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Art, Passion & Power: The Story of the Royal Collection (2018) #1080
DOCUMENTARY
Special
4x1 hour. BBC. In a major new series, Andrew Graham-Dixon explores the history of the Royal Collection, one of the largest and most important art collections in the world, built up over 500 years. 1/4 Dangerous Magic.How art was used by Henry VIII and Charles I, the great founders of the Royal Collection. 2/4 Paradise Regained. The story of Royal Collection's remarkable resurrection under Charles II and George III. 3/4 Palaces and Pleasuredomes. Exploring George IV's extravagant taste and Victoria and Albert's shared love of art. 4/4 Modern Times. How art was used to steady the ship of British monarchy through an uncertain age. |
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Cunk on Britain (2018) #1104
COMEDY
Main
5x30 min. BBC. 1/5 Philomena Cunk explores the Big Bang and interviews Robert Peston about British politics. 2/5 Philomena's odyssey takes her from King Henry VIII to Lord Horatio Nelson. 3/5 Philomena examines the Victorians and is joined by Chris Packham. 4/5 Philomena examines the early 20th century, with two world wars but no world cup. 5/5 The Arse End of History. In the final episode, Cunk has made it to the 21st century and Brexit. |
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Lucy Worsley: Elizabeth I's Battle for God's Music (2017) #1041
DOCUMENTARY
Main
1 hour. BBC. Lucy Worsley investigates the story of the most remarkable creation from the tumultuous and violent era known as the Reformation - choral evensong. Henry VIII loved religious music, but he loved power more - when he instigated his English Reformation he dramatically split from the ancient Catholic church that controlled much of his country. But in doing so set into motion changes that would fundamentally transform the religious music he loved. Following Elizabeth I's personal story, Lucy recounts how she and her two siblings were shaped by the changes their father instigated. Elizabeth witnessed both her radically puritan brother Edward bring church music to the very brink of destruction and the terrifying reversals made by her sister Mary - which saw her thrown in the Tower of London forced to beg for her life. When Elizabeth finally took power she was determined to find a religious compromise - she resurrected the Protestant religion of her brother, but kept the music of her beloved father - music that she too adored. And it was in the evocative service of choral evensong that her ideas about religious music found their ultimate expression. |
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Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016) #953
DOCUMENTARY
Main
3x1 hour episodes. BBC. Documentary series featuring dramatic reconstruction in which Lucy Worsley revisits key events in the lives of Henry VIII's six wives. 1/3 Katherine of Aragon passionately defended her position as Henry pressed for annulment. 2/3 Henry marries Anne Boleyn, but rumours start to spread that she has been unfaithful. 3/3 Henry annuls his marriage to Anne of Cleves and marries Catherine Howard two weeks later. |
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Lucy Worsley's Reins of Power: The Art of Horse Dancing (2016) #1201
DOCUMENTARY
Main
1 hour. BBC. Strictly Come Prancing: Lucy Worsley learns to ride - in fact, she learns how to dance on horseback before putting on a show for the paying public! Now, if this sounds mad, horse ballet or manege was once the noblest of pursuits practised by everyone from courtier to king in the first half of the 17th century. Having become fascinated by this horsey hobby whilst writing her PhD, Lucy is on a quest to find out why this peculiar skill was once so de rigeur - learning the lost art from its modern masters, visiting the Spanish Riding School in Vienna to witness spectacular equestrian shows, exploring its military origins through donning Henry VIII-style jousting armour, and discovering horse ballet's legacies in competitive dressage and, more surprisingly, in the performances of the Royal Horse Artillery, the King's Troop today. |
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Holbein: Eye of the Tudors (2015) #834
DOCUMENTARY
Main
1 hour. BBC. As Henry VIII's court painter, Hans Holbein witnessed and recorded the most notorious era in English history. He painted most of the major characters of the age and created the famous image of the king himself that everyone still recognises today. But who really was Holbein? Where did he come from? And what were the dark and unsettling secrets hidden in his art? Waldemar Januszczak looks at the life and work of an artist who became famous for bringing the Tudor age to life, but who could have been so many other things. |
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Wolf Hall (2015) #1451
TV DRAMA
Special
6 x 1 hour episodes. BBC. Historical drama chronicling the rise of Thomas Cromwell, the son of a humble blacksmith who became King Henry VIII's chief minister, as he navigated the corridors of power in the Tudor court.. 1 Three Card Trick 2 Entirely Beloved 3 Anna Regina 4 The Devil's Spit 5 Crows 6 Masters of Phantoms SEASON 2 The Mirror and the Light (2024) The irresistible rise of Thomas Cromwell - who defied and defined an era. Mark Rylance leads the acclaimed adaptation of Hilary Mantel's tales from the dark heart of Tudor history. 1. Wreckage: Thomas Cromwell steps over the wreckage of Anne's execution to a place by Henry’s side. 2. Obedience: A young nun profoundly shakes Cromwell’s view of himself and his place in the world. 3. Defiance: A religious rising in the north country puts Cromwell’s political skills to the test. 4. Jenneke: The birth of a prince gives Henry the heir that he longs for, but at a terrible price. 5. Mirror Cromwell’s marital diplomacy brings the Rhenish princess Anne of Cleves to Henry’s court. 6. Light:Cromwell is stripped of his titles and brought to the Tower on a charge of treason. |
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Henry V (1989) #532
FILM
Main
Directed by Kenneth Branagh. With Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War in 1415, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France. Shakespeare. |
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A Man for All Seasons (1966) #224
FILM
Main
Directed by Fred Zinnemann. With Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller, Robert Shaw, Leo McKern. The story of Thomas More, who stood up to King Henry VIII when the King rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarriage. |