Yet behind their remarkable success lay one of history’s most turbulent marriages. Their relationship was defined by ambition, passion, rivalry, and eventual rebellion. Frequently divided by politics and war during their lives, they remain united in death at Fontevraud Abbey, where their effigies rest side by side.

In History Hit’s documentary The Ascent to Power: Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, historians Matt Lewis and Eleanor Janega trace the rise of these extraordinary figures. Janega follows Eleanor’s journey from the wealthy courts of southern France, while Lewis examines Henry’s struggle to reclaim his inheritance during England’s civil war. Together, their stories reveal how two formidable personalities created one of the most powerful partnerships of the Middle Ages.

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Aliénor: Heiress of Aquitaine

To understand Eleanor, one must first understand Aquitaine. 12th century southern France was culturally and economically distinct from the feudal north. The region of Occitania was renowned for its wealth, wine, and vibrant artistic culture.

Born Aliénor of Aquitaine, Eleanor belonged to one of Europe’s most powerful noble families. The Dukes of Aquitaine controlled vast territories and cultivated a sophisticated courtly world. Their wealth is still reflected in the grand halls of Poitiers, where magnificent architecture proclaimed their prestige.

Aquitaine was also the birthplace of the troubadours – poet-musicians who travelled between aristocratic courts performing songs of politics, satire, and love. Eleanor’s grandfather, Duke William IX, is widely regarded as the first troubadour, helping to establish a cultural tradition that spread across Europe.

When a series of family tragedies left 13 year-old Eleanor as sole heir to Aquitaine in 1137, she became the most desirable bride in Europe. Unlike many regions, Aquitaine permitted female inheritance, and Eleanor had been educated to rule. To secure this immensely valuable duchy, the French crown arranged her marriage to the 17 year-old Louis VII, who soon became King of France.

Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis in Aquitaine vineyard

Image Credit: History Hit

A failed royal marriage

The marriage quickly proved ill-suited. Eleanor was confident, charismatic, and politically engaged. Louis was deeply pious, having originally been raised for a religious life before the death of his older brother unexpectedly made him heir.

As royal historian Professor Kate Williams explains in the documentary, Louis’s upbringing left him deeply uncomfortable around women. Although Eleanor eventually bore two daughters, the absence of a male heir placed increasing strain on the relationship. Hostile chroniclers and political rivals fuelled rumours and accusations that further damaged the marriage.

Eleanor Janega and Professor Kate Williams discuss Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII’s marriage.

Image Credit: History Hit

By 1152 the union had collapsed. After years of tension, church authorities annulled the marriage on the grounds of consanguinity, ruling that the couple were too closely related as fourth cousins. Aged 28, Eleanor found herself divorced but still in control of one of Europe’s richest territories.

Her independence made her powerful, but also vulnerable. She needed a strong ally capable of protecting Aquitaine and preserving her authority.

Henry of Anjou

That ally emerged in the form of Henry of Anjou.

Born in 1133 in Le Mans, Henry was the son of Geoffrey of Anjou and the Empress Matilda, daughter of King Henry I of England. Following Henry I’s death, Matilda’s claim to the English throne was challenged by Stephen, triggering the prolonged civil war known as The Anarchy.

Henry grew up amid violence and uncertainty. From an early age he believed the English crown belonged to him by right and dedicated himself to securing it. Contemporary accounts portray him as energetic, intelligent, and relentless, with exceptional military ability matched by fierce ambition.

As Matt Lewis notes, Henry was a rare medieval ruler whose strategic brilliance matched his determination. By his late teens he was already leading campaigns and negotiating with powerful rulers across Europe.

The documentary highlights a remarkable piece of evidence from the British Library: a series of 12th-century horoscopes compiled by the scholar Adelard of Bath. Drawing upon newly translated Arabic astronomical knowledge, the charts reveal that King Stephen’s court was consulting the stars to predict whether the formidable young Henry would successfully invade England – the medieval equivalent of forecasting a looming political crisis.

Series of 12th-century horoscopes compiled by the scholar Adelard of Bath, at the British Lilbrary

Image Credit: History Hit / The British Library

The marriage that created an Empire

Henry and Eleanor first met while she was still Queen of France. Whether romance played a role remains uncertain, but both recognised the political advantages of an alliance.

Following her annulment, Eleanor is said to have approached Henry with the prospect of marriage. On 18 May 1152, just eight weeks after her separation from Louis VII, the 28 year-old duchess married the 18 year-old duke at Poitiers Cathedral.

The consequences were immense. Through their union, Aquitaine joined Henry’s existing territories of Normandy, Anjou, Maine, and Touraine. The balance of power in France shifted overnight, leaving Louis VII facing a rival whose lands far exceeded his own.

Eleanor soon gave birth to a son, William, strengthening the new dynasty and providing the heir Louis had never had.

Meanwhile, Henry continued his campaign for the English throne. In 1153 he forced King Stephen into a settlement recognising him as heir. When Stephen died the following year, Henry and Eleanor were crowned King and Queen of England.

Their accession marked the birth of the Angevin Empire, a realm stretching from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees and encompassing some of the wealthiest territories in Europe.

Ambition behind the crown

The documentary also challenges romanticised portrayals of Eleanor and Henry’s early relationship. While later generations often imagined a great medieval love story, the evidence suggests a partnership driven as much by political necessity as personal attraction. 

Both were fiercely ambitious rulers determined to expand and defend their power. Their marriage united vast territories, strengthened dynastic claims, and transformed the political landscape of western Europe.

Yet the same qualities that made them such an effective team would later drive them into bitter conflict. During their rise, however, they proved formidable partners. In a fascinating discovery, Professor Nicholas Vincent examines a newly deciphered 12th-century manuscript containing the writings of the hostile chronicler Ralph the Black. Following this lead, Matt Lewis uncovers evidence that sheds new light on the realities behind the royal marriage – a relationship shaped not simply by romance, but by dynastic duty, political ambition, and a shared determination to wield power.

Professor Nicholas Vincent and Matt Lewis study Ralph the Black’s hostile 12th-century manuscript at The British Library.

Image Credit: History Hit / The British Library

The beginning of a dynasty

The story of Eleanor and Henry is ultimately one of resilience, ambition, and statecraft. Eleanor survived royal divorce and retained control of her inheritance in a world dominated by men. Henry emerged from civil war to become one of England’s most formidable monarchs.

Together they laid the foundations of the Plantagenet dynasty and created an empire that would shape the history of England and France for generations.

The Ascent to Power: Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II reveals how two extraordinary individuals transformed their fortunes – and medieval Europe itself – through a partnership that was as powerful as it was volatile.

Watch The Ascent to Power: Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II on History Hit and discover the origins of one of history’s most influential royal dynasties.

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In History Hit’s compelling documentary, Omaha: 24 Hours in Normandy, conflict analyst Professor Michael Livingston steps onto the sands of France, scales the coastal bluffs, and explores historic villages. Moving away from the abstract calculations of high command, he meticulously dissects the first critical 24 hours of the landings to reveal how a morning that began in utter catastrophe ultimately transformed the course of the Second World War.

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Into the jaws of hell

To provide a human lens to this massive offensive, Professor Livingston traces the footsteps of Private First Class Thompson Gallety Dicks, an alumnus of The Citadel – the prestigious Military College of South Carolina where Livingston teaches today. Dicks was a rifleman in A Company, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. On the morning of 6 June, A Company formed the absolute tip of the Allied spearhead, tasked with landing in the very first wave at the sector code-named Dog Green on Omaha Beach.

Their objective was critical: secure the paved Dog One Draw, the only paved exit off the beach leading inland to the town of Vierville-sur-Mer. Allied planners were not merely looking to secure a foothold on the sand; they sought to carve a pocket at least five miles deep into Normandy on day one, eventually securing the vital arterial highways leading directly to Paris.

But the physical reality confronting them was a death trap. Weighed down by 30 pounds of water-logged gear, the men dropped from their landing craft straight into the interlocking firing lines of Germany’s Widerstandsnests (Resistance Nests). Within 30 minutes, two-thirds of A Company were dead or wounded. The spearhead was entirely blunted.

The 30-pound death trap

To understand the immense physical strain confronting these men as they approached the shore, Michael joins battlefield guide and historian John Fletcher on the coast of Vierville-sur-Mer. Fletcher dons the standard GI kit issued for the assault, making the exhausting reality of the operation immediately apparent.

Battlefield guide and historian John Fletcher dons the standard GI kit issued for the assault.

Image Credit: History Hit

Troops wore heavy wool uniforms and poplin field jackets chemical-treated to protect against potential gas attacks. On top of this damp clothing, an assault trooper wore a cartridge belt packed with 80 ammunition rounds, a 10-pound M1 Garand rifle, a gas mask, and a canvas assault vest stuffed with first-aid packets and morphine. Many also hauled explosive Bangalore torpedoes to clear barbed wire. 

This massive equipment load weighed up to 30 pounds before even accounting for the water weight accumulated in the surf. Tragically, this top-heavy gear flipped many soldiers upside down if they inflated their life belts incorrectly, causing them to drown headfirst in the deeper channels of the incoming tide.

Thirty minutes of devastation

The physical geography of Omaha Beach presented an ideal landing zone for ships, but a literal slaughterhouse for infantry. Beyond the expansive 250 metres of open tidal sand stood towering, steep bluffs, passable only through natural valleys called draws. A Company’s target was Dog One, the most vital of these targets, as it was the only fully paved draw leading inland.

Dog One as seen today, Omaha Beach

Image Credit: History Hit

Waiting there were a terrifying array of interlocking German defensive fortifications known as Widerstandsnests (Resistance Nests). Historian Paul Woodage explains a crucial layout detail often missed in popular media: German coastal guns were not pointed out toward the open sea. Instead, the heavily reinforced concrete bunkers were engineered to face sideways down the beach. This clever positioning protected the 5-centimetre and 88-millimetre artillery pieces from direct naval bombardment while transforming the wide-open shoreline into a pre-calculated killing zone.

Worse still, the pre-landing Allied aerial and naval bombardments failed to penetrate the thick concrete casemates, leaving the German weapon systems entirely intact. When the ramps of A Company’s landing craft dropped at 06:36, the defenders unleashed a torrent of automatic and artillery fire, wiping out two-thirds of the 200 men of A Company within 30 minutes, including their company commander, Captain Taylor N. Fellers, and young PFC Thompson Dicks. By 07:00, the spearhead had been completely blunted. A Company had effectively ceased to exist.

Maverick initiative

With the primary landing sector transformed into a hellscape of smoke and blood, succeeding waves of troops drifted east due to strong coastal currents. B Company landed hundreds of yards away from their intended destination, pinned against the shingle, leaderless and shell-shocked.

The turning point came with the arrival of 51-year-old Brigadier General Norman “Dutch” Cota. Known for his unflinching leadership, Cota refused to seek cover. Walking upright among the pinned men (likely with a cigar clamped in his teeth), he delivered a legendary rallying cry: “Gentlemen, we are being killed on the beaches. Let us go inland and be killed!”

Prof Livingston and Historian Paul Woodage at Omaha Beach, discussing the impact Brigadier General Norman “Dutch” Cota made.

Cota’s exceptional bravery catalysed a powerful snowball effect across the beach. He physically reorganised the disparate units, directing teams to blow the barbed wire with Bangalore torpedoes. By scrambling up the steep, muddy gullies rather than the deadly paved draws, the Americans successfully flanked the German bunkers from behind.

Simultaneously, a small band of 29 men led by Lieutenant Walter Taylor pushed independently inland, capturing a German headquarters at the Chateau de Vaumisel. Pushing even further south to a vital crossroads, Taylor’s small band briefly engaged three truckloads of German reinforcements, marking the deepest penetration achieved by any unit landing on that sector of Omaha Beach on the morning of D-Day.

Professor Livingston at the crossroads reached by Lieutenant Walter Taylor and his men.

Image Credit: History Hit

The gateway opens

Meanwhile, back on the edge of the bluffs, General Cota focused on the primary objective that had eluded the first wave. The Allies desperately needed the paved Dog One Draw opened to move tanks, artillery, and supply trucks off the shoreline. 

Directing a precise naval bombardment from the rear, American forces finally overwhelmed the defenders of Widerstandsnest 72. At 15:00, after 9 hours of relentless, exhausting combat, engineers directed by Cota successfully blasted through the 9-foot-tall concrete anti-tank wall blocking the Dog One Draw, allowing tanks and supply trucks to stream off the blood-soaked sand. The gateway to Europe was finally open.

A legacy written in sand and stone

Omaha: 24 Hours in Normandy concludes with a moving visit to the Normandy American Cemetery, situated on the very cliffs overlooking the now-peaceful waters of Omaha Beach. 

Omaha Beach was undeniably a place of horrific sacrifice, costing over 4,000 Allied casualties in a single day. It is often remembered as a near-disaster, yet as Professor Livingston powerfully demonstrates, it was ultimately a triumph of individual initiative. 

The sacrifice of the first wave drew the enemy’s fire, buying precious time for the survivors and subsequent waves to exploit the chinks in the Atlantic Wall, secure the beachhead, and open the long road to Berlin – and eventual liberation of Europe.

Watch Omaha: 24 Hours in Normandy now on History Hit, and discover the extraordinary grit, raw courage, and independent initiative of the soldiers who broke the Atlantic Wall.

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Though initially intended as a temporary outpost, this hidden megalith became Hitler’s primary residence for over 800 days of the war. In History Hit’s gripping new documentary, Inside the Wolf’s Lair, presenter Luke Tomes and Third Reich expert Johnny Whitlam trek into the freezing, snow-covered ruins of modern-day Poland to unearth the concrete ghosts of the Nazi war machine. Together, they chart how this ultra-fortified sanctuary ultimately transformed into an isolation chamber, tracking the rapid deterioration of Hitler’s mind and body as his grand delusions of global conquest unravelled into catastrophic defeat.

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Engineering an impenetrable sanctuary

The documentary takes viewers past crumbling perimeter fences into what was once one of the most secure locations on earth. Designed by Fritz Todt – the regime’s chief engineer famously responsible for the Autobahn and the Atlantic Wall – the Wolf’s Lair was constructed under total secrecy. Nestled within thick woodland to provide natural canopy camouflage against Allied aerial reconnaissance, the fortress (just 20 miles from the Russian border) was further protected by surrounding lakes, treacherous marshes, and three heavily fortified security zones.

To reach the inner core where Hitler and his top deputies resided, a visitor had to navigate a 10-kilometre outer fence, a 200-metre-wide minefield, machine-gun nests, and interlocking anti-aircraft batteries. The paths inside were deliberately curved to obscure lines of sight in the event of a ground invasion. As Whitlam notes, it was engineered as “a concealment within a concealment within a concealment.” It was so well hidden that the Allies never successfully discovered or bombed it during its operation.

