). The Hundred Years’ War is on the verge of being decisively over in France’s favour. England has lost Gascony, Normandy, and Maine, with only the small Garrison at Calais left. This a full-blown crisis that is usually left to the king to solve, but instead, Parliament decides to make Richard Duke of York the Protector of the realm — angering Queen Margaret and York’s nemesis, Edmund Duke of Somerset. Then something remarkable happens: Henry wakes up. – A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices – Written and presented by Dan Jones Producer - Alan Weedon Senior Producer - Dominic Tyerman Executive Producer - Simon Poole Production Manager - Jen Mistri Production coordinator - Eric Ryan Mixing - Amber Devereux Head of content - Chris Skinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices