Elizabeth R

A Chronicle of England's Golden Age of the late 16th century. Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson stars in one of the most popular and acclaimed Masterpiece Theatre presentations ever created, the story of England's Queen Elizabeth I. Filled with palace intrigue, royal romance and stunning historical detail, it traces her reign from young Princess through almost 50 years of rule over England's Golden Age. Long sought by collectors, this Emmy Award winning production boasts an all-star cast, riveting performances, gripping drama, and all the pomp and pageantry befitting this legendary Queen.

Exciting DVD extras include a running commentary by acclaimed historian Alison Wier, interviews, a portrait and costume gallery, and all-new readings of Elizabethan documents by Glenda Jackson herself!

Includes the episodes: The Lion's Cub, The Marriage Game, Shadow of the Sun, Horrible Conspiracies, The Enterprise of England, Sweet England's Pride.

In one of the most remarkable performances in screen history, Glenda Jackson transforms herself into England’s Virgin Queen: haughty, intelligent, capricious, passionate, tortured, unforgettable. Reigning supreme over affairs of state and affairs of the heart, Glenda Jackson is the definitive Elizabeth, by which all other performances are judged.

From a terrified teenage princess surrounded by treachery, to assured monarch, to liverish old lady, the double Oscarwinning star (Women In Love, A Touch Of Class) gives a majestic performance, capturing all the facets of Elizabeth's complex personality. It won her two 1971 Emmys for Outstanding Performance.

Meticulously researched, this series is considered by many to be the most factual representation of Elizabeth’s life and includes many lines historically quoted by the protagonists. With sumptuous costumes, magnificent scripts and a host of Britain’s finest character actors, Elizabeth R brings to life the glorious, perilous reign of England’s Virgin Queen and the woman who defied both the Pope and the conventions of the time.

Elizabeth was the last of the Tudor dynasty, reigning from 1558 to 1603. Her father, the notorious Henry VIII, had beheaded her mother, Ann Boleyn, after breaking with the Catholic church to marry her. The legacy of his reign was a country in religious turmoil and Elizabeth’s half-siblings: the sickly young Edward and the bitter, fervently Catholic Mary. Elizabeth was popular and healthy, but her life was constantly in danger.

The series covers the entire reign of Elizabeth I, from her struggles with her half-sister Mary just before being crowned to her death in 1603. Religious conflicts, court politics, her flirtations, her decision to remain unmarried, her struggles with Spain and the problem of her treacherous cousin Mary, Queen of Scots are just some of the highlights.

The Lion’s Cub - Admiral Seymour is arrested while trying to abduct Edward VI. He is accused of planning to marry the sickly boy king to Lady Jane Grey (herself a claimant to the throne), also of wishing himself to marry the Princess Elizabeth. This implicates Elizabeth in the plot and she shivers with fear, realising just how close she is to death. Her only defence is to maintain her innocence and eventually she is cleared of all guilt. Seymour, however, is executed.When Edward dies, Elizabeth’s elder sister, Mary, succeeds to the throne. She is a devout Catholic and rigidly enforces the faith across the country, burning hundreds of Protestants at the stake. Elizabeth not only refuses to conform, she earns Mary’s enmity by being popular with the people. When Mary announces she is to wed the Catholic King Philip of Spain, Thomas Wyatt leads a rebellion against the marriage with the intention of placing Elizabeth on the throne.The uprising fails and Elizabeth is sent to the Tower of London, but survives the Lord Chancellor’s attempts to have her executed. She spends the rest of her sister’s reign in confinement at Woodstock. Mary, meanwhile, thinks she is with child – but it turns out to be a phantom pregnancy and she dies soon after, leaving no heir. In 1558, at the age of 25, Elizabeth is crowned Queen, and immediately appoints her loyal supporter William Cecil as Secretary of State.