Aerial production shot of part of the Wolf’s Lair bunker complex

Image Credit: History Hit

Building this massive city of concrete and timber required a staggering 36 million Reichsmarks – equivalent to hundreds of millions of dollars today. Labouring through the brutal sub-zero winter of 1940 to 1941, thousands of forced laborers poured hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of reinforced concrete to construct the massive bunkers. Today, the sheer thickness of the exposed steel-and-concrete walls stands as a grim monument to the hubris of the regime.

Court of the dictator: isolation and paranoia

Inside the Wolf’s Lair provides an intimate look at the surreal, claustrophobic daily life inside Hitler’s court. Stripping away the postwar myth of a highly efficient military command, the documentary exposes a routine driven by isolation and dynamic instability. Hitler maintained a highly peculiar schedule: waking around 11am, spending hours reading newspapers in bed, and delaying critical midday military briefings so late that lunch was routinely served at 5pm.

Deep within the bunkers, Hitler surrounded himself with absolute sycophants, holding court and talking about his victories in the First World War until 3 or 4am. As Whitlam notes, “people who are closest to Hitler in here had the feeling that he couldn’t bear to be alone.”

Third Reich expert Johnny Whitlam talks to Luke Tomes about the claustrophobic daily life inside Hitler’s court.

Image Credit: History Hit

Generals like Wilhelm Keitel (mocked by his peers as Lackeitel or “Lackey-tel”) and Alfred Jodl were selected not for their independent strategic brilliance, but for their willingness to convert Hitler’s increasingly disastrous directives into official military policy without contradiction.

As the war turned sour, this profound disconnect from reality grew fatal. While German soldiers starved and froze in temperatures hitting -40C on the Eastern Front without winter clothing, the Nazi elite remained insulated within their heated bunkers, managing the war through propaganda newsreels and maps.

Turning points and shattered delusions

The documentary expertly traces how the cracks in the concrete walls mirrored the fractures in the regime’s military fortunes. Viewers are guided to the colossal ruins of Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring’s bunker – a towering 36-foot structure built to withstand direct aerial hits. It stands as a physical manifestation of overpromised and undelivered military might. It was from here that Göring confidently promised to supply the trapped German Sixth Army during the catastrophic Battle of Stalingrad – a logistical failure that ultimately cost hundreds of thousands of lives and permanently broke the back of the Wehrmacht.

Luke Tomes and Johnny Whitlam look at Goering’s bunker at Wolf’s Lair

Image Credit: History Hit

Following the turning points of Stalingrad and Kursk, the mood inside the Wolf’s Lair shifted from jubilant arrogance to profound paranoia. Hitler increasingly isolated himself, his physical condition declining rapidly. Eyewitness accounts from 1943 noted that the dictator appeared to have aged 15 years in a fraction of that time – stooping heavily, his skin turning gray, and his left hand shaking continuously from what modern historians suspect was Parkinson’s disease.

To combat his declining health and keep him in a good mood, his personal physician, Theodor Morell, injected him daily with a volatile cocktail of experimental drugs and unorthodox supplements, reducing the Führer to a dependent, drug-addled recluse.

Hitler’s Bunker at the Wolf’s Lair

Image Credit: History Hit

The July Plot and the Final Reckoning

The climax of the fortress’s history arrived on 20 July 1944, when Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg carried a briefcase packed with plastic explosives into a briefing room, mere feet from the dictator. The documentary walks viewers through the remnants of the blast site, examining the fine margins that allowed Hitler to survive the explosion with minor injuries – namely, a heavy oak table leg that deflected the blast energy and the fact that the meeting had been moved to a less confined wooden briefing hut due to the summer heat.

Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini visit Hitler’s damaged headquarters in East Prussia after an attempt on Hitler’s life there in July 1944 by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.

Image Credit: History Hit / Hulton Deutsch/Corbis/Getty Images

Hitler viewed his survival as divine validation, unleashing a sweeping witch hunt across Germany that resulted in thousands of executions and brought the military under total Nazi Party control. Yet, no amount of terror could stop the red army advancing from the east. On 17 August 1944, Soviet forces crossed into the borders of the German Reich for the first time.

On 20 November 1944, a broken and defeated Hitler left his East Prussian fortress for the last time, retreating to Berlin. Two months later, in January 1945, departing German demolition squads packed the bunkers with explosives, destroying their own sanctuary so that nothing of value would fall to the enemy.

Inside the Wolf’s Lair is a haunting, profound journey into the literal and psychological heart of the Third Reich. By exploring these colossal, moss-covered ruins, the documentary uncovers the definitive blueprint of how absolute power, absolute isolation, and absolute delusion systematically destroyed an empire.

Watch Inside the Wolf’s Lair now on History Hit, and journey deep into the frozen forests of East Prussia to uncover the hidden ruins of Hitler’s command centre.

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In Rise of Augustus, historians including Tristan Hughes, Dr Hannah Cornwell, Adrian Goldsworthy, and Dr Simon Elliot explore how a frail and inexperienced teenager transformed himself into the most powerful man in the Roman world. Caesar may have destabilised the Republic, but Augustus rebuilt its ruins into an empire that endured for centuries. 

The documentary examines how Octavian survived an era of violence and political collapse through ruthless pragmatism, calculated alliances, and a remarkable understanding of public image. More than a military leader, Augustus was a political architect who understood that perception could be as powerful as armies.

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Born into a Republic in decline

Octavian was born in 63 BC during the final years of the Roman Republic. By then, Rome was already dominated by corruption, rivalry, and civil unrest. Powerful generals controlled private armies, while senators fought for influence and wealth.

Growing up fatherless, Octavian learned early that noble birth alone meant little. Calculated ambition and careful political positioning mattered far more. Aged 12, he delivered a public funeral speech for his grandmother Julia, the sister of Julius Caesar. The speech openly connected him to Caesar, already one of Rome’s most influential and controversial figures.

Caesar soon recognised potential in the young aristocrat and gradually drew him into his circle. But closeness to Caesar also meant danger.

Caesar’s war and the rise of an heir

When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC, he defied the Senate and triggered a civil war that divided Rome. Caesar’s enemies, led by Pompey the Great, fought to preserve the Republic, while Caesar pursued greater authority. The teenage Octavian found himself in a position of immediate, terrifying vulnerability. 

The multi-continental civil war completely reshaped the Mediterranean, and eventually reached Egypt. The sudden, shocking execution of Pompey by local rulers hoping to win Caesar’s favour and the entrance of Cleopatra VII and her alliance with Caesar created a volatile political environment, especially after the birth of Caesarion, Cleopatra’s son. For Octavian, the existence of another possible heir threatened his future before it had properly begun.

Everything changed in 44 BC with Caesar’s assassination. A group of senators believed killing him would restore the Republic, but instead they plunged Rome into chaos.

Dr Hannah Cornwell, Associate Professor in Roman History

Image Credit: History Hit

At just 18 years old, Octavian received astonishing news while studying across the Adriatic: Caesar had named him his adopted son and principal heir. Against his family’s advice, he returned to Rome to claim the inheritance and took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.

Rome’s political elite underestimated him. The orator Cicero believed Octavian could be used against Mark Antony and later discarded. Instead, the teenager rapidly built support among Caesar’s veterans, raised a private army, and forced his election as consul at only 19.

Soon afterward, Octavian allied himself with Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus to form the Second Triumvirate, a legally recognised dictatorship that stood above the Senate. To fund their war against Caesar’s assassins, they introduced proscriptions – official death lists that led to mass executions and confiscated property.

