Monarchy - Series 3

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Label : Roadshow
Supplier : Roadshow
Format : DVD
Rating : G
Region Code : 4
Audio : English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
TV Standard : PAL
Screen Format : 1.33:1
Released : 07-Aug-08

Dr David Starkey presents the third series of his complete history of the British Monarchy, the oldest surviving political institution in Europe.

In this series, Starkey explores the period dating from 1660 through to the early 20th century.

Includes all five episodes from Series 3.1.

In 1660, the English monarchy was restored with the return from exile of King Charles II.

He had returned to claim his father's throne and restore the monarchy to the heart of national life.

But could the new king, who famously fathered at least 17 bastard children, turn his mind to healing the wounds and divisions in England?2: David Starkey tells the gripping story of the English revolution of 1688, which was very different to that of the 1640s.

Replacing one King with his own nephew resulted wirh the formation of a constitutional monarchy and the foundation of a system of government that underpinned Britain's rise to greatness.3.

The reign of Charles II had left the religious and constitutional divides of the Civil War unresolved.

When his Catholic brother James succeeded him, the old wounds opened again.4.

In just 25 years after the glorious revolution of 1688, England was transformed from an insignificant minor state to the greatest power in Europe.

Along the way she became known under a new name to match her swelling status - Great Britain.5.

When the Bastille prison in Paris was stormed and the French Revolution began in 1789, few in Britain - least of all King George III, who was recovering from one of his bouts of madness, thought that it would lead to a cataclysmic war with France.The opposition party, the Whigs, rejoiced at the declaration of a Republic across the Channel.

The execution of King Louis XVI of France in 1793 was a moment of crisis for the British monarchy.

Would Britain go the way of France and cast aside the institution in the name of progress, or would George III and his family weather the storm by appealing to history and tradition, while embracing progress and reform? At the beginning of the 20th century, it was beginning to look as if monarchy was going to have to be re-invented once again.