Monarchy

Season 3

Not Rated

Hosted by the erudite, energetic Dr. David Starkey (The Six Wives of Henry VIII), this series tells the epic and bloody stories of Britain's kings and queens from the Saxon era (Alfred the Great) to the early 20th century (Victoria).

Where to Watch Season 3

5 Episodes

The Return of the King
E1
The Return of the KingLooks at the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, and the reign of Charles II.
The Glorious Revolution
E2
The Glorious RevolutionLooks at the events of 1688 and its aftermath, when the unpopular Roman Catholic King James II was overthrown and his replacement with the protestant Stuart Mary and her husband William of Orange. Considers how the consequences of this was a curtailing of royal power and the basis for the constitutional monarchy and relation with parliament that exists in Britain to this day.
Rule Britannia
E3
Rule BritanniaLooks at the end of the reign of William and Mary, and the changing relationship between Crown and Parliament, and that of Anne and the union with Scotland in 1707 which saw the emergence of Great Britain and how it grew in power.
Empire
E4
EmpireLooks at the selection and crowning of George I as British monarch in 1714, and the events of his reign and also those of George II and George III. Considers how the breakdown in the relationship between the prime minister William Pitt and George III led to the American War of Independence and the loss of the US colonies.
Survival
E5
SurvivalWhen, in 1789, the Bastille prison in Paris was stormed and the French Revolution began, 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.