The violence shocked Rome. Even Cicero, once convinced he could control Octavian, became one of the victims.

Dr Simon Elliot, historian and author

Image Credit: History Hit

Antony, Cleopatra, and the Battle for Rome

After defeating Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi, the triumvirs divided the Roman world. Antony took the wealthy eastern provinces, while Octavian controlled Italy and the West.

The alliance quickly deteriorated. Antony became increasingly tied to Cleopatra and Egypt, while Octavian remained in Rome building support. Using propaganda with extraordinary skill, Octavian portrayed Antony as a Roman leader corrupted by a foreign queen.

One of his boldest political moves came when he illegally seized Antony’s private will and read it publicly, fuelling outrage among Romans. Octavian then framed the coming conflict not as another civil war, but as a patriotic struggle against Cleopatra – a strategy that united Rome behind him.

The decisive confrontation came at the naval Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Octavian’s forces defeated Antony and Cleopatra, who later took their own lives in Alexandria. With their deaths, Octavian became the sole ruler of the Roman world.

Adrian Goldsworthy, historian and author

Image Credit: History Hit

The creation of Augustus

Although Octavian now held complete power, he had witnessed his great-uncle murdered for acting like a king, and refused to repeat the mistake.

Instead of openly becoming a monarch, he carefully preserved the illusion that the Republic still existed. He adopted the modest title Princeps, meaning “first citizen,” while quietly controlling the army, government, and finances. He also accepted the honorific name Augustus.

Under Augustus, Rome entered a long period of peace and stability after decades of civil war. Many citizens willingly accepted the loss of political freedom in exchange for order and prosperity under the illusion of a free republic.

The empire Augustus created lasted for centuries and reshaped the western world. His political system became the model for imperial rule long after Rome itself declined.

Rise of Augustus is more than the story of a Roman emperor. It is the story of how modern autocracy was born. Augustus succeeded not simply because he defeated his enemies, but because he mastered the art of ruling without appearing to rule.

Through intelligence, patience, and relentless calculation, the overlooked teenager who inherited Caesar’s name transformed himself into the architect of one of history’s greatest empires.

Watch Rise of Augustus on History Hit to uncover the definitive story of the man who rewrote the rules of power to form the blueprint of the modern empire

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In the latest episode of History Hit’s Rebels series, conflict analyst Professor Michael Livingston investigates the enigma of Simon de Montfort. Was he a noble visionary or a power-hungry aristocrat who plunged the realm into a merciless civil war? By exploring towering fortresses like Kenilworth Castle and analysing rare medieval manuscripts, Rebels: Simon de Montfort reveals a complex narrative. It is a story driven by personal charisma and bitter grudges, ultimately exposing the violent, high-stakes origins of England’s political reform.

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The rise of an unlikely favourite

The story of Simon de Montfort is an improbable one. A French noble with a tenuous claim to the Earldom of Leicester, he arrived in England in 1229 as a political nobody. Yet, through sheer “silver-tongued” charm and a pious nature that mirrored the King’s own religious devotion, he became an immediate royal favourite. 

Henry III was so taken with this charismatic newcomer that he allowed Simon to marry his sister, Eleanor, in a secret ceremony. It was a match that scandalised the established English barons, who watched with mounting resentment as this foreign “upstart” was welcomed into the very heart of the royal family.

Prof Livingston talks to Professor David Carpenter at Kenilworth Castle

Image Credit: History Hit

Friction and financial feuds

The “bosom of the royal family”, however, proved to be a nest of thorns. The relationship between the two men eventually soured, fuelled by de Montfort’s growing contempt for Henry’s perceived “simplicity.” While Simon was an intelligent and calculating strategist, he viewed the King as naive and emotional. This personal friction was exacerbated by massive financial grievances; Simon believed the King owed him and Eleanor a staggering sum – equivalent to the revenue of the entire kingdom. By the 1250s, the underlying tension was ready to ignite.

The spark was Henry’s disastrous and “imbecilic” rule. From a failed attempt to place his son on the throne of Sicily to the favouritism shown to his foreign relatives, the King had alienated his nobility. When the barons burst into Westminster in 1258, they forced Henry to agree to the ‘Provisions of Oxford’. This revolutionary document created a council of barons to oversee the King’s decisions, effectively attempting to install the machinery required to ensure a monarch obeyed the law. It was a direct challenge to the status quo, and it set England on a collision course with destiny.

Prof Livingston at Westminster Hall

Image Credit: History Hit

The machinery of war

The documentary vividly recreates the atmosphere of a kingdom sliding into all-out conflict. Professor Livingston explores the material culture of the era, from the heavy maille hauberks worn by 13th-century knights to the lethal daggers that served as the “ultimate killing weapon” in the close-quarters brutality of the Second Barons’ War. We see how Simon used both religious fervour and cold political strategy to bolster his cause, including the dark and mercenary targeting of England’s Jewish population – “effectively sort of economic resources for the king” explains historian Rory MacLellan – to drain the King’s resources and win over indebted nobles.

The birth of representative government

The climax of de Montfort’s rebellion came in 1264 at the Battle of Lewes, where he defeated the royalist forces and took both King Henry and Prince Edward prisoner. For a brief, extraordinary moment, Simon was the de facto ruler of England. During this time, de Montfort summoned the famous Parliament of 1265.

Professor Livingston visits the National Archives and talks to Dr Jessica Nelson, Head of Collections at the National Archives, who shows him the original record of the writs of summons, which had been sent out summoning people to the parliament which took place in January and February 1265.

Dr Jessica Nelson, Head of Collections at the National Archives in Kew, shows Prof Michael Livingston the record of the writs of summons sent out for the parliament of January and February 1265.

Image Credit: History Hit

While the document is framed as an official summons from King Henry III, we know Henry was a captive of Simon de Montfort, making his, in effect, a summons to de Montfort’s own parliament with the King serving as a mere puppet. The list of noble elites invited reveals the extent of this control: at the top sits the Earl of Leicester. “Of course, that’s Simon himself”, notes Dr Nelson, “so he’s top of the guest list for his own parliament.”

While parliaments were common for raising taxes, Simon’s version was revolutionary. For the first time in history, writs were sent out not just to the elites, but to “ordinary” representatives – two knights from each county and two citizens from each town. As Professor Livingston notes, while this was far from modern democracy, it was the embryonic beginning of what we now recognise as the House of Commons.

The escape of the Prince

Yet, holding power proved far more difficult than seizing it. The documentary explores the “cancer at the heart of the regime” – the captive royal family. De Montfort could not bring himself to depose or execute a King as pious as Henry, but his grip began to slip as powerful allies like the Earl of Gloucester deserted him. 

The turning point was the dramatic escape of Prince Edward, who outwitted his guards during a horse race and gathered a royalist army that outnumbered the rebels three to one.

Drawing of a stained glass window of Chartres Cathedral, depicting Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester

Image Credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The murder of Evesham

The final act played out in the loop of the River Avon at Evesham. Trapped by the geography of the landscape and bottled up by Edward’s forces, Simon de Montfort faced a choice: flee or fight. He chose the battlefield, famously remarking that a “knight’s place is on the battlefield, the chaplain’s in the church.” The resulting slaughter was so one-sided and vicious that chroniclers refused to call it a battle, labelling it instead “the murder of Evesham.”

In a chilling look at the end of a rebel, the episode examines the gruesome fate of de Montfort. The royalist death squad did not merely want him dead; they stripped him of his dignity and dismembered his body on the field. It was a brutal end for a man who had sought to bind the crown to the will of the people.

