Charlie Higson has always been interested in the story of the fabled English monarchy: from the b*stardly to the benevolent, brilliant to the brutal. Far from being a nice, colourful pageant of men and women in funny hats waving to adoring crowds, it’s a story of regicide, fratricide, patricide, uxoricide and mariticide (you might have to look those last two up). 

Launched for the coronation of his namesake King Charles III, Charlie’s podcast Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee takes a deep dive into the murky lives of our monarchs – and his new book of the show features illustrations by bestselling artist Jim Moir (AKA fellow comedy legend Vic Reeves). 

Joining us live on stage, Charlie and Jim will share stories from their incredible comic collaborations over thirty years, including Shooting Stars, Randell and Hopkirk Deceased, and The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer. Then they will take the plunge into the storied history of this most treasured of institutions. Bloody treachery? Check. Unruly incest? Check. Short parliaments? Check. A couple of Cromwells? Check. 

A rip-roaring journey that takes in the Normans, Stuarts and Tudors, not to mention the infamous Blois (how can we forget them?), this is an utterly engrossing and grossly entertaining primer on who ruled when and why – with never-before-seen illustrations! 

Where:
Royal Geographical Society, London (9 October 2025)
York Theatre Royal, York (13 October 2025)

Information and Tickets: FANE