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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:16,800 Out of the chaos, darkness, and violence 2 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,800 of the Middle Ages, one family rose 3 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,200 to seize control of England. 4 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,000 Generation after generation, 5 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:32,200 they ruled the country for more than 300 years... 6 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:37,600 ruthlessly crushing all competition, 7 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:43,400 to become the greatest English dynasty of all time. 8 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:45,800 The Plantagenets. 9 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,600 What I love about the Plantagenet story 10 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:54,400 is that it's more shocking, more brutal, 11 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:58,400 and more astonishing than anything you'll find in fiction. 12 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:00,800 I want to show you the Plantagenets as I see them, 13 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:04,000 real, living, breathing people 14 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,800 driven by ambition, jealousy, hatred, and revenge. 15 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:12,400 These kings murdered, betrayed, and tyrannized their way 16 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:14,800 to spectacular success. 17 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:16,600 For better and for worse, 18 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,200 the Plantagenets forged England as a nation. 19 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,000 This time, 20 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:26,600 a friendship... 21 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:28,400 that turns to hatred. 22 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,600 Plunging England into civil war 23 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,800 and changing the monarchy forever. 24 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:44,000 Henry III is the fourth Plantagenet king. 25 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,000 His grandfather, Henry II, 26 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:48,200 ruled over more of France than the French king. 27 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:54,800 But thanks to the incompetence of Henry III's dad, King John, 28 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:56,200 most of those lands are gone. 29 00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:00,000 Henry dreams of getting them back. 30 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:05,000 He's going to be a great Plantagenet king. 31 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,600 To be a king in the the Middle Ages, 32 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,400 you've got to be tough and politically savvy. 33 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:12,200 You need to fight wars and win, 34 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,400 and the winning part is important. 35 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,400 You need to dispense justice fairly and evenly. 36 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,400 And above everything else, you need a boundless energy -- 37 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,000 the appetite to get up in the morning and rule. 38 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:24,800 Unfortunately for England, 39 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,800 Henry III lacks pretty much every one of those qualities. 40 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:30,800 Henry's already had two goes 41 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,200 at retaking his lost French lands. 42 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:40,200 But Henry messed it up big time. 43 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,400 Both times it ended in expensive defeat. 44 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,600 The barons lost all confidence in the king. 45 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,000 Now, they've turned off the money supply. 46 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:54,400 Which, of course, they can. 47 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:56,800 Henry's completely hamstrung by Magna Carta. 48 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:59,400 Today we think of it as a charter of human rights 49 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:01,600 and the foundation of liberty, 50 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,800 but to Henry it's just a list of things he can't do, 51 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:08,000 and top of that list is that he can't raise any new taxes 52 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:09,600 without the barons' say-so. 53 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:12,000 Winning back his Plantagenet empire 54 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,200 is going to cost Henry a bomb, 55 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,200 but Magna Carta means the barons don't have to cough up. 56 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:21,200 They think Henry can talk the talk 57 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,200 but he can't walk the walk. 58 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:27,800 And that's the truth about Henry -- 59 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:30,000 he's a total dreamer. 60 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:35,800 But give him his due... 61 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,000 he dreams big. 62 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:44,400 This is Westminster Abbey... 63 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:52,400 Henry built it to restore some lost Plantagenet pride. 64 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:56,200 You can imagine Henry 65 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:58,800 wandering through this incredible building, 66 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,200 thinking, "sends off all the right signals for a great king." 67 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:06,000 But as far as the barons are concerned, 68 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:08,600 that's exactly what he's not. 69 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:10,800 And Henry just isn't strong enough 70 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:12,800 to take them on alone. 71 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:19,800 But in Autumn 1230, 72 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:21,200 a man turns up a court 73 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,600 who changes the course of Henry's reign. 74 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:29,600 A minor French knight with big ambitions. 75 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:33,800 Simon de Montfort. 76 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:38,200 De Montfort doesn't do anything by heart. 77 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:41,800 He wears a hair shirt under his clothes 24-7. 78 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,800 It rakes his skin -- a perpetual reminder 79 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,200 to stay focuses on God. 80 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:51,400 -Excusare me? -Simon de Montfort. 81 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:56,000 Basically, he's a fanatic. 82 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,400 And he backs his belief with action. 83 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:00,800 He spent his youth chasing heretics 84 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,400 around the south of France with a sword. 85 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:07,400 Henry sees a man with a muscular, 86 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,800 no-nonsense single-mindedness that he needs 87 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,000 to achieve his big dreams. 88 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:17,800 Henry was so young when he came to the throne 89 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,000 that he's grown up with other people making 90 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:21,800 all the important decisions for him. 91 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:23,800 So, when he meets Simon -- 92 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:25,400 charismatic, decisive -- 93 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:27,000 he's looking at him and thinking, 94 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:29,000 "I could use a man like that." 95 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:36,200 Henry is drawn to de Montfort like a moth to a flame. 96 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:41,000 But it's not just one-sided, 97 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,800 because Simon may be pious but he's also very ambitious. 98 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:46,600 And he's come to England looking for 99 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:48,800 the lucrative title of Earl of Leicester, 100 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:50,800 which he thinks belongs to his family. 101 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:52,800 So, he's looking at Henry 102 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:55,800 and thinking exactly the same thing -- 103 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:58,200 "I could use a man like that." 104 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:03,600 Unsurprisingly, Henry and Simon quickly become best mates. 105 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:07,200 Simon's soon on the king's counsel 106 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:09,400 basically his right-hand man. 107 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:13,000 He's even steward at the king's wedding. 108 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,800 Simon de Montfort is on the way up. 109 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:25,200 Stored at the National Archives 110 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:30,200 is an amazing document that has survived for eight centuries. 111 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:35,800 It reveals just how ambitious Simon is. 112 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:39,200 This is the king's official copy of a charter made by 113 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:41,200 Simon de Montfort in 1236. 114 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:43,800 And its contents aren't really that important -- 115 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:45,600 what is important is the way Simon's referred to himself. 116 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:47,600 It says here, 117 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,600 "Simon de Montfort, comptes that's earl, 118 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:52,600 Earl of Leicester." 119 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:54,200 And that's interesting, 120 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:55,800 because Simon had lots of the lands 121 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:57,200 that went with the title of earl, 122 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,200 but didn't have the title itself. 123 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:02,800 And that tells us quite a lot about Simon. 124 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,200 Firstly, it tells us he's ambitious. 125 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:08,600 Secondly, it tells us he rates his relationship with the king 126 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,000 high enough to go about using a title 127 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:13,200 he doesn't really have the right to. 128 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:15,800 But thirdly, it tells us he's right -- 129 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:17,400 because this is the king's official copy, 130 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:19,400 Henry's given it his sign-off. 131 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:23,200 So, Simon might be cocky, but it's with very good reason. 132 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:26,600 Henry can't get enough of Simon. 133 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:31,000 He propels his new best friend into the medieval stratosphere. 134 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,600 Simon marries Henry's sister, 135 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:43,000 Eleanor, the greatest catch in the kingdom. 136 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,200 Henry should have married her off 137 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:47,200 to one of the great European rulers 138 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:49,400 to secure a political alliance, 139 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:53,000 but he's convinced Simon can help him become 140 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:56,400 the great king of his dreams. 141 00:08:56,400 --> 00:08:58,600 So, he gives Eleanor to his best mate, instead. 142 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:04,400 You can imagine Simon is feeling pretty pleased with himself. 143 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:06,400 He's married to the king's sister, 144 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:08,000 he's an insider at court, 145 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:09,400 he's the king's favorite. 146 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:11,200 Considering where he came from, 147 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:13,200 he hasn't done too badly. 148 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:17,600 But Simon's deal is not all it seems. 149 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:20,000 Eleanor should have come with a massive dowry. 150 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:21,600 Instead of giving it to his friend, 151 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:25,800 Henry hangs onto the money and land for himself. 152 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:30,000 This decision sows the seeds 153 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,000 of catastrophe. 154 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:15,200 In 1239, Henry makes de Montfort Earl of Leicester. 155 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,200 Simon's now the king's brother-in-law, 156 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:23,200 his chief advisor, and an English baron. 157 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:26,400 But at precisely this moment of triumph, 158 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,400 Simon goes too far. 159 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:34,600 He takes out a big, fat loan 160 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:36,800 using Henry as guarantor. 161 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:39,200 As far as he's concerned, 162 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:41,600 Henry owes him for his wife's dowry 163 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,800 so he doesn't ask Henry first. 164 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:46,600 Big mistake. 165 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:59,600 When Simon tries to play it down, 166 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:02,200 Henry threatens to Simon and his own sister 167 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:04,200 into the Tower of London. 168 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,600 And he's not kidding. 169 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,600 For Henry, this is an outrageous liberty. 170 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:17,800 Giving things to Simon, well, that's one thing, 171 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:21,400 but he can't just stand around while Simon takes what he wants. 172 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:23,800 Henry doesn't like it, but Simon has to go. 173 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,000 Simon and Eleanor 174 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,400 are forced to flee to France. 175 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:35,600 It seems like the end of a beautiful friendship. 176 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:40,800 But Henry's going to need Simon again sooner than he thinks. 177 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:47,200 Just three years later, 178 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:51,800 the king gets himself into big trouble. 179 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:57,400 Henry's launched an attack here at Poitou in western France. 180 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:00,200 It was once his ancestors' territory. 181 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,800 Henry thought he could take it back. 182 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:04,800 But he couldn't. 183 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:07,000 Just like last time, 184 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:11,200 the barons used Magna Carta to deny him the taxes he needed. 185 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:15,800 But just like last time, Henry went ahead anyway. 186 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:22,800 Attacking Poitou was spectacularly stupid, 187 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:27,200 because the Count of Poitou's brother is the French king. 188 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:31,000 Henry's forces quickly find themselves chased down 189 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,200 by the whole French army. 190 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,600 In desperation, Henry has called on 191 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:42,400 the one man he believes can help him -- 192 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:46,200 his estranged and banished best friend, Simon de Montfort. 193 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:48,600 Simon was just back 194 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,000 from a year-long crusade in the holy land, 195 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,800 so his military expertise was greater than ever. 196 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,400 And Henry had eaten humble pie to get him back. 197 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:58,800 Now, this is quite a climb down -- 198 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:01,400 Henry was the one who banished Simon in the first place, 199 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:03,200 and now he's stuffed without him. 200 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:11,000 But even Simon can't salvage this disaster. 201 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:16,000 Henry flees the field. 202 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:21,400 He leave Simon fighting 203 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,000 a desperate rear guard action with the king's men. 204 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,600 They retreat toward the town of Saintes. 205 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:31,600 Henry is cowering inside the town, 206 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,400 and it's not just the French army 207 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:37,000 that comes storming after him. 208 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,400 Simon is not used to losing. 209 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:48,600 Now, it's histurn to explode at the king. 210 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,400 The king himself reported what Simon says. 211 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:06,400 Now, Charles the simple was a notoriously useless French king 212 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:07,800 whose subjects put him in jail 213 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:09,600 'cause he was such a bad general. 214 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,400 Thinking about locking up your king is one thing, 215 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,200 but actually saying it to his face 216 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:15,200 is flirting with treason. 217 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:20,800 But Henry can't call Simon on it. 218 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:27,400 This is the king's third failure in France. 219 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:29,800 There's now zero chance the English barons 220 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,000 will support his ambitions. 221 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,200 He desperately needs an ally in the aristocracy, 222 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:39,400 and Simon is still the Earl of Leicester. 223 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:47,200 So, when they return to England, 224 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,400 Henry eats more humble pie. 225 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,200 He gives Simon 226 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:55,400 this whacking great castle at Kenilworth. 227 00:14:55,400 --> 00:15:00,000 For five years their friendship holds up. 228 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:04,600 So, when a foreign crisis pops up in 1247, 229 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:09,400 the king turns to his best friends again. 230 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:13,400 All Henry has left of the Plantagenet empire in France 231 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:15,000 is Gascony. 232 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:16,200 But it's in chaos, 233 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:17,800 with feuding nobles, 234 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:20,200 a French king itching to invade, 235 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:23,400 and its southern borders under attack. 236 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:27,200 As ever, the barons won't let Henry raise taxes 237 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:28,800 to sort it out. 238 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:34,400 They think he'll just cock it up again. 239 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:39,000 So, Henry asks Simon to fix it for him... 240 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,600 and he'll pay him later. 241 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:43,400 Henry admires the fact that 242 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:46,600 Simon will take the tough decisions he can't. 243 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:48,000 That's why he sends him -- 244 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:50,400 Simon's a zero-tolerance sort of guy. 245 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:54,200 And true to form, he launches a vicious crackdown 246 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:55,800 on the Gascon rebels, 247 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:57,600 even cutting their vines, 248 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:01,000 which, in wine country, is a terrible punishment. 249 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:07,000 But while Simon is in Gascony, 250 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:09,200 Henry finds himself drawn in 251 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:11,000 by another powerful figure -- 252 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,600 William de Valence, 253 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:16,400 the king's half-brother, 254 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:20,400 leader of a French family called the Lusignans. 255 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,000 Henry starts giving them land and titles; 256 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:25,600 in exchange, they supplant the English lords 257 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:28,800 and begin to take control of the government for him. 258 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:32,200 Finally, the king has some allies at home. 259 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,000 Seems great, doesn't it? 260 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:35,800 But it's not. 261 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:37,800 The Lusignans were actually 262 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:41,800 booted out of France because they're dangerous, ruthless, 263 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:44,200 and pretty nasty. 264 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,200 Henry's decision to give them so much power 265 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:49,000 will tear the country apart. 266 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,800 But right now, 267 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:53,400 all that he can see is that 268 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:56,200 they make him feel like a powerful king. 269 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:02,000 Now, he doesn't need Simon de Montfort 270 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,400 like he used to. 271 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:09,200 When the Gascons complain about Simon's brutality, 272 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:14,600 Henry hangs his old mate out to dry. 273 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:19,600 Even though de Montfort 274 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:23,600 has run up huge debts doing the king's dirty work, 275 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:25,600 Henry puts him on trial 276 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:28,200 for his treatment of the Gascons. 