440 The Kingdom is Undone

February 8, 2026·42 min·3 clips

The Dutch fleet surprises England by raiding the Medway, burning flagship warships and towing the Royal Charles as a trophy.

Buckingham was a Restoration courtier with too many sharp edges to file down. The host follows George Villiers from childhood loyalty to Charles through Worcester in 1651, his peace with the Protectorate, and his flat return after the Restoration. Power did not just fall into his lap. Buckingham expected a place near the centre, but Charles had reasons to keep watching him after their falling-out. He had the gifts: curiosity, political nerve, radical contacts, and literary talent. He also had calculation and a nasty reputation for cruelty. The portrait never settles into hero, villain, or harmless rake, which is the point. John Wildman flickers back in. Buckingham's Leveller links and friendship with Wildman point toward the Sexby intrigues and the harder politics under the polished court surface. Then the personal mess arrives. The host brings in Mary Buckingham, Thomas Fairfax's daughter, and sets the marriage beside public mistresses and court display. The Merry Monarch version starts to look pretty grubby. The host checks himself, too. He admits the rompish reading of the period leaves him cold, while allowing that figures like Castlemaine had agency of their own. That keeps the episode from turning into a scold. It becomes a wary look at pleasure, influence, gender, and self-interest around Charles's court. Buckingham is useful because he carries the whole culture in miniature: clever, seductive, violent, funny, and already cracking.

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