| Elizabeth R | |
|---|---|
 Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Starring | Glenda Jackson Ronald Hines Stephen Murray Robert Hardy |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 6 × 90 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC2 |
| Release | 17 February (1971-2-17) – 24 March 1971 (1971-3-24) |
| Related | |
Elizabeth R is aBBC television dramaserial of six 90-minute plays starringGlenda Jackson as QueenElizabeth I of England. It was firstbroadcast onBBC2 from February to March 1971, through theABC inAustralia and broadcast in the United States onPBS'sMasterpiece Theatre. The series has been repeated several times, most recently from 15 March 2023, byBBC Four.[1]
Elizabeth R was filmed at a variety of locations includingPenshurst Place which doubled as the queen's castle grounds andChiddingstone inKent, though all the interiors were recorded at theBBC Television Centre.[2]
The first episode was broadcast on 17 February 1971, beginning on screen with the year1549 as the setting, withPrincess Elizabeth's difficult ascent to the throne of England nine years later.[3] The final episode was shown on 24 March 1971, the 368th anniversary of the Queen's death on March 24, 1603. It was repeated almost immediately in response to audience demand.[1][4]
The series followed the successfulSix Wives of Henry VIII (1970), with several performers reprising their roles inElizabeth R (all in the first episode) from the earlier series, notablyJohn Ronane asThomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley,Bernard Hepton asCranmer,Basil Dignam asBishop Gardiner andRosalie Crutchley asCatherine Parr.[5]
In February 1972,Elizabeth R first aired in the United States onMasterpiece Theatre, then hosted byAlistair Cooke onPBS.[6] In the summer of 1972, it was rebroadcast with commercials on theNew York City independent stationWOR-TV Channel 9.
Glenda Jackson's performance in the title role won her twoEmmy Awards—for Best Actress in a Drama Series and Best Actress in a Movie/TV Special (for the episode "Shadow in the Sun").[7][8] The series itself won the Emmy for the Best Dramatic Series in 1972 (the first British TV series ever to win the American TV award, beforeUpstairs, Downstairs carried the award two years later). At around the same time, Jackson also played the part of Elizabeth in the filmMary, Queen of Scots (1971).[9]
Costume designerElizabeth Waller won an Emmy for her designs;[10] she recreated many of the historical Elizabeth's actual gowns, adapting them from a number of the Queen's official portraits. They later went on display atHampton Court Palace.[11]Elizabeth R featured many well-known British actors, includingMalcolm McFee,Michael Williams,Margaretta Scott,John Woodvine,James Laurenson,Angela Thorne,Brian Wilde,Robin Ellis,Robert Hardy andPeter Egan.[12]
The series was parodied inMonty Python's Flying Circus in anabsurdist sketch where a Japanese film director, disguised unconvincingly asLuchino Visconti, forces his cast to perform as Queen Elizabeth's court while sitting on motor-scooters and speakingEngrish. Therefore, the title was changed to "Erizabeth L".Elizabeth R was first released forDVD Region 1 during 2001 by BBC Warner and then re-released by BBC Worldwide in 2011. In DVD Region 2, it was issued by2 Entertain in 2006.
Note: This list is incomplete.
| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Lion's Cub" | 17 February 1971 (1971-2-17) | |
The succession of the boy kingEdward VI heralds dangerous times for the young Princess Elizabeth. Having narrowly avoided implication in SirThomas Seymour's attempted abduction of Edward, she becomes an unintentional figurehead for aProtestant rebellion led byThomas Wyatt the Younger when her half-sister QueenMary I, a devoutRoman Catholic, succeeds to the throne. | |||
| 2 | "The Marriage Game" | 24 February 1971 (1971-2-24) | |
The new queenElizabeth I is 25 years old—and unmarried. Her Council—particularly the man she trusts most, SirWilliam Cecil—urges her to marry quickly to ensure the succession. Only LordRobert Dudley, at first her Master of the Horse, and eventually theEarl of Leicester, seems to interest the queen. | |||
| 3 | "Shadow in the Sun" | 3 March 1971 (1971-3-3) | |
Elizabeth meets her most eligible suitor yet:Francis, Duke of Alençon, the younger brother of the French king. A marriage will cement France's sought-for alliance with England. Despite the Puritans' rousing of opposition in the country (which her zealously anti-Catholic councillor SirFrancis Walsingham secretly approves of), Elizabeth seems taken with the witty and flower-tongued Francis. Her duties as queen clashing with her feelings as a woman, Elizabeth faces her toughest decision. | |||
| 4 | "Horrible Conspiracies" | 10 March 1971 (1971-3-10) | |
As long as the imprisonedMary, Queen of Scots lives, she is the focus of plotters and revolutionaries. Despite a clampdown against conspiring Roman Catholics, Mary (Elizabeth's prisoner for nearly twenty years), inspires an attempt to overthrow Elizabeth. Elizabeth fears Mary's death will condemn her in the eyes of God. | |||
| 5 | "The Enterprise of England" | 17 March 1971 (1971-3-17) | |
The infirm KingPhilip II of Spain is eager to avenge the death of Mary, Queen of Scots. Philip orders an unprepared fleet, commanded by the inexperienced Duke of Medina Sidonia, to sail on England. Even as Elizabeth rebukes the hawks (privateers) in her council (both Walsingham and SirFrancis Drake), with her hopes of peace, theSpanish Armada appears on the horizons of England. Her fate and the future of the country now lie in the hands of Drake and the Navy. | |||
| 6 | "Sweet England's Pride" | 24 March 1971 (1971-3-24) | |
Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex is the people's champion. He andCharles Howard have been successful in capturing and sacking the Spanish seaport ofCádiz. Essex is given a great opportunity to rise in power by being made Lord Deputy of Ireland and quelling the uprising led byO'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, but he squanders his army, makes an inglorious truce with O'Neill, and returns to England without permission. After his unsuccessful uprising against the queen in London, he is executed. The old queen shines in her final address to Parliament, but dies soon afterwards. Her last action is a nod to Robert Cecil to his query about her successor being KingJames VI of Scotland. | |||
