What do you do when your father is one of the worst kings in English history?
This week, I’m joined by Matt Lewis to unpack the life of Henry III of England—a king who inherited chaos, uncertainty, and a seriously damaged crown after the disastrous reign of King John of England.
We explore how Henry came to the throne as a child, what it meant to grow up in the shadow of his father’s failures, and the surprising role his mother, Isabella of Angoulême, played when she left England behind. What happened to Henry’s siblings? And how did those early years shape the kind of king he would become?
From there, we look at Henry’s own family—his marriage, his children, and the legacy he hoped to build—while also asking a bigger question: was Henry’s reign really as peaceful as it’s often portrayed?
It’s a story of recovery, reputation, and the long shadow of a bad king… and whether Henry III ever truly escaped it.
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Henry III by Matthew Lewis: Amazon US
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Host: Rebecca Larson
Guest: Matt Lewis