277 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:32,800 The trial takes place here, 278 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,800 right in the shadow of Henry's greatest building project, 279 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:37,600 Westminster Abbey. 280 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,600 And it's held in what used to be the monks' dining room -- 281 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:43,400 you can still see part of the original wall. 282 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:49,000 Now, if you'd been sitting on the other side of that in 1252, 283 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,200 you'd have witnessed the end of the friendship 284 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:53,400 of Simon de Montfort and Henry III. 285 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:58,400 The case is held 286 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:02,000 before the king and Simon's fellow barons. 287 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:06,800 Simon is reeling that his friend has put him on trial. 288 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:10,600 An all-out row kicks off between them. 289 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:26,400 Sounds like Simon's having a dig 290 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,600 at Henry's piety, but I think there's more to it than that. 291 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:31,400 He's certainly picked an analogy 292 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:33,800 designed to hurt the king's feelings, 293 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:35,400 but what he's really saying is, 294 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:37,200 What's the point in confessing, 295 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:39,200 admitting your mistakes, 296 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:42,600 if you're going to do the same stupid things again afterwards? 297 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:45,600 It's like, "You're useless, you know you're useless, 298 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,200 but you don't want to do anything about it." 299 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:49,600 And that sounds like 300 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,200 Simon's really overstepping the mark again. 301 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:56,000 But he's about to give Henry a brutal lesson in kingship. 302 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:06,800 Simon has taken the political temperature in the room. 303 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:11,200 The king hasn't. 304 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,800 When Henry puts the charges to a vote... 305 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,400 Simon walks. 306 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:28,800 The other barons are as fed up with the king and his Lusignans 307 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:30,600 as Simon is, 308 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,200 Henry and Simon 309 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,200 now hate each other with a passion. 310 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:45,600 And England will pay a terrible price. 311 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:57,000 Henry sulks. 312 00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:59,200 And he lets the Lusignans off the leash. 313 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:10,200 They start grabbing land and property 314 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:12,200 in total violation of Magna Carta. 315 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:17,400 Their supporters even ransack 316 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:20,600 the Archbishop of Canterbury's London palace. 317 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:24,800 Henry simply stands by and lets them get away with it. 318 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:27,400 It just confirms the barons' view 319 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:30,200 that he's a spineless excuse for a king. 320 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:39,000 And then in 1256, Henry does something 321 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,000 quite extraordinary. 322 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:42,600 It's spelt out 323 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:45,200 in an astonishing 700 year old book 324 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:48,000 here in the British Library. 325 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:50,200 This is the chronicle of Matthew Paris, 326 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,800 who is writing at the time of Henry III 327 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:54,200 and had better access than anyone else 328 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:56,000 to Henry and his court. 329 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,000 And he writes 330 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:01,800 that the king gave an order under the regio figillo, 331 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:03,200 the royal seal, 332 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:05,200 that no brief -- 333 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:07,000 that's any official government document -- 334 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,400 could be used to cause injury -- 335 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:11,400 alicui fratri sui -- 336 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:13,400 to any of his brothers... 337 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:16,000 which includes the Lusignans. 338 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,000 So, Henry's saying 339 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,200 the Lusignans can't be prosecuted -- 340 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,400 effectively they're above the law. 341 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,200 And this is political dynamite. 342 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:30,200 The barons are furious. 343 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:33,400 In retaliation, they squeeze Henry's finances further. 344 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:37,600 Henry's not in a very good place -- 345 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:39,400 he's lost the war with France, 346 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:41,200 he's made a mess of Gascony, 347 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:43,600 he's upset most of his barons, and he's broke. 348 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:45,400 It's time to sort things out. 349 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:46,600 So, what does he do? 350 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:48,400 Does he kick out the Lusignans? 351 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,600 Does he reassure his barons? 352 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:52,600 Does he sort out Gascony? 353 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,000 No, he decides to do something bold, 354 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:56,400 something radical, 355 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:59,000 something no one will expect. 356 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,400 He decides to invade Sicily. 357 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:05,800 It was actually the pope's idea. 358 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,000 He asked Henry to do it. 359 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,400 But Henry jumps at the opportunity 360 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:14,200 to take control of a wealthy country. 361 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,800 This could help free him from 362 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:18,400 the control of the English barons. 363 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:25,600 But Sicily is a thousand miles away. 364 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:29,000 It would cost an absolute fortune to take. 365 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:32,800 Henry can't even hang on to his lands in France, 366 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:36,800 so, invading Sicily is a bonkers idea -- 367 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,400 and everyone can see it... 368 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:42,200 except the king. 369 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:45,200 Henry demands taxes from the English barons 370 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:47,000 to fund the invasion. 