Dan Jones (0:01)

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Alice Fraser (0:24)

Welcome to a new series of this Is History, A Dynasty to Die For. Before we get stuck into the story, a reminder that subscribers can get the next episode right now and ad free alongside a whole additional episode of bonus content. We'll play a clip at the end Night has fallen when the group of young men emerge from their hiding places and jog silently along the riverbank. They move quickly but carefully, finding their way by the light of the stars. It's mid October and beneath their feet the ground squelches, damp and slippery from rain showers and autumn leaves. On a night like this, in a place like this, just outside the walls of the city of Nottingham, it would be easy to get lost, or worse, caught by the guards. But at the head of the group darts a bold 26 year old called William Montague. Using hisses and low whistles, he keeps the group together, bringing them around the curve of a steep river cliff. Above that river cliff, glowering 130ft high, on top of the great rocky outcropping, stands Nottingham Castle. Their enemy lurks somewhere inside. Montague signals to his gang of men to halt. He strains his ears, then smiles. From inside the rock, echoing out from a slit in the cliff face, he hears a cough, and when he peers around the corner into the crevice, he lets out a sigh of relief. Flickering in the darkness, he can just make out the flame of a torch. It's held by the man they've agreed to meet. Montague's companions, about 16 of them, catch their breath as they await their next instruction. Montague points the way. The crevice opens into a secret tunnel. It's part of a whole warren of tunnels twisting deep inside the castle rock. They know what happens now. They've been planning it for days. The man with the torch, a senior official known as the castle's speculator, is going to lead them through this labyrinth, all the way from the cliff face to the heart of the castle. He'll get them through a door into the castle keep, the core of the fortress. After that, they're on their own. They'll have to have their wits about them, because their mission once they're inside the castle is one of the most audacious snatch and grab raids ever attempted. Holed up in Nottingham Castle is the man who controls England. His name is Roger Mortimer, Earl of March. Mortimer has been in power in England for three years, alongside his lover, Queen Isabella. Back in 1327, these two invaded the realm, kicked Isabella's useless husband, Edward II off the throne and had him gruesomely murdered. At first, people cheered, but over time, the liberators have turned into tyrants. The young men scampering through those damp, cramped tunnels have decided enough is enough. They plan to arrest Mortimer and free the country from his hateful rule. It's a huge risk. Mortimer is paranoid. He knows something is afoot. Over the last few days, he's dragged them all in for questioning about their loyalty to the regime. If even one of them has squealed, they're going towards certain death. This is very dicey. Yet if they don't do anything, England is ruined. So they have to try. As Montagu told them before they set out, it's better to eat the dog than to be eaten by the dog. The tunnel turns one final time and they arrive at the door that leads to the castle's keep. Their inside man, the speculator, opens it with a creak. The young men look at each other, nodding and quietly patting backs to give themselves the courage for what lies ahead. They draw their swords from their belts. The time for stealth is over. Now it's all about speed. They run through the door and head up a staircase into the heart of the castle. Montague leads the way. At the top of the stairs, there's another door. Montague kicks it open. He and all but one of his men burst into a brightly lit suite of private chambers belonging to Queen Isabella. The Queen is there. Mortimer is too. So's a squadron of armed guards. They all stare open mouthed at the invaders who've just appeared in their midst. Then there are screams and yells of shock. The Queen puts her hand to her mouth in horror, because what she alone can see is that lurking in the shadows outside the bedroom door, the only man hanging back is the person who's in ultimate charge of this operation. It's not Montague. It's her 17 year old son, Edward of Windsor. Or to give him his proper title, Edward iii, Plantagenet King of England. Edward is here. He's surrounded by his closest friends. He's armed and dangerous and no one, not even his mother, is going to stop him from getting his country back. I'm Dan Jones and from Sony Music Entertainment. 