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, in rebellion against Henry III, dies at the Battle of Evesham

Image Credit: James William Edmund Doyle, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A lasting constitutional legacy

Though Simon fell at Evesham, his ghost continued to haunt the halls of power. Just two years later, the ‘Statute of Marlborough’ echoed many of the reforms he had championed, serving as a permanent reminder that the King’s power was not limitless. 

Professor Livingston concludes that while de Montfort’s revolution brought suffering and ultimately failed in its time, it represented the essential first steps toward the representative democracy we enjoy today. As Livingston notes, to understand the roots of our modern world, one must understand the man who dared to tell a King, “Enough.” 

Watch Rebels: Simon de Montfort on History Hit to witness the birth of a legend and the bloody dawn of Parliament.

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As stability finally takes hold, the sheer pace of reconstruction raises a critical question: how can a city’s ancient and colonial heritage be preserved amidst such accelerated change?

In History Hit’s compelling new documentary, Heritage After Conflict: Libya, Dan Snow visits this resilient Mediterranean port to explore how the conservation of historic sites and cultural heritage serves as a vital engine for social and community recovery. Produced in collaboration with the World Monuments Fund and the British Council, the film offers a unique perspective on the intersection of history and humanitarianism, examining why protecting a society’s past is a non-negotiable step in rebuilding its future.

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Barah Arts: The heart of the community

The journey begins at Barah Arts, an colonial-era Italian building located in the historic centre of Benghazi. Supported by the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund, the site serves as both a conservation project and a cultural hub.

Founder Hazem Ferjani explains that the name “Barah” means a “wide, welcoming place.” Here, volunteers gather to practice traditional crafts, poetry, music, and photography. For Hazem, the project is essential to maintaining Libyan identity. “If we forget who we are, there is no meaning to life,” he tells Dan. “We are Libyan. We have a heritage… We must deliver it to the new generation so they don’t forget who they are.”

By engaging local youth, Barah Arts demonstrates that cultural preservation isn’t just a luxury, but also a practical tool for community stability and long-term recovery.

Hazem Ferjani, founder of Barah Arts

El Manar Palace: A rebirth from the rubble

In the documentary, Dan examines the restoration of El Manar Palace, a prominent Benghazi landmark. Originally constructed in the 1930s as an administrative centre during the Italian fascist colonial period, the building was later heavily damaged when it became a literal battlefield. During the civil war, room-to-room fighting left the structure hollowed out by fire and riddled with structural cracks.

El Manar Palace, Benghazi

Dan meets with Wali Obiedy of the Benghazi Historic City Management Authority to discuss the decision to restore rather than demolish the site. While it might have been easier to bulldoze the ruins, Wali insists that doing so would be an act of communal amnesia. “This is part of the city’s memory,” he notes. “You cannot erase a huge part of the city’s memory and history.”

Viewers will see the results of this labour including original marble that survived the flames and Italian maker’s marks on restored mosaics. Rather than being hidden to obscure an uncomfortable colonial past, these details are being meticulously restored to provide a transparent account of Benghazi’s complex history.

Italian maker’s mark on restored mosaic within El Manar Palace

The cathedral and the Scably: Heritage for the people

The documentary doesn’t shy away from the scars of war. Dan gains rare access to the ruins of the Benghazi Cathedral. A landmark of the 1930s, the structure survived World War Two only to sustain heavy damage during more recent fighting.

Dan walks amongst the ruins of the Benghazi Cathedral

Image Credit: History Hit

John Darlington of the World Monuments Fund notes that the long-term survival of such sites often depends on finding new ways for them to serve the modern community. This “people-first” practical approach to heritage is also reflected in the restoration of open spaces like the Scably, one of the city’s oldest neighbourhood squares.

By prioritising the cleaning and landscaping of these communal areas, the project emphasises that cultural preservation and heritage isn’t just about grand monuments – it includes functional public spaces where residents of all ages gather and socialise.

John Darlington from the World Monuments Fund and Hazem Ferjani from Barah Arts talk to locals in Benghazi about what they would like to see in public spaces

Image Credit: History Hit

From Berenice to Cyrene: A 2,500-year legacy

The documentary also examines the broader region of Cyrenaica, an area settled by the Greeks over 2,500 years ago as part of the ‘Pentapolis’ – a group of five cities that included Berenice (modern-day Benghazi).

At the epic Temple of Zeus in Cyrene, Dan reflects on the potential for heritage tourism to eventually support and boost Libya’s economy. However, as Mona Habib from the British Council explains, the primary goal remains safeguarding. “When you’re protecting the heritage, you’re protecting the people around it. You’re protecting their memories,” she says.

The documentary highlights the essential role of local NGOs in this effort. Because they live and work among these ancient sites, they possess a level of outreach and trust that international organisations may not easily achieve.

Mona Habib from the British Council at the Temple of Zeus in Cyrene

Image Credit: History Hit

Heritage After Conflict: Libya offers a rare window into the delicate balance between destruction and rebirth, from the scarred remains of the Italian Cathedral to the meticulous restoration of El Manar Palace. 

Yet, as this thought-provoking documentary reveals, this journey from the urban pulse of Benghazi to the ancient heights of Cyrene is about far more than the survival of stone and mortar. By spotlighting the local architects and visionaries dedicated to this recovery, the film demonstrates that heritage conservation is a vital engine for post-war social stabilisation and communal healing. 

Ultimately, it serves as a powerful reminder that while conflict can level a city’s skyline, the cultural identity forged within its walls remains a force that is far more difficult to extinguish.

Watch Heritage After Conflict: Libya now on History Hit and discover how a nation is reclaiming its past to secure its future.

Follow Dan Snow as he uncovers the spectacular Greek and Roman ruins of Cyrene, a true titan of the ancient world, in Ancient Adventures: Libya 

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In the compelling new documentary episode, Fort Laramie: America’s Road West, Don Wildman (host of American History Hit) journeys to the heart of Wyoming to peel back the layers of this iconic site. Far more than just a collection of restored buildings, Fort Laramie serves as a profound memorial to the “glittering misery” of frontier life, and the seismic cultural collision that changed the world of the Native American Plains Indians forever – forging the modern United States.

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The nexus of the Wild West

Between 1834 and 1890, almost every major character of the frontier drama passed through Fort Laramie’s gates: mountain men, fur traders, missionaries, Pony Express riders, soldiers, and Native American leaders.

The site lies at a strategic geographical crossroads – the confluence of the North Platte and Laramie Rivers. As Wildman explores, this location made the fort the essential resting point for those travelling the Oregon, Mormon, and California Trails. It is estimated that as many as a quarter of a million people passed through this outpost in search of a new life.

From fur trade to “glittering misery”

The documentary traces the fort’s humble beginnings in 1834, when a group of French-Canadian beaver hunters and American mountain men established a private trading post. For a decade, the relationship between European Americans and Native Americans was primarily commercial and relatively peaceful.

However, the discovery of gold in California in 1848 changed everything. The ‘trickle’ of migrants became a ‘flood’, with 30,000 fortune seekers passing through in 1849 alone. To protect these travellers, the US military purchased the fort. Wildman walks through ‘Old Bedlam’, the oldest standing building in Wyoming, to illustrate the life of the soldiers stationed there.

Park Ranger Clayton Hansen describes the soldiers’ lives as “glittering misery.” While the army maintained the pomp and circumstance of military drill on the parade grounds, the reality was a cramped, isolated existence in a climate that swung from 100°F summers to -40°F winters.