371 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,200 He thinks he can get away with it 372 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:51,800 because de Valence's violent Lusignans support him. 373 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:56,800 A group of barons come to London to put Henry back in his box, 374 00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,800 and it's his old friend Simon de Montfort 375 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:03,200 leading the charge. 376 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,000 Simon de Montfort comes to London 377 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:42,800 to bring King Henry III to heel. 378 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:46,200 The king stitched him up over Gascony -- 379 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,200 Simon will never forgive him. 380 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:55,000 This is Westminster Hall. 381 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:56,600 More than 900 years old, 382 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:59,200 it's all that's left of the medieval palace. 383 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,800 And it's here that Simon and the barons march up 384 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:03,200 to meet Henry III. 385 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:05,800 He's sitting up there on his throne, 386 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,200 and he thinks they've come to give him money 387 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:10,200 for his Sicilian invasion. 388 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,600 But as soon as they arrive he realizes something's very wrong. 389 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:16,600 Simon and the others might not have swords in their hands, 390 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:19,200 but they're still done up in their battle armor. 391 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:22,400 And Henry knows the tables are turned. 392 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:38,400 Simon and his allies aren't here to take Henry captive -- 393 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,800 what they're demanding 394 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:44,400 is almost worse. 395 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:46,800 First, they want 396 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:48,800 the Lusignans stripped of all their English property 397 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:50,600 and kicked out of the country. 398 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,400 Second, they want a permanent council of barons 399 00:24:55,400 --> 00:25:00,000 to manage the affairs of the king. 400 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,600 However they want to phrase it, 401 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:03,600 the reality is, 402 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:06,000 they're taking over. 403 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,200 This is a nightmare for Henry. 404 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,400 Simon and his mates are saying, 405 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:13,000 not only are we not going to help you with Sicily, 406 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,200 but you're such a disaster 407 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:18,200 we're going to take away pretty much all your power. 408 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:20,800 They come armed because they're telling Henry, 409 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:23,200 "we're stronger than you" -- and they are. 410 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:28,800 Henry's forced to agree to all their demands 411 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,600 just to get out of the room. 412 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:41,200 But as soon as he does, 413 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:43,200 he backtracks on everything he's promised. 414 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,400 Eight weeks later, at a parliament in Oxford, 415 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:49,800 Henry faces off against 416 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,800 Simon and the barons, 417 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:54,600 and he takes his half-brother William 418 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:56,600 and his Lusignan thugs with him. 419 00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:01,400 The town is full of knights from both sides armed to the teeth. 420 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,600 The atmosphere is electric, you can feel the tension. 421 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:08,000 The country is teetering on the verge of civil war. 422 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:14,200 The hated Lusignans have no intention 423 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:16,800 of giving up their castles and land. 424 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:20,600 They think they can take on Simon de Montfort. 425 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:25,000 The explosive meeting becomes known as 426 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,200 the mad parliament. 427 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:31,000 Simon directly 428 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,400 threatens the king's half-brother. 429 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:35,200 Make no mistake, 430 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:37,000 you'll either give up your castles 431 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,400 or you will lose your head. 432 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:42,400 Is he bluffing, or is Simon serious? 433 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:45,000 Well, frankly, I wouldn't put it past him. 434 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,600 This isn't some soft, wealthy English baron -- 435 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:50,200 this is a hard man, a crusader, 436 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:52,400 a guy who is used to spilling blood. 437 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:58,000 The Lusignans are no match for de Montfort, 438 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,000 and they know it. 439 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:04,600 They flee for their lives. 440 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,200 Henry's resistance collapses. 441 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:13,000 He has to accept all the barons' demands. 442 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:18,400 The new rules 443 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:21,200 that he's forced to sign up to are legally recorded 444 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:24,400 in a document called the Provisions of Oxford. 445 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,800 This is one of the most important documents 446 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:30,200 in British history. 447 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:33,800 Everyone thinks of Magna Carta as the great bill 448 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,000 that limited kings' power, 449 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:39,200 but the Provisions of Oxford are actually far more extreme. 450 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,800 Henry spent his whole life railing against 451 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:43,800 the restrictions of Magna Carta; 452 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:45,600 the Provisions of Oxford 453 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:49,200 really give him something to complain about. 454 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:51,000 Now, we have them here, copied in French, 455 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:52,800 into a chronicle from the time. 456 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,400 And you can see, a council of quinze -- 457 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:57,600 that's 15 -- barons will meet 458 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:00,400 to manage the affairs of the kingdom. 