Welcome to the British History Podcast. My name is Jimmy and this is Episode 323,

Athol red, Brotherhood of the Wolf.

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the show independent, I offer members only content, including extra episodes and rough

transcripts, and you can get instant access to all the members' extras by signing up for

membership at the British History Podcast.com, for about the price of a lot of money.

And thank you very much to James, Erica, and Brad for signing up already.

And we're back! Thank you very much for being patient while the BHP went on a brief

parental leave, and speaking of things that are back, the Dowager Queen Ilvthrith has

returned to the King's inner council, following what looks like a political coup against

Ilvthritch of Hampshire and his faction. And just because it was political, doesn't mean

it was bloodless. All of Ilvthritch's allies were dead. Only Ilvthritch himself, who

appears to have been too big to fail, remained as the sole surviving member of the faction.

But while this was a horrible development for Ilvthritch and his friends, it's possible

that the rest of England was breathing a sigh of relief.

The Dowager Queen Ilvthrith, Elderman Athleweird, Elderman Ordwolf, and the rest of the team

had been in politics since pretty much forever. In this time around, they also had the backing

of a powerful mercy and dynasty. So they were well positioned. Now, were they perfect?

No. Were they reformers looking to root out corruption from the system? God know. But,

were they familiar with the gears and levers that kept the English ship of state running?

Yes. Or at least more so than Ilvthritch and his friends appear to have been. We can

see the benefits of their return to power almost immediately.

...