A re-creation of some of the most significant moments in the history of the Crown, through the words of the Queen’s predecessors, and commentators ranging from Shakespeare and Jane Austen to Horace Walpole and William Makepeace Thackeray, not forgetting an original take on royal events in the satirical 1066 and All That.

The programme includes the very different abdication speeches of Richard II and Edward VIII, the correspondence between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, the Trial of Charles I, the character of Charles II, the funeral of George II, Queen Victoria’s own account of her Coronation Day, the calls to arms on the eve of war from Elizabeth I and George VI, and the present Queen’s pledge to serve her country.

These momentous events will be brought to life by Michael Pennington, Sian Phillips, and John Miller.

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