459 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:04,200 A parliament will meet tres, three times a year, 460 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:07,000 whether or not the king summoned it. 461 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,600 Simon and the barons, essentially a parliament, 462 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:12,600 can now make decisions on 463 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:17,000 pretty much anything that happens in the kingdom -- 464 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,400 whether or not Henry likes it. 465 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:23,600 He's become a rubber stamp, 466 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:27,200 and if he breaks the Provisions, the penalty is war. 467 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:30,800 It's a seismic shift in political power 468 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:32,800 away from the king, 469 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:34,600 and it's the basis of 470 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:37,800 our modern parliamentary system. 471 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:41,800 This must be devastating for Henry. 472 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,600 He's already lost most of his ancestral lands in France, 473 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:46,200 and now in England, 474 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:47,800 where his authority is supposed to be supreme, 475 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:50,600 he's virtually powerless as well. 476 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:54,600 His whole vision of what it is to be a king is being shattered. 477 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:03,600 The barons demand that everyone swears an oath before God 478 00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:05,800 to abide by the Provisions. 479 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:12,800 Problem is, Henry and Simon's attitudes to the oath 480 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:16,400 are poles apart. 481 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:19,600 Everyone knows Plantagenet kings and their barons 482 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:22,400 have a long history of breaking their oaths. 483 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:26,600 But for Simon, once he's made a sacred oath with God, 484 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:29,600 he's really boxed himself into a corner. 485 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:33,000 Remember, this guy is a religious zealot. 486 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,200 The oath is sworn at 487 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:42,600 Blackfriar's Church in Oxford 488 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:44,600 by Henry, the barons, 489 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:48,000 and by Simon. 490 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,200 So, after he makes the oath, 491 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:57,800 he stays up half the night in prayer, 492 00:29:57,800 --> 00:29:59,600 he abstains from sex, 493 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,000 and he's still wearing his hair shirt under his clothes. 494 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,000 This is his treaty with God, 495 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,600 and he's never going to break it. 496 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:10,400 But he knows Henry will. 497 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:20,200 Within four years, 498 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:23,200 de Montfort's worst fears come true. 499 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:28,600 Because Henry has sworn the oath knowing he'll break it, 500 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:32,000 he brings back the Lusignans, and just like before, 501 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,800 they do pretty much whatever they want. 502 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:40,200 Henry's gambling the barons will turn a blind eye 503 00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:44,400 because the alternative is civil war. 504 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:48,800 And no one wants that... do they? 505 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:53,000 It's a massive miscalculation by the king. 506 00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:58,600 One man iscommitted. 507 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:01,600 Almost alone amongst those who've sworn it, 508 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:06,000 Simon will keep the oath, whatever the cost. 509 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:09,000 Simon raises an army from those barons 510 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,000 who still believe in the Provisions of Oxford. 511 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:19,800 In 1264, England is plunged into a civil war. 512 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:25,800 This is the town of Lewes, close to the south coast. 513 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:29,000 And it's here that Simon de Montfort and Henry III 514 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:32,400 face off against each other in battle for the first time. 515 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:35,800 Simon may have the law on his side, 516 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:38,200 but however you dress it up 517 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:42,000 he's still taking on God's anointed king. 518 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:43,800 He is now a traitor. 519 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,400 And when it comes to traitors, 520 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:50,000 Henry can still call on plenty of support. 521 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:52,200 By the time they confront each other, 522 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:54,800 Simon's on the back foot. 523 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,200 Simon's experienced enough to know that, 524 00:31:57,200 --> 00:31:59,400 as he approaches the town of Lewes 525 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:01,000 here on the Sussex Downs, 526 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:02,800 things don't look very good for him. 527 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:04,800 He's injured with a broken leg, 528 00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:07,800 his army is massively outnumbered, two to one, 529 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:12,400 and Henry is holed-up down there behind strong town walls. 530 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:15,400 Simon knows the king will be feeling pretty confident, 531 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,200 but then again, that's what he's banking on. 532 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:23,400 He's planning to force the king into a winner-takes-all battle 533 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:25,600 on his terms 534 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:28,600 by drawing the king out into the open. 535 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:33,600 It's a massive gamble, but that's Simon all over. 536 00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:35,800 Under cover of darkness, 537 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:40,200 Simon's army takes this ridge overlooking the town. 538 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:43,600 Now, he has the high ground. 539 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:53,200 Early next morning, 540 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:55,600 Simon's army prostrate themselves on the ground 541 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:57,200 to be blessed by the bishops. 542 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:03,600 Simon and his men are on a crusade 543 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:06,200 for liberty. 544 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,800 He and his men truly believe that God is on their side. 545 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:10,400 They're radicalized, 546 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:12,800 driven by the dream of a different kind of England 547 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:15,400 in which the king no longer calls the shots. 548 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:21,400 Henry is fighting for the absolute supremacy of the king. 549 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:25,000 Simon de Montfort is fighting to crush it. 550 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:28,800 De Montfort may have God on his side, 551 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:31,000 but the king's got far more men. 552 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,200 He also has a secret weapon... 