This episode follows the troubled reign of King John, who inherited England after Richard the Lionheart but quickly became infamous for misrule. John’s loss of Normandy to France in 1204 humiliated the crown and drove him to impose crushing taxes on his barons. His quarrel with the Pope led to England being placed under interdict and John’s own excommunication, deepening resentment.

By 1215, after military defeat in France and mounting pressure at home, rebel barons forced John to meet them at Runnymede, where he sealed the Magna Carta. Though initially a list of baronial demands, it introduced principles that outlasted John—chiefly that no king was above the law. John soon tried to annul the charter, plunging England into civil war, but he died the following year.

The Magna Carta failed in its immediate goal, yet its legacy endured. Reissued in later reigns, it became the foundation of English constitutional tradition and an enduring symbol of liberty around the world.

This episode follows the reign of Richard I, the Lionheart, one of England’s most legendary kings. Crowned in 1189, Richard devoted his energy not to governing England but to fighting abroad. He led the Third Crusade, winning battles against Saladin but failing to retake Jerusalem. On his return, he was captured and held for an enormous ransom, which nearly bankrupted England.

Richard spent little time in his kingdom, focusing instead on wars in France against King Philip II. He died in 1199 from a crossbow wound during a siege. Though his reign left England heavily taxed and financially weakened, his courage and military genius made him a symbol of chivalry and heroic kingship. Richard’s absence and extravagance set the stage for his brother John’s troubled rule, where rebellion and the Magna Carta would redefine the crown.

This episode explores the rise of the Plantagenet dynasty under Henry II, who ascended the throne in 1154. Inheriting England and vast French lands, Henry built what became known as the Angevin Empire. He restored royal authority after The Anarchy, demolished unauthorized castles, and introduced sweeping legal reforms that laid the foundation of English common law and trial by jury.

But Henry’s reign was also scarred by conflict. His bitter struggle with Archbishop Thomas Becket, which ended with Becket’s murder in Canterbury Cathedral, revealed the dangers of royal power clashing with the Church. Even more painful were the betrayals within his own family: his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine and their sons repeatedly rebelled against him, leaving Henry broken by the end of his reign.

His successors, including Richard the Lionheart and later John, would continue the Plantagenet story, filled with crusades, charters, and new struggles for the crown. Episode 10 closes the first arc of England’s birth, showing how Henry II forged law, empire, and dynasty, but also how ambition and betrayal ran deep within the roots of the Plantagenets.