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They can get messy. And the Plantagenet family, whose fortunes we've been following on this podcast for the last five seasons or in historical time, 176 years, would stand a good chance of winning the Messiest Family of All Time award. But even by Plantagenet, high or low standards, what goes down at Nottingham Castle on The night of 19th October 1330 is hectic. A teenager not getting on with his stepdad. Well, that's one thing. A teenager deciding to bring a whole gang of his mates into a castle so they can grab the guy from under his mum's nose and plunge their swords through the guts of anyone who stands in their way. Welcome back to the world of the Plantagenets. But before we go into the details of what happens in the castle that night, we should probably backpedal and remind ourselves just what has brought young Edward and his wicked stepfather, Roger Mortimer, to this pretty pass in 1327, more or less, everyone in England had had it up to the back teeth with Edward II. His 20 year reign had been a relentless trash fire of dumbness, viciousness and national humiliation. Edward had indulged his favourites, insulted his nobles and alienated his wife. He was trounced by the Scots at Bannockburn and humiliated by the French over Gascony. When he was chased off the throne, forced to abdicate and put to death with either a feather mattress over his face or a red hot soldering iron jammed up his royal rectum. Sources differ. There weren't many people weeping for him. Still, it was a very big deal to depose a reigning king. The only thing that stopped things from completely exploding was that Edward II was replaced as king by his eldest son, Edward III. He was only 14 at the time, but that was close enough to manhood for him to be more than just a puppet. What's more, for a long time, young Edward III has struck people as being made from the right stuff. Yes, he's only a teenager, but he's a fast learner, intelligent and decisive. He's got a young wife, Philippa, who's about his age and by the time she's 16, by 1329, she's pregnant with their first son. So this is a young, fresh faced, promising new royal family in waiting. All the old guard needed to do in 1327 was to support them through their first difficult years and then hopefully watch them shine. But. And there's always a but, things haven't quite worked out that way. By 1330, Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabella have screwed things up almost as badly as Edward II ever did. They've made peace with the Scots, but on dire terms, abandoning the old claims of English overlordship in Scotland, which the English have fought for 30 years to enforce. They've drained the treasury of cash. Tens of thousands of pounds seem to have just vanished. The records Show there's literally 50 quid left in the bank. Royal officers can barely meet day to day expenses. Mortimer has sidelined the royal council and rules by decree. He's given himself the funky new title of Earl of March and grabbed enormous new estates. Now there are Rumours whipping round England that Mortimer has got the 34 year old queen Isabella pregnant and that if he has a son, he's going to try and put that kid on the throne. Mortimer hasn't exactly squashed those rumours. One chronicler writes that when he's in public with young Edward iii, he will arrogantly walk side by side with him, never letting the King go in front. Though sometimes doing that himself, it looks like he's panting to overthrow the royal blood and usurp His Royal Majesty. That's why the 17 year old Edward, backed by noble friends like William Montagu, have decided to act, no matter what the risk. They've timed their raid for the night before a council meeting in Nottingham, a day when they know Mortimer will be surrounded by his allies and when they can hope to decapitate his regime with one strike. So who are these young tyros? Well, there's Edward himself. Smart, brave, intelligent and impeccably royal. He's the grandson of both Edward Longshanks, England's last great warrior king, and Philip IV of France, the most feared French monarch in living memory. He's a brilliant leader, but with an ambition that can sometimes run ahead of his means and a love for living large, no matter what the cost or the wider circumstances. Then there's Montague, about 10 years older than Edward, but rapidly becoming his best friend. He's a baron's son who's grown up at court and he's a kind of big brother figure to the King. They have a lot of fun together. Both have a weakness for tournaments. It's a weakness that'll come back to haunt them. Them also in the 16 who storm Nottingham Castle are a pair of twins, Edward and William de Boone. They're about King Edward's age and their dad was the Earl of Hereford. A veteran of Bannockburn and a leading opponent of Edward ii, he died a gory death fighting for the rebel leader, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster. The Boone twins are warriors through and through and they're deeply loyal to each other and to young Edward iii. Others in the group are cut from similar cloth. Ralph Stafford and Robert Ufford, William Clinton and John Neville, all will form the nucleus of a future Edward III squad. We'll meet these men and more in good time, but if you want some extended introductions, then after this episode, hop over to this Is History plus plus, where producer Georgia and I will be going granular on Team Edward. Anyway, for now, let's get back to where we left these young bucks. Smashing through the door to Queen Isabella's chamber. They've got their swords in their hands, fire in their bellies, and a raging thirst for vengeance on one man above all others. Roger Mortimer is long overdue his comeuppance. And unless his bodyguards can stop Edward III and William Montague's band of brothers from laying their hands on him, that's exactly what he's going to get. 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