Crown & Country
30 x 30 minute episodes
Join Edward Wessex, the Queen of
England’s son, for a tour of some the most famous landmarks of
British History. As we travel from Hampton Court on the banks of the
Thames to Windsor Castle, St Paul’s Cathedral, the New Forest on
to his mother’s London home at Buckingham Palace and the
extraordinary Brighton Pavilion on the South Coast Edward will tell us
how intrigue and treason, violent death and treachery shaped the great
warriors and leaders of Britain’s past.
Were they really heroes or villains?
Anglia Series
1. Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo is the oldest Royal burial site in
Britain which witnessed the elaborate funeral ceremony for the
man often described as the first King of England. Was is claim
justified and what happened to his Royal line? The first in a new
series of programmes written and presented by Edward Windsor, the
Queen’s son, telling the story of his Royal ancestors down the
troubled centuries.
2. Harwich and Colchester
For centuries Harwich was the safe haven that
allowed Kings and Queens of England access to and from Europe while
Colchester?s links with Royalty go back even further. Edward Windsor
explores the area?s connection with his ancestors, follows the trial of
Britain’s most famous warrior Queen and discovers a macabre
obsession with black magic.
3. Bury St Edmunds
Edward Windsor tells the extraordinary story of the
first patron Saint of England and of the growth of Europe’s
largest shrine. He also unearths some far more sinister goings-on!
There is murder, mystery and intrigue and we learn how most unusual
country estate was created as he traces the connections between the
English market town of Bury and his Royal ancestors.
4. Cambridge
Edwards Windsor returns to his old University to
learn about the conflicts between “town” and
“gown” and the Royal connections that make Cambridge the
most celebrated seat of learning in the world. There are tales of
student pranks and worse from the days of the first Royal student and a
chance to find out why Queen Victoria blamed Cambridge for the death of
Prince Albert.
5. Peterborough and Ely
A Saxon Princess who defied her King and a Tudor
Queen who won popular acclaim (although she was banished by her King)
are just two of the ancestors Edward Windsor discovers as he traces the
connections between England’s Royal Family and these two historic
towns.
6. Sandringham
Edward Windsor goes home to the house that has
become a private retreat for his family since his great great
grandfather bought the estate in 1862. He discovers that Sandringham
owes much of its glory to a rather special treasure and how both past
and present have contributed to the unique charm of the house
derives.
Carlton Series 1
1.The River Thames; Part One
Edward Windsor chooses Tower Hill and the Pool of
London as his starting point for the series, and tells us why this is
where the story of London really began. Travelling east on a River
Police launch we learn about the origins of the force which celebrated
its 200th anniversary in 1998, see the glories of Greenwich, find out
how the Isle of Dogs got its name and return to the Pool of London for
an insiders guide to the Tower of London.
2. The River Thames; Part Two
Travelling west from the Tower Edward Windsor has
the Royal Watermen as guides on a voyage that passes some of the
English capital’s famous landmarks. We visit the City’s
first amusement park, visit the Royal Hospital at Chelsea with the Duke
of Edinburgh and hear how a Lord tried to cheat the Chelsea pensioners
out of a fortune.
3. Hertford and Guildford
Why did King William, the Conqueror of England,
build castle in these towns on opposite sides of London’ Edward
Windsor explores this and some of the other historic links the towns
have. We visit a magnificent garden that was given away by the Crown
and hear about the death of the country’s most adored Princess in
the 19th Century.
4. Hatfield and St Albans
This episode tells the odd tale of two towns and
two very different but equally fascinating women; Queen Elizabeth I who
learned she was Queen of England while in a garden at Hatfield House
and Lady Caroline Lamb whose strange antics enlivened proceedings at
nearby Brockett Hall! Edward Windsor also reveals how the Cathedral at
St Albans brought a new word into the English vocabulary.
5. London’s Palaces at Westminster
Edward Windsor visits the two Palaces at the very
heart of the Crown’s power, one where the sovereign is crowned
and the other where the sovereign rules: Westminster Abbey and the
Palace of Westminster. What is the origin of the Royal pomp and
ceremony and what symbolic significance do the various artefacts
have’
6. London’s Palaces Whitehall to
Buckingham
Buckingham Palace is probably London’s most
famous building but how did it come to fulfil its current role’
Edward Windsor, no stranger to the corridors of the palace, takes us
behind the scenes at “BP”. We also discover
London’s great “missing Palace” and find out the
unexpected connection between France’s Versailles and the English
capital.
Carlton Series II
1. Hampton Court
Hampton Court was given to Henry VIII by his
Chancellor, Thomas Wolsey, and was then continuously occupied by the
Crown until the reign of George II. What is its special relationship
with the Crown of England’ What was William and Mary unique
contribution to the development of the surrounding park and
gardens’ We also visit nearby Kingston-on-Thames where
ancient Saxon Kings were crowned.
2. Kensington
Site of the Palace once occupied by Diana, Princess
of Wales, Kensington’s development was originally funded by the
enormous success of Prince Albert’s Great Exhibition in 1851.
Modestly, “Albertropolis” was created! The area is still
home to numerous museums, colleges, the Albert Hall and, most
appropriately, the recently refurbished Albert Memorial. Originally
called Nottingham House, Diana’s home was converted by William
III and Mary II into what is now Kensington Palace
3. Richmond
Richmond is the site of both a royal palace and a
Royal Park, with an intriguing link to the world famous Royal Botanical
Gardens at nearby Kew. Most splendid under the Tudors, Kew was acquired
by Queen Caroline in 1728 as a summer residence, but remained empty
after the death of Queen Charlotte in 1818 until it was given to the
State, along with the Botanical Gardens, in 1840.
4. St Paul’s
Sir Christopher Wren’s crowning glory that
still sits at the heart of London’s skyline. The Cathedral has
had a dramatic history, often damaged but never destroyed – even
by the Germany blitz of 1940 – it still stands as a potent symbol
of the nations’ capital. Buried beneath its floors are civil
heroes and religious leaders. We hear how the Bishops of London became
Deans of the Chapel Royal, the Queen’s private place of worship
and how dramatic events such as the execution of Charles I and the
escape of Princess Anne, later Queen Anne resonated in this beautiful
building.
5. The City
The city of London has a long and complex
relationship with the Crown, - a relationship built over many
years and taking many different forms. From days of ancient war when
the warrior Queen Boudicca sacked the city to the formation of the
trading livery companies and the establishment of the judiciary at the
Inns of Court and the Old Bailey. The City also bore tragic witness to
the murderous Plague and The Great Fire of London.
6. Greenwich
The story of Greenwich Palace stretches as far back
as 1471 right up to the Queen’s House as it is today, and
includes the rival of the maritime museum, the observatory, the park
and the Royal Naval College. We a visit nearby Blackheath and the
former Tudor palace at Eltham.decided to attack a tailor with a dagger!
© Eagle Media Productions 2004
