British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley - Season 1

The series begins with the dynastic conflict we know today as the Wars of the Roses. Lucy will explore how Shakespeare's vision of the conflict in his history plays has fixed the way that we look at the conflict between the houses of Lancaster and York. But he based his version of events on a narrative invented and shaped by the victorious Lancastrian who went on to found the Tudor dynasty, Henry VII. Lucy reveals how Shakespeare elevated that invention into one of our most powerful national stories.

In this episode, Lucy debunks another of the biggest fibs in British history - the 'Glorious Revolution'.

In 1688, the British Isles were invaded by a huge army led by Dutch prince, William of Orange. With his English wife Mary he stole the throne from Mary's father, the Catholic King James II. This was the death knell for absolute royal power and laid the foundations of our constitutional monarchy. It was spun as a 'glorious and bloodless revolution'. But how 'glorious' was it really? It led to huge slaughter in Ireland and Scotland. Lucy reveals how the facts and fictions surrounding 1688 have shaped our national story ever since.

In the final episode, Lucy debunks the fibs that surround the 'jewel in the crown' of the British Empire - India. Travelling to Kolkata, she investigates how the Raj was created following a British government coup in 1858. After snatching control from the discredited East India Company, the new regime presented itself as a new kind of caring, sharing imperialism with Queen Victoria as its maternal Empress.

Tyranny, greed and exploitation were to be things of the past. From the 'black hole of Calcutta' to the Indian 'mutiny', from East India Company governance to crown rule, and from Queen Victoria to Empress of India, Lucy reveals how this chapter of British history is another carefully edited narrative that's full of fibs.