553 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:36,400 Edward, his eldest son and heir -- 554 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:39,600 he's utterly fearless and champing at the bit 555 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:42,200 to hack up de Montfort and his mates. 556 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:44,200 Henry finally sees 557 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:47,400 a chance to win his great Plantagenet victory -- 558 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:49,000 how can he lose? 559 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,400 Just as Simon hoped, 560 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:55,000 the king comes out fighting. 561 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:08,400 The battle is a complete disaster for the king. 562 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:15,800 Henry's still a terrible general. 563 00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:22,000 His son, Edward, goes charging off over the hill 564 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:23,800 after a rabble of civilians. 565 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:27,000 His brother, Richard, gets himself besieged in a windmill. 566 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:29,400 And Henry ends up forced back here 567 00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:31,200 to the priory of St. Pancras 568 00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:33,400 just outside the town walls. 569 00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:36,200 Simon dares, and he wins. 570 00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:41,200 The king and his son Edward are captured. 571 00:34:41,200 --> 00:34:44,400 The king's sword is surrendered to Simon. 572 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:50,600 Not exactly the Plantagenet glory Henry was aiming for. 573 00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:59,400 Simon de Montfort, once a minor French nobleman, 574 00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:01,400 now holds ultimate power 575 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:04,600 in England. 576 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:06,000 This is a revolution. 577 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,000 Simon's taken an army to the field 578 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,200 to seize the power of an anointed king. 579 00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:12,000 It's treason... 580 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,600 and it's also an unforgivable betrayal of friendship. 581 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:17,400 The king's dreams of glory 582 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,400 have been crushed. 583 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:23,600 But there is still one Plantagenet 584 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:25,800 who could save the dynasty -- 585 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:27,800 and it's not Henry. 586 00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:58,800 In the aftermath of Lewes, Henry's in a desperate state. 587 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:01,200 He's been humiliated in battle -- again, 588 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:03,000 his nemesis, Simon de Montfort, 589 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:04,600 is running the country, 590 00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:07,200 and to top it all off, Henry is Simon's prisoner. 591 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:10,800 The king's dreams of Plantagenet glory 592 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:13,800 have been comprehensively trashed. 593 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:16,600 For more than a year, 594 00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:19,000 Simon de Montfort dominates the government of England 595 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:20,800 from his castle at Kenilworth. 596 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:24,200 Henry's still king in theory; 597 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:26,600 in reality, he's just 598 00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:29,600 Simon's puppet. 599 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:31,800 To maintain his hold on the country, 600 00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:33,400 Simon keeps the king with him. 601 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:36,000 Everything in the government is decided 602 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:38,200 under the direction of de Montfort. 603 00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:42,200 For the first time in the history of England, 604 00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:44,600 a political movement has succeeded 605 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:47,000 in crushing a tyrannical king. 606 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:49,600 Sounds very noble, doesn't it? 607 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:51,400 But the reality is that 608 00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:54,800 this is at least as much about greed as liberty. 609 00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:56,600 Simon may have set himself up 610 00:36:56,600 --> 00:37:00,000 as a man who's selflessly doing what's right for England, 611 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:02,600 but actually there's a lot more going on. 612 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:06,200 Even though he has this vast castle at Kenilworth, 613 00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:09,600 Simon's been brooding that the king short-changed him 614 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:11,400 on money and land. 615 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:14,600 But now he has Henry just rubber-stamping his decisions, 616 00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:16,800 it's an opportunity too good to miss. 617 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:21,200 Simon decides to take what he believes he's owed. 618 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:26,200 De Montfort takes money and land for himself and his family. 619 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:28,600 And by keeping the king close to him, 620 00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:31,000 Simon thinks he's got everything under control. 621 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:34,600 It's a fatal error of judgment. 622 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:43,000 It's not Henry who threatens Simon's hold on England -- 623 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:45,200 the man he should be watching 624 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:48,000 is the 25 year old heir to the throne, Edward. 625 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:51,600 But Simon's taken his eye off the ball 626 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:54,200 and left the prince in Hereford under house-arrest. 627 00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:56,000 With things going so well, 628 00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:59,200 Simon's relaxed the guard on Prince Edward -- 629 00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:02,000 he even allows him out riding. 630 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,800 So, Edward plays a game with his captors, 631 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:08,200 swapping horses 632 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:11,000 to find the fastest. 633 00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:27,400 They think it's all great fun 634 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:30,400 until he finds the fastest horse. 635 00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:48,000 Prince Edward finds plenty of nobles increasingly nervous 636 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:51,000 that Simon will snatch the crown. 637 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:53,600 And that scares the barons more than 638 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:56,400 Henry's abysmal reputation. 639 00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:58,800 Edward promises to let them keep the reforms, 640 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:00,800 and that persuades many of them 641 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:03,000 to defect back to the Plantagenet cause. 642 00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:09,400 The Plantagenet army is back on the march. 643 00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:18,200 The end game in a 25-year grudge match 644 00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:23,000 between the former best friends Henry III and Simon de Montfort 645 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:25,800 takes place here in Worcestershire. 