As Don notes, “Very rare are these kinds of places out here where you can actually see an embodiment of Western expansion in these buildings and walk around and feel what it must have felt like to be part of the Wild West.”

Don Wildman and Park Ranger Clayton Hansen visit ‘Old Bedlam’ at Fort Laramie – the oldest standing building in Wyoming

Image Credit: History Hit

The scar on the landscape

One of the most fascinating insights in the film comes from Dr Jeff Means, a member of the Lakota Sioux Nation and a Professor of History at the University of Wyoming. He explains how the mass migration didn’t just bring people; it physically severed the natural world.

The ‘Oregon Trail’ was not merely a wagon-width path; in some places, it was a half-mile-wide swath of churned mud and dust. Dr Means notes that the buffalo herds – the lifeblood of the Plains Indians – refused to cross this massive scar. This effectively split the great bison population into northern and southern herds, a biological disaster that devastated the nomadic way of life.

The broken Treaties and the ‘Grattan Battle’

The documentary dives deep into the high-stakes diplomacy and tragic misunderstandings that defined the era. Fort Laramie was the site of the great treaties of 1851 and 1868 – agreements intended to ensure ‘undisturbed use’ of land for Native Nations.

However, the film highlights how easily peace could shatter. Wildman recounts the Grattan Massacre (or the Grattan Battle) of 1854, an event sparked by the most trivial of causes: a single lost cow. What began as a dispute over a Mormon immigrant’s livestock ended in the deaths of a US lieutenant, his entire detachment, and the Lakota Chief Conquering Bear. This ‘first domino’ fell into a decades-long war for the plains, fuelled by retribution, broken promises, and the relentless drive of ‘Manifest Destiny.’

Dr Jeff Means, a member of the Lakota Sioux Nation and a Professor of History at the University of Wyoming

The legacy of the Plains

As the 19th century drew to a close, the strategic importance of Fort Laramie waned. The Native Nations were confined to shrinking reservations, and by 1890, the military marched out for the last time. Interestingly, the fort survived not through government preservation, but thanks to homesteaders who moved into the old military buildings, sustaining the site until its official restoration in the 1930s.

Fort Laramie: America’s Road West is an essential watch for anyone looking to understand the true cost of westward expansion. By interviewing descendants of those who lived through these events, Wildman ensures that the story is told from multiple perspectives – not just as a tale of triumph, but as a narrative of profound loss and survival.

Join Don as he walks through ‘Old Bedlam’ and the meticulously reconstructed post-trader stores to see what life was really like on the western frontier; hear from Indigenous historians who provide a vital counter-narrative to traditional frontier myths; and explore the stunning landscape where the Great Plains meet the Rockies, preserved as a ‘time capsule’ of the 1800s.

Fort Laramie stands today as a haunting reminder of a world changed forever. It is a place where diplomacy failed, where cultures collided, and where the road west was paved with both hope and heartbreak.

Watch Fort Laramie: America’s Road West now on History Hit and step into the eye of the frontier storm.

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But what if the cliches are wrong?

In the gripping second episode of Queen Jane: The Extraordinary Life of Lady Jane Grey, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb goes in search of the truth about the young Tudor claimant who held the throne for less than two weeks. Peeling back the romanticised layers of myth, Suzannah reveals a woman of formidable intellect, startling agency, and the kind of “chutzpah” that history has spent centuries trying to erase.

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Power bought at the altar

On 25 May 1553, Durham House in London hosted a triple wedding orchestrated by the Duke of Northumberland. The centrepiece was the union of Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guildford Dudley. This was power bought at the altar – a desperate, strategic binding of England’s Protestant elite as the young King Edward VI lay dying.

Accounts suggest Jane was beaten into submission by her parents to accept the match. Yet, even as she was being used as a pawn, the dying King was busy with a pen, subverting centuries of tradition. Edward’s ‘Device for the Succession’ bypassed his Catholic half-sister, Mary, and placed the crown directly on Jane’s head.

Edward VI’s ‘Device for the Succession’

Image Credit: Inner Temple Legal Library / History Hit

The rise of a rebel queen

The moment of transformation occurred on 9 July 1553. Summoned to Syon House, Jane was met by the senior noblemen of the realm, who, kneeling before the teenager, delivered shattering news: King Edward was dead, and she was now Queen of England.

In Episode Two, Suzannah captures the visceral shock of this moment. Jane did not reach for the crown; instead, she collapsed in a torrent of weeping grief. But as she composed herself in London, a second drama was unfolding in East Anglia. As Professor Lipscomb notes, “the vast majority of the population knew who they thought should be next in line to the throne, and it was not Lady Jane Grey”.

The episode tracks the unexpected rise of Mary Tudor, who transformed almost overnight into a formidable rebel leader. Suzannah visits the Inner Temple Library to examine an extraordinary document dated 9th July 1553 – the very day Jane learned she was Queen. Signed decisively ‘Mary the Queen’ and sent before Jane was even proclaimed Queen in London, the letter is a masterclass in strategic foresight. With blank spaces left for names, it was clearly one of many copies prepared to demand allegiance from the nation’s elite. As Suzannah observes, “What I think is fascinating about this is it shows how quick Mary is to act”. 

Document showing Mary proclaiming ‘Mary the Queen’, with portrait of Queen Mary I of England (by Antonis Mor, 1554) overlaid.

Image Credit: Document: Inner Temple Library. Portrait: by Antonis Mor / Museo del Prado. Both Public Domain

Suzannah is joined by Professor Anna Whitelock at Framlingham Castle to explore how Mary evolved from a political “outlier” into a commander on a war footing. “If you think about the great lengths that Henry VIII had gone to, to avoid this moment – he needed a male heir… what’s really interesting is over these days in July, gender wasn’t an issue” says Anna.

While the Privy Council dismissed Mary as a “country bumpkin,” she was busy playing her trump card: legitimacy. Thousands flocked to her banner, moved by the long shadow of her father, Henry VIII.

Jane the Queen: A show of authority

By now, Jane had spent three days in the Tower of London, deep in preparations for her coronation. Despite her youth, Jane was far from a puppet. Once she stepped into her role, Jane exercised a remarkable degree of independent authority.

In one of the documentary’s most revealing moments, Suzannah explores how Jane confronted the very men who had placed her on the throne. When the Lord High Treasurer suggested a crown be made for her husband, Guildford, Jane’s response was absolute: she vetoed the move, refusing to make him King and offering only the title of Duke. It was an extraordinary act of power for a 16 year-old girl in a patriarchal age.

The Streatham Portrait of Lady Jane Grey, believed to be based on a contemporary woodcut

Image Credit: National Portrait Gallery / Public Domain

As Mary arrived at Framlingham, the Privy Council in London resolved to meet Mary’s rebel forces in the field, dispatching the Duke of Northumberland to East Anglia to crush the uprising. Yet as the crisis intensified, Jane – isolated from direct events but sharp enough to recognise the shifting winds – realised she could no longer trust her own Council. Operating with decisive grit, she ordered a heavy guard be mounted around the Tower and effectively locked the Council in with her. 

Even as power began to slip from her grasp, Jane continued to wield what influence she could. On 18 July, she dispatched urgent letters to powerful landowners, issuing explicit commands to muster all available forces to repress the ‘tumults and rebellions’ threatening her crown.

Ultimately, however, her fate rested on her popularity with a nation she barely knew. As Suzannah observes, “As Queen, Jane played her cards well, but she could not change the hand that she had been dealt.”

