Happy Birthday, Your Majesty (the video)

Susan reports:

Being American, I didn't know about that British comic institution, Horrible Histories, the self-described "savagely successful" CBBC TV show and book series. Also being American, I couldn't imagine our popular comedians using history as their inspiration; jokes about George Washington just don't seem to fly with the stand-up comics in Vegas, nor do you hear any opening monologues about Manifest Destiny on late-night talk shows. But the English are sufficiently comfortable with their history to support humor about it, giving us Blackadder and the Monty Python version of the Spanish Inquisition, and now the Horrible Histories.

Fellow historical author Margaret George introduced me to the Horrible Histories with these clips about the Hanover Kings (The 4 Georges: Born 2 Rule) and Henry VIII (Terrible Tudors). At once I was hooked, and spent far more time than I should have on YouTube looking for more.

But it's only been this month – just in time for his 350th anniversary of the Restoration – that the Horrible Histories crew has taken on Charles II. Amidst all the funny wigs and silliness, it's actually a pretty succinct overview of his reign (and there's even a shout-out for Hortense Mancini). Have fun!