The Marriage Game - The Elizabethan court is alive with intrigue, but one thing all factions agree on: the Queen must secure the succession. Both Parliament and her Council urge her to marry and have children. Elizabeth is quite happy to be married to her country, but (having witnessed her father Henry VIII’s callous treatment of wives) she is unwilling to marry any man. She pretends to consider several suitors, but rejects them all.The only man who seems to interest her is Lord Robert Dudley, her Master of the Horse. However, he is married already, then his wife dies in suspicious circumstances. As whispers of scandal echo through her court, Elizabeth contracts smallpox and nearly dies. Meanwhile in France, King Francis II has died and his widow, Elizabeth’s glamorous cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, has returned to Scotland. A Catholic, she regards Elizabeth as illegimate and she has a claim to the English throne. Hoping to annul the threat, Elizabeth proposes Dudley, newly created Earl of Leicester, as a suitable husband for Mary. Mary is insulted; Dudley flatly refuses. The Queen’s relationship with Dudley is heading towards crisis and they contemplate a marriage in secret. But Elizabeth misses their rendezvous, and Dudley realises afterwards that she will never marry him, although she will always need him at her side.

Shadow in the Sun - With the Spanish troops in the Netherlands in disarray, France is becoming increasingly powerful.To consolidate their position the French seek an alliance with England. Hence the idea arises of a marriage between Elizabeth and the Duc d’Alençon, the younger brother of the French King. The English believe that the alliance will help to control French power as well as provide an heir, and negotiations proceed satisfactorily. Alençon comes to England, and he and Elizabeth go through a ludicrous but delirious courtship. However, public opinion in England is strongly opposed to marriage with a Catholic Prince, and even the Council is divided. Finally the terms of the alliance are agreed, but the French insist that it must be ratified by the marriage. Leicester objects, but his influence with the Queen is shattered when she discovers that he has secretly married. In her fury and disappointment, Elizabeth immediately proclaims Alençon King of England, then changes her mind, commanding the Council to extricate her from the commitment. Alençon is furious, but is bought off for £60,000 and returns to France.

Horrible Conspiracies - Mary, Queen of Scots is in captivity at Chartley, completely cut off from all her friends. But as long as she is alive, she is still a danger and a focus of Catholic plots to overthrow the monarchy.Walsingham, now Secretary of State, urges Elizabeth to execute her. But there is a big difference between killing a nobleman and killing royalty, and Elizabeth flatly refuses. Ballard, a Jesuit priest, recruits a Catholic courtier, Sir Anthony Babington, to organise a plot to kill Elizabeth and place Mary on the English throne. Through the work of Gifford, a double agent working for Walsingham, Mary comes to know of the scheme, and endorses it in a letter.The letter is intercepted, and Mary incriminated beyond all doubt. She is put on trial and found guilty, but still Elizabeth delays signing the death warrant. Eventually, however, Mary is beheaded at Fotheringay, though Elizabeth bitterly regrets the execution and is deeply upset by it.

The Enterprise of England - King Philip of Spain is determined to avenge the death of Mary, Queen of Scots. As former husband of Mary Tudor, he also has a claim to the English throne. Across the water comes word of danger: Phillip is proposing to launch a fleet against Elizabeth which he calls the Enterprise of England. Elizabeth is afraid of war, and of its cost.With Burghley, her Lord Treasurer, she pins her hopes on peace talks with Spain which are being held in the Netherlands.Walsingham insists, though, that the talks are just a device to allow the Spaniards more time to prepare their fleet, and he urges Elizabeth to mobilize her forces against a Spanish invasion. When the Spaniards withdraw from the peace talks, she finally agrees – but it is three more months before the Armada eventually sets sail. Elizabeth goes to Tilbury to address her troops: “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.” While she is there, news is brought that the Armada has been scattered and England is victorious. Back in London, Burghley tells her that the Earl of Leicester is dead. She reads his last letter in despair.

Sweet England’s Pride - Back from an unsuccessful expedition to the Azores. the Earl of Essex, Elizabeth’s dashing young favourite, is angered by developments at Court in his absence. He promptly retires to the country. Elizabeth is miserable without him. When he returns to the Court she is overjoyed and makes him Earl Marshal. However, a further argument ensues over the appointment of a new Lord Deputy of Ireland. Eventually Essex himself is given the appointment, and after a long period of indecision he is sent to Ireland to suppress the trouble being fomented by Hugh O’Neil, Earl of Tyrone. However, Essex’s campaign against O’Neil is a shambles. When the two men meet, they agree to a truce. Elizabeth is furious, and when Essex returns to England she has him arrested. She decides against putting him on trial, but replaces him in Ireland with Lord Mountjoy and cuts off his last source of income.Wild with frustration, Essex rides into the City with his followers, thinking, mistakenly, that the people will rise in his favour. He is arrested, sent to the Tower and executed. Shortly afterwards, Elizabeth herself dies.