Framlingham Castle

Image Credit: History Hit

The mutiny

The tide turned not on a battlefield, but through a series of mutinies and defections. In Episode Two, Suzannah discovers more about the “audacious play” that broke Jane’s reign.

Northumberland’s six royal warships, sent to block Mary’s path, had been forced into port by a storm. In a local tavern, a member of Mary’s household learned of the stranded ships and seized the moment, persuading the disgruntled, unpaid crews to switch their allegiance. It was a massive coup: the very fleet designed to stop Mary from getting artillery had now supplied it.

Discussing the mutiny’s impact on Jane’s claim to the throne, Suzannah meets historian Dr Stephan Edwards, who explains how this indicates how “the average man did not seem to support Jane.” 

The fall

As the Navy deserted and Northumberland’s army melted away, the “Nine Days” came to a crashing end. By 19 July, Jane’s Privy Council faced a stark truth. Reports confirmed that Mary’s support was rapidly growing. The nobles on the Council found even their own tenants were actively refusing their summons. It was now that that most Councillors abandoned the Tower, switching sides to survive.

When Jane’s own father delivered the news that Mary was Queen, Jane’s reaction was not anger, but relief. 

1910 depiction of Mary I entering London triumphantly, 15 days after the Council deposed Jane Grey and proclaimed Mary the new Queen (by John Byam Liston Shaw, 1910)

Image Credit: John Byam Liston Shaw, Palace of Westminster collection / PD-Art / Public Domain

The piety of a rebel

Queen Mary decided to pardon the majority of those who’d attempted to put Jane on the throne, but did not spare John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, who was executed on 22 August, 1553. Jane was left in limbo, locked up in the Tower for months.

Following a humiliating trial at the Guildhall in November, where both she and her husband pleaded guilty to high treason, Jane was returned to the Tower of London, this time as a prisoner. Although sentenced to be burned alive or beheaded at the Queen’s pleasure, Jane did not even pale at the news. However, for now, Queen Mary suspended the sentence, still hoping to avoid executing her young cousin.

In January, 1554, Queen Mary’s leniency towards Jane was shattered by the Wyatt’s Rebellion Protestant uprising. Disastrously for Jane, her own father, Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk had joined the rebellion. Put in an impossible position, Queen Mary signed Jane and her husband Guilford’s death warrant.

Even in the face of death, Jane remained a “brilliantly gifted” rebel. From her prison cell, she channelled her intellectual energy into fierce rhetoric, chiding those who abandoned their faith. 

Suzannah and British Library curator Dr Andrea Clark examine the very prayer book Jane carried to the scaffold – a symbol of the Protestant conviction she refused to abandon even when offered a pardon.

After watching her husband’s butchered remains carted past her window, Jane stepped onto Tower Green on 12 February 1554. Her final words were not those of a victim, but of a woman who had mastered her own narrative.

The afterlife of an icon

Finally, Suzannah examines the enduring ‘afterlife’ of Lady Jane Grey. In conversation with Verity Babbs at the National Gallery, she explores how romanticised art – most notably Paul Delaroche’s iconic 1833 masterpiece – has fuelled our obsession with Jane as a passive “damsel in distress”.

Production shot of Verity Babbs and Prof Suzannah Lipscombe discussing Paul Delaroche’s ‘The Execution of Lady Jane Grey’ painting at the National Gallery.

Image Credit: History Hit

By scraping away these layers of myth, the film reveals a far more compelling, brilliant, and self-aware figure. Jane emerges as a formidable intellect who navigated impossible circumstances with startling strength of character.

Step inside the Tower, walk the halls of Syon House, and discover the true strength of England’s most misunderstood monarch.

Watch Queen Jane: The Extraordinary Life of Lady Jane Grey – Episode Two now on History Hit to discover the true face of the ‘Nine Days’ Queen’

Watch Episode One here

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In History Hit’s new documentary, The Ambassadors: Mysteries of a Tudor Masterpiece, Dr Tracy Borman takes us on a high-stakes detective trail. From the private galleries of the National Gallery in London to the sacred floor of Westminster Abbey, Tracy unpicks the secrets of a painting that is far more than a simple portrait; it is a coded message from the eye of a political storm.

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A world turned upside down

To understand the painting, one must understand the year it was created. In 1533, England was a tinderbox. Henry VIII had secretly married Anne Boleyn, annulled his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and effectively declared war on the religious authority of Rome.

It was into this volatile atmosphere that two French emissaries arrived on a mission for King Francis I of France: Jean de Dinteville, a magnificent 28-year-old nobleman, and Georges de Selve, a soberly dressed churchman – who may have been playing a double game as a spy for Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor.

History Hit’s Annie and Bill filming at the National Gallery

Image Credit: History Hit

The detective trail

Tracy Borman, who recently authored the National Gallery’s guide to the painting, explains that The Ambassadors is a “treasure trove of hidden meanings” that reveal the chaos of the Tudor court.  

“For a long time, there was a lot of debate about who these two men were,” Tracy notes. Why is a tiny, insignificant French village marked on the globe? And why does the floor beneath the men’s feet bear a forensic resemblance to the exact spot where Anne Boleyn was crowned?

Symbols of discord

The shelves between the two men are cluttered with weird and wonderful objects, but look closer and the ‘harmony’ of the scene begins to unravel:

• The broken string: On the lower shelf, a lute sits with a broken string – a stark symbol of religious and political division in Europe.
• The missing flute: A case of flutes is missing one instrument, further emphasising a world out of tune.
• The upside-down globe: A terrestrial globe depicts Europe upside down, focusing on Rome and Nuremberg – the flashpoints of the Reformation.

Production shot of Tracy Borman pointing out the broken string of the instrument

Image Credit: History Hit

The spy game

To understand how these men operated, Tracy visits Hampton Court Palace. In the 16th century, diplomacy was a game of whispers and access. Ambassadors didn’t have ministries; they had the Great Watching Chamber.

This was the ultimate ‘waiting room’ where ambassadors and spies would whisper and gather gossip while waiting for an audience with the King – the perfect place to gauge the temper of the court. As Tracy explores the hierarchy of these spaces with Tudor historian, Dr Alden Gregory, from Historic Royal Palaces, they reveal the ‘tightrope’ these men walked, balancing the impatient ego of Henry VIII against the demands of their own royal masters – the most powerful masters in Europe.

Witnessing the coronation

One of the most thrilling revelations in the documentary is the direct link between the painting and the most controversial event of 1533: the coronation of Anne Boleyn.

Tracy is granted rare permission to walk on the Cosmati Pavement in Westminster Abbey – the exact spot where Anne was crowned. Strikingly, the floor beneath the feet of the two men in Holbein’s painting bears a forensic resemblance to this very pavement.

“The message is that even great monarchs are rendered tiny before God,” Tracy explains. By placing the ambassadors on this sacred pattern, Holbein is signalling that they were there – witnessing the very moment Henry’s new Queen was anointed, an event that would change European history forever.

Tracy Borman gets special permission to walk on the Cosmati Pavement in Westminster Abbey

Image Credit: History Hit

Death and salvation

Of course, no discussion of The Ambassadors is complete without its most famous mystery: the ‘weird distorted shape’ hovering at the men’s feet.

When viewed from a specific angle, the smudge snaps into perspective as a human skull – a chilling memento mori that despite their fine silks and scientific instruments, death is the ultimate equaliser.