646 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:28,200 Simon's got the king with him 647 00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:29,600 for insurance -- 648 00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:32,000 he's trying to get back to Kenilworth 649 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:33,800 to gather reinforcements. 650 00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:35,800 But Edwards is moving too fast. 651 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:37,600 At the beginning of August, 652 00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:40,000 he catches up with Simon here at Evesham. 653 00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:46,000 From the top of the old Abbey tower, 654 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:48,000 Simon sees the Plantagenet army 655 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:50,400 approaching in the distance. 656 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:53,200 He's pinned-down and outnumbered. 657 00:39:53,200 --> 00:39:56,800 De Montfort realizes 658 00:39:56,800 --> 00:40:00,200 that if Edward's men free Henry, the game is up. 659 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:06,000 So, Simon disguises the king in one of his own uniforms. 660 00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:10,200 If he goes down, he's taking Henry with him. 661 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:15,000 He doesn't wait for the Plantagenets to come for him -- 662 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:17,800 Simon attacks first. 663 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:20,600 This is Simon the crusader. 664 00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:23,000 Last time the odds were as stacked against him, 665 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:24,400 he dared and won. 666 00:40:24,400 --> 00:40:26,000 So, this time, he dares again. 667 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,800 He can't help it, it's what he's good at. 668 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:31,200 Simon's army charges out in a single wedge, 669 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:33,600 hoping to punch through enemy ranks. 670 00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:36,600 They race up through the center of Evesham 671 00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:39,200 to the fields overlooking the town 672 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:43,400 where the Plantagenet soldiers are lined-up. 673 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:46,600 Simon gambles that because he's got the king with him, 674 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:50,200 the Plantagenet army will be too cautious to attack. 675 00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:53,200 But Simon's as wrong as you get. 676 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:57,000 This time, the army's rallied behind the king's son, Edward, 677 00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:59,200 and they're out for bloody revenge. 678 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:03,000 The two armies meet here 679 00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:06,000 in the fields outside Evesham. 680 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,600 As the Plantagenet army piles in, 681 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:17,000 the battle descends into an orgy of violence. 682 00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:27,000 The royalists cut down 4,000 of the rebels. 683 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:29,400 The battlefields and streets of Evesham 684 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:31,600 are piled high with their corpses. 685 00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:36,200 More than 30 of Simon's knights are slaughtered. 686 00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:40,000 But there is only one way to end the rebellion for good. 687 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:43,800 Edward sends a 12-knight hit squad onto the battlefield 688 00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:46,200 with one mission -- 689 00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:50,000 find and kill Simon de Montfort. 690 00:41:54,200 --> 00:41:57,800 King Henry, still dressed as one of de Montfort's men, 691 00:41:57,800 --> 00:42:00,200 is almost taken out by his own hit squad. 692 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:14,400 Simon, already badly wounded by a lance, 693 00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:17,000 is not so lucky. 694 00:42:25,800 --> 00:42:30,000 Simon's killed somewhere on these fields outside Evesham. 695 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:33,200 And some of the chroniclists go so far as to call it murder. 696 00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:35,000 This might be a battlefield, 697 00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:37,400 but 12 knights ganging up against one 698 00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:40,000 is hardly playing by the rules. 699 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,200 But even then, just killing Simon 700 00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:44,000 isn't enough for Henry's men. 701 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:45,600 This is an upstart, 702 00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:47,000 an outsider, 703 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:49,000 someone who's taken on a king 704 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:51,400 and undermined what being a king means. 705 00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:55,200 Simon de Montfort, traitor to the crown, 706 00:42:55,200 --> 00:43:00,000 once the most powerful man in England, dies. 707 00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:04,000 The message to everyone must be crystal clear -- 708 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:06,400 no one defies the king and lives. 709 00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:11,600 The body of the king's once-best friend is butchered. 710 00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:14,000 His testicles are cut off 711 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:16,600 and then rammed into his mouth 712 00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:19,000 before his head is cut from his body 713 00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:21,400 and paraded on a spear. 714 00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:33,200 Henry finally has his moment of Plantagenet glory, 715 00:43:33,200 --> 00:43:38,800 but in truth, it's his son, Edward, who delivers it. 716 00:43:38,800 --> 00:43:41,000 Henry is just a bystander. 717 00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:44,400 But the price of victory over Simon 718 00:43:44,400 --> 00:43:48,000 is accepting the reforms that Simon was fighting for -- 719 00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:50,400 because that's the deal Edward sealed 720 00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:53,000 to raise an army. 721 00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:57,400 Henry's won the battle but he's lost the war. 722 00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:03,600 The king's dream of absolute power 723 00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:06,400 has died with Simon. 724 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:12,200 Dismal as Henry's reign was, 725 00:44:12,200 --> 00:44:14,000 he still left behind him 726 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:17,000 two of the greatest legacies of the whole Plantagenet dynasty, 727 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:18,800 and they're both right here. 728 00:44:18,800 --> 00:44:23,000 Westminster Abbey -- Henry's extraordinary palace to God -- 729 00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:25,400 and over there, Parliament, 730 00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:29,400 seat of the democracy that still governs our country today. 731 00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:32,600 It was born not out of wisdom and smart politics, 732 00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:36,800 but out of the passion and fury of a brutal, bloody feud 733 00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:40,800 between two best friends. 734 00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:43,400 Next time... 735 00:44:43,400 --> 00:44:46,000 Edward II -- 736 00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:48,600 his short-sighted obsessions 737 00:44:48,600 --> 00:44:52,400 plunged England into a nightmare of political violence, 738 00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:55,800 bloodlust, and most of all, revenge. 53053

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