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Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.

We hear about the Scottish students who removed the 'Stone of Destiny' from Westminster Abbey in London. Former King Simeon II of Bulgaria explains how he went from child King to Prime Minister of his country. Also, why the body of Oliver Cromwell was dug up and executed in the UK in 1661. The son of Jean-Bédel Bokassa explains why his father proclaimed himself Emperor of the Central African Republic. Plus the story of the King found under a car park in England.

Professor Cindy McCreery speaks to Max about royal thefts and repurposing of regal items.

Contributors: Ian Hamilton, student who removed the 'Stone of Destiny. Cindy McCreery, Associate Professor in History at the University of Sydney. Charles Spencer, historian. Dr Gabriel Heaton, specialist at Sotheby's auction house. Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, former King and former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. Jean-Charles Bokassa, son of Jean-Béddel Bokassa. Dr Richard Buckley OBE, leader of the team which dug up Richard III's remains.

(Photo: Jean-Béddel Bokassa after he crowned himself Emperor Credit: Getty Images)

3e:T4c5,Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History stories from the BBC World Service. Journalist Claude Angeli discovered French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing received diamonds from a depraved African emperor, which contributed to him losing the presidential election in 1981. How Bosnia’s small Jewish community helped people from all sides of the conflict, during the siege of Sarajevo in the early 1990s. The story of the gang of thieves, who held up a British Royal Mail train on its journey from Glasgow to London in August 1963. Plus Jean-Michel Basquiat, a young black graffiti artist in the 1980s took the New York art world by storm. His paintings were selling for huge sums of money, but he died before the end of the decade. And the rise and fall of self-made businesswoman Brownie Wise, who inspired an army of US housewives to sell Tupperware at parties. Contributors: Journalist Claude Angeli Journalist Pauline Bock Former vice president of the Jewish community Jakob Finci Author Bob Kealing Journalist Reginald Abbiss Patti Astor, friend of Jean-Michel Basquiat(Photo: French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing and Jean-Bédel Bokassa in Bangui, March 1975. Credit: Getty Images)3f:T4cd,Within the turmoil of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte stands out to his military superiors, first by defeating the British at Toulon, then by putting down a royalist mob in Paris when outnumbered four to one, with a “whiff of grapeshot”. Having finally shaken off the humiliation of the failed invasion of Sardinia which began his career, he is made Commander of the Interior, and rewarded with command of the Army of Italy. Has the Corsican rebel finally given up on his roots, and embraced French ideals of brotherhood? Join Tom and Dominic in the second part of our deep dive on young Napoleon, as they delve into his rise within the French military, his disillusionment with Corsican politics, his precocious strategic savoir-faire, and the story of how he met the future Empress of the French, Josephine de Beauharnais… *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia! Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jean-Bédel Bokassa's coronation