Actor, author, comedian – is there anything Charlie Higson hasn’t done? Well what you may not know about the former Fast Show star is that he is also something of a history buff. In 2023, Higson launched his podcast Willie Willie Harry Stee in which he explored the history of the Monarchy through interviews with noted historians, and even had a book released earlier this year. But his fascination with with the past is nothing new and goes all the way back to his childhood and love for historical fiction. Now, ahead of his appearance at Chalke Festival, Charlie spoke to us about Lady Bird history books, historical rhymes and the gruesome death of Edward II…
What is your connection to history? Have you always been a history fan?
Well in Britain we are surrounded by so much history and it still affects our daily lives. But when I was younger I was very interested in the ancient world, the Greeks and the Romans. As a child I read a lot of historical fiction. Growing up in the 1960s, it was a kind of golden age for historical fiction for kids, the likes of Geoffrey Trease and Henry Treece, Mary Renault – all these great writers. That’s really probably what got me into it – and Lady Bird history books! Which are a fantastic resource for me, with my light historical research! But no, I loved stories, whether they were historical or legends or anything. Essentially, if they were about men with swords, they were probably my way into history! Be they Vikings, Greeks, Romans – that was how I got into history and then I progressed from there.
How did you come to be involved with Chalke History Festival?
By chance, really. I’d met Tom Holland a couple of times at literary events, and I’d read his book Rubicon, which I thought was brilliant. He turned out to be a fan of the Fast Show and so we got on really well. Then [his brother] James Holland got in touch. This was in the very early days of the festival. They were setting up a prize for young people to write historical fiction and James asked me to come and judge. James said, “Look, while you’re there, Charlie, why don’t you do some kind of historical talk as well?”. As I was writing the Young Bond novels at the time I did something on the history of James Bond. I also hosted a live quiz show called History Onyx and we’ve been doing that ever since. Going to Chalke, meeting all the historians and getting involved in that world, it rubbed off on me in a big way!
What led you to create a history podcast?
There was a time when everybody was doing podcasts, and a couple of people, like Bob Mortimer, said to me, “Charlie, you’ve got to do one!”. I think they assumed I would do something about comedy, but I didn’t have any ideas for that and didn’t get very excited. During COVID, I remembered an old rhyme that I’d learned at school; Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee, Harry, Dick, John, Harry, Three, etc – which is a way of remembering all the monarchs in order from start to finish. To keep myself sane during lockdown, I decided to learn about all these monarchs and then, at Chalke, I did a talk on how they had all died. I got obsessed with this weird saga about a very dysfunctional family. I thought that it would make a great narrative podcast. You do an episode on each Monarch in order, starting with William the Conqueror and ending in the present day. Each episode I do a sort of potted history and then I bring in an expert to fill in the gaps and see what bits I’ve got wrong! I’ve had amazing guests on it, and for me probably the most fun part has been talking to historians.
Who is your favourite Monarch?
There are some that are much more fun to write about. Edward II is an interesting one, because his story is so extraordinary and fascinating and horrible – all at the same time! Several historians have said to me, of all the monarchs from that period, the one that would be most fun to go down the pub with would probably be Edward II. He didn’t have any airs and graces, he had a very good sense of humor and he would talk to basically anyone. However, he upset his wife and all his barons and came to a terrible, terrible end.
Do you have a particular favorite Monarch death, or one that you find particularly gruesome?
Well it’s everyone’s favorite, really; Edward II again, with the sharp object inserted in his posterior – whether it happened or not. It’s one of those, ‘how do I get someone interested in the history of the monarchs who aren’t necessarily interested?’ moments, ‘I know I’ll tell them the story about Edward II’s second terrible, terrible death!’ But you know, most of the ones in the middle ages died from some form of diarrhea, under the all-purpose banner of dysentery. Huge numbers of them died like that. We think about ‘the glory of the monarchs’ yet most of them came to a horrible end. But you can’t beat Edward II, really, can you?
What can you tell us about your upcoming talk at Chalke Festival?
Well, as I said before, for years now, I’ve been going and cobbling together some kind of a talk. Now, finally, I have my own history book to talk about! It’s my history of the monarchy with fantastic illustrations by the wonderful Jim Moyer, who a lot of people will know better as Vic Reeves, and so I’m really excited to actually be there, for the first time, as a kind of ‘bona fide’ historian. I’ll be talking about my book and sharing my enthusiasm for this insane family saga.
Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee: An Epically Short History Of Our Kings And Queens is out now from HarperCollins Publishers
Subscribe to
All About History now for amazing savings!
