Dan Jones

speaker

253 appearances 1 recordings 1 series first heard Jun 2026 last heard 11 Jun

Dan Jones’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 1.

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Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford · Presenting...This is History: A Dynasty to Die For · 11 Jun 2026 podcast

Now, I promise we're going to come back to Margaret and baby Henry as this season goes on.

But right now, we're going to fast forward four and a half years to join Edward IV in the summer of 1461.

He's proven himself on the battlefield at Towton, suggesting that God is down with his claim to kingship.

In June, he's been crowned in London.

By battle, and now by coronation, England has a new king.

But if Edward wants to hang on to his crown, he's going to have an almighty struggle.

So to get our story going, let's get to know Edward.

He was born in April 1442 in Rouen, in Normandy, when his dad, Richard, Duke of York, was in charge of what was then an English-ruled chunk of northern France.

Richard fathered a big brood of children, and at the time of Edward's coronation, he has three sisters and two brothers.

A lot more on them shortly.

In person, Edward's mighty impressive.

He stands well over six feet tall, and as well as being a handy warrior, he's a handsome, charming young man.

He's got the characteristic long, plantagenet nose, piercing eyes, and a small mouth that seems to have a smile playing at its corners.

He also has quite a fancy for the ladies.

In fact, this guy sniffs out hot damsel like a wild hog rooting for acorns, a trait that'll cause him quite a lot of trouble as time goes by, but more of that in a moment.

For now, Edward's charm is a positive virtue.

A propaganda song composed in the aftermath of the Battle of Towton hails Edward as the Rose of Rouen.

That refers not only to his birthplace and his incredible riz, but also to his heraldic badge.

One of the symbols of Edward's royal house of York is a white rose, and the song makes great play on this.

It goes, "'That rose stands alone, the chief flower of this land.

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