Who Killed William II?

Today In History with The Retrospectors

Rerun: William II, son of William The Conqueror, took a hunting trip to the New Forest on 2nd August, 1100 - and was shot dead by an arrow, which punctured his lung.

But, whodunnit? Chroniclers laid the blame at the door of Walter Tirel, who quickly fled to France. But could it have really been fratricide, orchestrated by William’s younger brother Henry?

In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion weigh up the suspects; review William’s ‘addiction to sodomy’, and unearth other undignified Royal deaths from history...

Further Reading:

• ‘Horrible Histories’ do William’s death (BBC, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DalHBbf7f8

• William’s biography at Historic UK: https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/William-Rufus/

• The Death of William II (Reading Museum, 2017): https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/blog/death-william-ii

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday…

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️

The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices