television reviews
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Most people, even if they haven’t read/tried to read, the ancient British poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, will at least know the opening scene. It’s Christmas at Camelot, and King Arthur and his knights are enjoying themselves, feasting and celebrating, when into the hall rides a huge knight who carries a sprig of holly.…
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Here is a picture you may well have seen. It shows, from Carry On Henry, Kenneth Williams as Thomas Cromwell, Lord Privy Seal to Henry VIII and briefly Earl of Essex. In fact, Cromwell’s sister married one Thomas (or Morgan) Williams, although their descendants took the Cromwell surname.
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I have just watched a documentary (called The Best King We Never Had and presented by Paul Murton) about Prince Henry, the firstborn son of King James VI of Scotland, James I of England. James, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, was already King of Scotland, when he succeeded Elizabeth I, and became…
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The BBC is renowned for its amazing documentaries, and one of the latest series is titled A Stitch in Time, in which fashionable clothes from the past are recreated by modern crafts. The episode that really interested me was the one about the Black Prince’s jupon, i.e. the tight-fitting, brightly-coloured tunic he wore over his…
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Art, Passion and Power: The Story of the Royal Collection
Andrew Graham-Dixon, BBC4, Brighton Pavillion, Charles I, Charles II, da Vinci, dolls’ houses, education, executions, Faberge, George II, George III, George IV, Great Exhibition, Hans Holbein, Henry VIII, Prince Albert, Protectorate, Queen Mary, Restoration, royal collection, Rubens, Shahnama, van Dyck, Victoria, William IIIAndrew Graham-Dixon has been on our screens for almost a quarter of a century; – he is tall, slightly grey, drawls a little and is an excellent art historian. His latest series tells the story of the Royal art collection – from Henry VIII and Holbein, Charles I and van Dyck, the Protectorate selling the…
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A truncated reign and a truncated monarch
“Perkin”, “Tudor” genealogy, Acts of Succession, Archbishop Cranmer, BBC, coups d’etat, Dukedom of Clarence, Earl of Leicester, Edward IV, Edward of Warwick, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, Framlingham Castle, France, Greys, Helen Castor, Henry Earl of Huntingdon, Henry Lord Darnley, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Jane, John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, John of Gloucester, Kenninghall, Kirk o’Fields, Lady Catherine Grey, Lady Frances Brandon, Lady Margaret Clifford, Lady Margaret Douglas, Lady Mary Grey, Legitimacy, Leicestershire, letters patent, Lord Guildford Dudley, Mary I, Mary Stuart, Paul Delaroche, Phillip II, portraits, Scotland, Sion, Spain, Stewarts, Streatham portrait, Tower Green, Tower of London, Wyatt Rebellion, WydevillesRight at the start of this series, Helen Castor (left) takes a black marker pen and illustrates the cause of the 1553 crisis on a large sheet of paper. Beginning with Henry VII, very few of his legitimate male descendants were alive at the start of that year – eliminating the obvious illegitimate cases, we…
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Well, it’s been a long time since The White Queen, and the actors are different, but the sequel is to be aired on UKTV Drama. And by the photograph above, we can’t expect much in the way of accuracy. Of course, being pure fiction, it would be difficult to have a “hero”, i.e. Henry VII,…
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A few days ago I watched a TV documentary about Rhys ap Thomas, The Man Who Killed Richard III. It made my Welsh blood boil! The man was a bullying, thieving snake, not a hero! Anyway, here is the TV company’s blurb:- “Who killed Richard III? http://www.historychannel.com.au/shows/man-killed-richard-iii/ “This is a story of conspiracy and…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 