When viewed from a specific angle, the distorted shape hovering at the men’s feet in ‘The Ambassadors’ painting snaps into perspective as a human skull

Image Credit: History Hit

But Tracy looks further. Hidden at the very edge of the frame, half-concealed by a green curtain, is a tiny silver crucifix. “It is a symbol of hope and salvation,” she says. “The message is that salvation is there for those who seek it”, even in a world that appears to be on the brink of disaster.

Inside the investigation

Follow Tracy Borman as she explores the National Gallery and Westminster Abbey at close quarters, gaining unprecedented access to the very spaces where Tudor history was written.

Tracy dives deep into Holbein’s creative process with Dr Emma Capron, Curator at the National Gallery, to uncover how the artist balanced raw talent with scientific precision. The documentary explores Holbein’s staggering technical mastery, revealing his close collaboration with the King’s astronomer, Nicholas Kratzer, to render intricate scientific instruments with a level of detail that rivals modern photography.

By unpicking these details, the film seeks to uncover the truth of a masterpiece that seems to foretell the dark future of Henry VIII’s reign and the looming tragedy of Anne Boleyn.

Tracy Borman talks to Dr Emma Capron, Curator of Early Netherlandish and German Painting at the National Gallery about The Ambassadors painting

Image Credit: History Hit

Hans Holbein didn’t just paint two men; he captured a snapshot of a civilisation in the midst of a nervous breakdown. Through Tracy Borman’s expert guidance, we can finally begin to understand what these two wily ambassadors were thinking as they stared out of the canvas 500 years ago.

Watch The Ambassadors: Mysteries of a Tudor Masterpiece now on History Hit and discover the secrets hidden in plain sight.

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Yet, in Britain’s darkest hour, Winston Churchill was secretly commissioning something far more extraordinary – and infinitely more brutal. Buried beneath the rolling hills of the English countryside was a secret network of civilian cells trained not to survive an invasion, but to sabotage it from within.

In History Hit’s new documentary, Churchill’s Secret Army, Dan Snow joins forces with historian Andy Chatterton from the Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team (CART) to unearth the incredible, forgotten story of the Auxiliary Units: a network of ‘Stay Behinds’ – ordinary men prepared to do the unthinkable.

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A guerrilla army in the shadows

Traditional history often focuses on the ‘thin crust’ of Britain’s coastal defences: the pillboxes, anti-tank ‘teeth’, and the heroic volunteers of the Home Guard. But while professional soldiers prepared for a head-on confrontation on the beaches, Churchill was assembling an invisible secondary force.

The Auxiliary Units (nicknamed the “Stay Behinds”) represented a radical rethinking of warfare. These men – often local farmers, gamekeepers, and miners – were chosen for their intimate, “back of the hand” knowledge of the terrain. They were the ones who could move through the woods at night as easily as they did in the day. Their mission was high-stakes sabotage: disappearing as the Germans advanced, only to emerge from the earth at night to blow up bridges, destroy ammo dumps, and assassinate high-ranking officers – crippling the enemy’s momentum to give the regular British Army precious time needed to counter-attack.

Operational bases

The reality of joining the Auxiliary Units was grim. Recruits were trained in the most silent and efficient ways to kill, practicing unarmed combat and learning exactly where to strike with a blade to ensure a silent death.

The secrecy required them to live in ‘Operational Bases’ (OBs) – remarkable underground structures hidden in caves, quarries, or even beneath innocuous outside toilets. Equipped with basic supplies and large quantities of explosives, these bunkers were designed to be a final home. Once an invasion began, the life expectancy for an auxiliary was estimated at just 2 weeks.

Andy Chatterton and Dan Snow discuss the training and tactics involved in being in the Auxiliary Units.

The brutality of secrecy

The secrecy was so absolute that families often had no idea why their husbands or fathers were slipping away into the night. But this silence had a darker edge. Auxiliaries were trained to be “utterly, utterly brutal” says Andy, striking psychological terror into the German ranks through the mutilation of enemy bodies. 

Most controversially, their orders included the assassination of any British collaborator, or even a fellow citizen who accidentally stumbled upon a hidden base. Secrecy was the only shield the Auxiliary Units had, and they were prepared to protect it at any cost.

Entrance to a concealed ‘Operational Base’ (OB) site.

Image Credit: History Hit

Unearthing the bunkers

For decades, these secret bunkers were left to rot, their locations kept only in the memories of the men who served. Because no official maps were ever made, researchers today rely on oral histories, forensic analysis, and pure luck. Evidence can be as subtle as a stray bit of wire trailed up a tree or a specific type of metal grate hidden in the forest floor.

Today, Andy and his team have located over 300 of these bunkers. In the documentary, Dan and Andy trek through steep terrain to locate newly identified bases, finding the physical remains of a network that most Britons never knew existed – from sticky bomb casings and pressure switches, to blown escape tunnels.

Andy Chatterton and Dan Snow inside a newly identified OB site.

Image Credit: History Hit

The Special Duties Branch

Alongside the saboteurs was the Special Duties Branch, an intelligence network responsible for relaying German movements. Their ingenuity was legendary; Dan explores a concealed bunker hidden beneath a functioning outside toilet, accessible only by a cunning release mechanism. As Dan says, “This is so exciting. I thought I’d seen it all and this really is like nothing I’ve experienced in 25 years.”

Andy Chatterton shows Dan the secret bunker entrance underneath an outside toilet.

Even if the Germans discovered the primary room, a second hidden wall – opened by a secret hook on a shelf – concealed the wireless operator. It was a setup designed for high-stakes espionage where the only exit strategy was often a final message followed by suicide to avoid capture.

The last of the auxiliaries

Dan meets 99-year-old Ken Welch, potentially the last surviving member of the ‘Exiliers.’ Ken shares the remarkable story of following his father into the woods as a teenager, only to discover his family’s patriarch was part of a secret army that he himself would later join.

Ken Welch identifies himself in a photograph of his time in the Auxiliaries. Ken’s father is also pictured to the far left of the photograph)

Ken just thought he was just joining a secret kind of Home Guard, which he was very excited about, “but I never considered the consequences if we were invaded” he says. “It didn’t worry me, like I didn’t think nothing’s going to happen to me”. 

A few years ago, researchers began digging into Ken’s auxiliary story and started combing the landscape for the potential location of his bunker, and astonishingly they found it. Dan and Andy take Ken back to his OB site he served in, which Ken hadn’t returned to since the end of the war – until now.

When the units were finally disbanded in 1944, there were no parades. They were issued a simple letter of thanks explaining that because their lives had depended on secrecy, no public thanks would ever be possible. They were even told they had to buy their own commemorative pin badge – their only token of recognition for preparing to die for their country. Andy explains how quite a few auxiliaries “just shut up the OB and went on with their ordinary life”.

Ken Welch with Dan Snow at Ken’s former OB site.

From the coal mines of Wales to the dense forests of the South Coast, these ‘OB’ sites stand as silent monuments to the men who were prepared to stay behind and fight a war in the dark. 

Watch now on History Hit to discover the secret history of the ‘Stay Behinds’ and the civilian cells that formed Britain’s last line of defence. You can follow Dan Snow as he crawls into underground bunkers that have remained sealed for 80 years and examine the ‘Countryman’s Diary,’ a lethal sabotage manual ingeniously disguised as a harmless rural almanac.

Churchill’s Secret Army is a haunting look at the absolute lengths Britain was willing to go to avoid surrender – a story of ordinary civilians prepared to do extraordinary, brutal things in the name of freedom, only to be asked to simply forget it ever happened once the danger had passed.

Watch Churchill’s Secret Army now on History Hit

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