Queen Elizabeth I	---	Glenda Jackson
William Cecil (Lord Burghley)	---	Ronald Hines
Dudley (Earl of Leicester)	---	Robert Hardy
Henry Sidney	---	Anthony Ainley
Mrs Pinto	---	Clare Austin
Lady Cobham	---	Jill Balcon
Fowler	---	Ian Barritt
Renard	---	Brendan Barry
Guildford Dudley	---	Robert Barry
Lady Tyrwhit	---	Nicolette Bernard
Northumberland	---	Philip Brack
Bridges	---	Kevin Brennan
Parry	---	Blake Butler
Sir James Melville	---	John Cairney
Dr Burcot	---	Denis Carey
Babington	---	David Collings
Catherine Parr	---	Rosalie Crutchley
Savage	---	James Culliford
John Tregannon	---	Michael Culver
Dr Dee	---	Raf De La Torre
Sir Robert Cecil	---	Hugh Dickson
Archbishop Gardiner	---	Basil Dignam
Lady Rich	---	Shirley Dixon
Sir Amyas Paulet	---	Hamilton Dyce
Southampton	---	Peter Egan
Robert Devereaux (Earl of Essex)	---	Robin Ellis
Harper	---	Peter Forest
Beddingford	---	Alan Foss
Lady Jane Grey	---	Sarah Frampton
Elizabeth Vernon	---	Sonia Fraser
David Garfield	---	Ballard
Sir Thomas Wyatt	---	Robert Garrett
Medina Sidonia	---	Gordon Gostelow
Davison	---	John Graham
Idiaquez	---	Christopher Hancock
Father Robert	---	Paul Hardwick
Bolingbroke	---	David Hargreaves
Mary Sidney	---	Caroline Harris
Kelley	---	Malcolm Hayes
Archbishop Cranmer	---	Bernard Hepton
Gifford	---	Bernard Holley
de Noailles	---	Julian Holloway
Sir Christopher Hatton	---	Bernard Horsfall
Howard	---	Peter Howell
Fenelon	---	John Hughes
King Philip II of Spain	---	Peter Jeffrey
Blount	---	Hayden Jones
Edward VI	---	Jason Kemp
Kat Ashley	---	Rachel Kempson
Bishop de Quadra	---	Esmond Knight
Simier	---	James Laurenson
Jacques	---	Leslie Lawton
Tyrwhit	---	Stanley Lebor
Conan	---	Wesley Murphy
Sir Francis Walsingham	---	Stephen Murray
Phelippes	---	David Nettheim
Sir Francis Bacon	---	John Nettleton
O'Neill	---	Patrick O'Connell
Mary of Scotland	---	Vivian Pickles
Cordoba	---	Ian Ricketts

Written by John Hale, Rosemary Anne Sisson, Julian Mitchell, Hugh Whitemore, John Prebble, Ian Rodger
Directed by Roderick Graham, Richard Martin, Donald McWhinnie, Claude Whatham, Herbert Wise
Produced by Roderick Graham, John Hale, Rosemary Anne Sisson, Julian Mitchell, Hugh Whitemore, John Prebble, Ian Rodger

Prime Time Emmy Awards®
1971-1972- Outstanding New Series
1971-1972- Outstanding Series Drama
1971-1972- Outstanding Single Performance in a Leading Role – Glenda Jackson
1971-1972- Outstanding Continued Performance in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series – Glenda Jackson
1971-1972- Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design – Elizabeth Waller

“The BBC’s brilliant pageant of history ... The whole canvas is set with splendour. Costumes, sets and locations have the hallmark of real quality and immense care.”- Daily Express

“ . . another huge success.”- Daily Mail

“...another blue chip series.”- The Guardian

“...begins with splendid style...”- Daily Telegraph

“...this quite regal achievement.”- Sunday Times