How Great a King was Henry III? with Darren Baker

How Great a King was Henry III? with Darren Baker

Author: Reign of London Tours November 16, 2025 Duration: 34:18

On the 16th November 1272 Henry III of England breathed his last.

The grandson of Eleanor of Aquitaine, son of King John and father of Edward I, he often gets overshadowed by his retrospectively more illustrious relatives and nemeses. Let’s look at the king who preferred peace to war, giving money instead of taking it, and who had one of the longest reigns in the history of the British isles. 

Let’s welcome back Darren Baker who has written a book on this topic titled Henry III: The Great King England Never Knew It Had, published with The History Press.


Darren's Books:


Henry III, his sister Eleanor, his wife Eleanor, his brother Richard

https://thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/henry-iii/

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Two-Eleanors-of-Henry-III-Hardback/p/16782/aid/1238

https://www.amberley-books.com/richard-of-cornwall.html

https://www.waterstones.com/author/darren-baker/243938

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/939368.Darren_Baker


Edward I

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Confessions-Chronicle-Lord-Edward-Longshanks-ebook/dp/B0DTZ17MSQ/


The House of de Montford

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Crusaders-and-Revolutionaries-of-the-Thirteenth-Century-Hardback/p/18631/aid/1238

https://www.amberley-books.com/simon-de-montfort-and-the-rise-of-the-english-nation.html


Join us for a London walking tour with Reign of London:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-the-royal-british-kings-and-queens-walking-tour-t426011

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-unsavory-history-guided-walking-tour-t428452


Find Baroque:

https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/

https://www.reignoflondon.com/

https://substack.com/@ifitaintbaroquepodcast


Support Baroque:

https://www.patreon.com/c/Ifitaintbaroquepodcast/

https://buymeacoffee.com/ifitaintbaroque


If you would like to join Natalie on her walking tours in London with Reign of London:

Saxons to Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-the-royal-british-kings-and-queens-walking-tour-t426011/

Tudors & Stuarts:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-tudors-stuarts-walking-tour-t481355/

The Georgians:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/royal-london-the-georgians-walking-tour-t481358/

Naughty London:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/london-unsavory-history-guided-walking-tour-t428452/


For more history fodder please visit https://www.ifitaintbaroquepodcast.art/ and https://www.reignoflondon.com/



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


There's a certain texture to the past that often gets smoothed over in textbooks. If It Ain't Baroque..., an independent history podcast from the team at Reign of London Tours, digs into that rich grain. Instead of a dry march through dates, each episode uses history as a lens-a prism, really-to examine the broader tapestry of life, culture, and the human experience. You'll hear stories where the grand narratives of politics and power intersect with the intimate details of everyday existence, revealing how people lived, thought, and felt in other times. The perspective offered here is grounded in a deep, practical knowledge of historical spaces and stories, moving beyond the abstract to something more tangible. This isn't about memorizing facts; it's about connecting threads from then to now. Tune in for a thoughtful, meandering exploration where a single artifact, a forgotten figure, or a specific event can open up a whole world of understanding. The result is a consistently engaging listen that reminds us how the past is never truly past, but always echoing in the foundations of our present.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

If It Ain't Baroque...
Podcast Episodes
The Book of Merlin with John Matthews [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:12
Good news - The New York Times Best-selling author JOHN MATTHEWS is back on the show, this time we’ll be talking about The Book of Merlin: Magic, Legend and History, published by Amberley.Who was Merlin?Did he actually e…
James VI & I and the Dawn of a Global Britain with Anna Whitelock [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:51
Please welcome historian Anna Whitelock and we’ll be talking today about her fabulous new book - The Sun Rising: James I and the Dawn of a Global Britain, published by Bloomsbury (UK) & Viking Press (USA).This is a wonde…
Melting Point with Rachel Cockerell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:42
Have you ever heard of Russian Jews seeking new life in Galveston, Texas, after the pogroms in Imperial Russia? Now you have.Today we talk to Rachel Cockerell, whose ancestor was responsible for this movement, and whose…
Reinventing… Margaret Beaufort with Lauren Johnson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:31
We continue our #MightyMargarets series!Good news! Lauren Johnson is back on the podcast, this time we’re talking about the great Tudor matriarch - Margaret Beaufort, the subject of Lauren’s upcoming book.Did Margaret kn…
Reinventing... Sir Thomas More with Dr Joanne Paul [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:17
We chat with Dr Joanne Paul about her new book - Thomas More: Life and Death in Tudor England. (published by Penguin in UK and Simon and Schuster in USA).Please pour yourself a cup of Countess Grey and start a drinking g…
What Matters in Jane Austen with John Mullan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:14
This year we’re celebrating 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen.Today we sit down with John Mullan about his book What Matters in Jane Austen?, which has just been re-released by Bloomsbury Publishing.What Matt…
The First Battle of St Albans with Jackson van Uden [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:21
Today is the anniversary of the First Battle of St Albans, which was fought in 1455, making it the first battle of the Wars of the Roses; and to talk about it today our guest is Jackson van Uden. Welcome back, Jackson!Fi…
Anna of Denmark, the First British Queen with Steven Veerapen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:52
Welcome to a new episode of our #StuartSpring series. We’l be talking to Steven Veerapen about his book on ANNA OF DENMARK, wife to James VI and I. Anna married James in 1589, thus becoming Queen Consort of Scotland, and…