EDWARD THE KING

This thirteen part series does something very rare in TV: it tracks the entire life history of a single individual, seven decades in all, patiently showing all its defining events. The choice of subject did not make things easy: the vapid, womanizing Edward VII is not a very sympathetic character, though the sharpest edges have been blunted a bit in the re-telling; his marriage to Alexandra, for instance, was nowhere near as warm as it is depicted here.The series was filmed in the early seventies. Inevitably, the execution is not up to the standards of authenticity we've become accustomed to in later years. Most of the indoor scenes (i.e., nearly all) were filmed in slightly too small, slightly too stuffy stage sets, not quite stylistically believable and with cardboard landscapes outside the windows. There is little sense of royal grandeur, and at times it feels like `Upstairs, downstairs". The eventual coronation is suggested rather than shown. Outdoor scenes do use apt locations, but look as if they are slightly out of focus. Costumes are excellent though, and faithfully follow the changing fashions.The acting too is more of the old-fashioned stage than of modern TV, but that is not at all a bad thing. It may be overly emphatic at times - the way Queen Victoria over-articulates her words is a case in point - but it is also consistent, stylish, and quite believable. By the time we come to Albert's death, you may be as surprised as I was at the extent to which it genuinely moves you. The acting, in fact, is supremely fine, with John Gielgud as a luxury cast member doing a delicious Disraeli. But the whole thing is carried by the two female leads: Annette Crosbie as a feisty, hot-tempered yet endearing Queen Victoria, and Helen Ryan as a vulnerable, touching, somewhat child-like Queen Alexandra.The screenwriting is very deft, but what else would one expect from Harold Pinter himself? It is quite amazing how a natural sense of the flow of time is maintained, yet without any scene ever feeling hurried. Transitions are very cleverly handled, the writer not being afraid to do an appeal on the intelligence of the viewer, something increasingly rare in TV. Necessary background information is ingeniously worked into the dialogue. That dialogue itself is surprisingly natural; only at the very end does the eulogy of the prime minister on the dead King sound as if he is talking to the camera.The aging of characters is well-handled too, mostly; but the metamorphosis from young Edward to older Edward requires a fair degree of tolerance: the young prince turns from a frisky adolescent into a stocky middle-aged man in a matter of months. Of course, there is no good way to solve the problem of aging in a series that tracks an entire life-history; doing it through make-up would probably have been quite as bad, if not worse.The bombastic music with its Wagner and Elgar overtones, is dated; the title tune bears an unfortunate (if not entirely inappropriate) resemblance to the final chorus of `HMS Pinafore'. Strangely, every episode is cut into two `parts', the second opening with the title image and a brief fanfare.The series is extravagantly spread over 6 DVDs, when it would have easily fitted on 4. The image quality is variable; at times there are disturbances that make it look as if the DVD was recorded from a regular video tape. There are no extras, and there is no booklet or anything else to guide you. But all that is of secondary importance.

I have watched most of the dramas based on the lives of British Royalty and have very much enjoyed all of them. This one may be the best yet. As a lover of history, I enjoy trying to remember who was the mother or father or grandparents of which one. It sometimes makes my head spin. I think I'll make a chart so I can finally get it straight.The backgrounds in this series are lovely and the actors superb! I have to keep reminding myself not to feel too sorry for "Bertie" because, poor thing, he was isolated and made to work hard and rarely appreciated for doing anything right. He had the best of educational resources and luxuries beyond our imagination. Yes, their lives are different from ours. That's what makes them fascinating to watch.I could hardly tear myself away from watching as one episode stopped and I had to take a break in watching. The thing I loved most about this series was the history. Did I really care about the characters and what happened to them? Not always. Sometimes I was glad that they got what they deserved. Their values and lifestyles (excessive and brutal killing of wild animals for example) are not like ours. I'm happy to enjoy the history and the beauty of all their ceremonial events, but, as an American, this series proves to me once again that it's much nicer to enjoy it from a distance. I'm glad we left it all behind.I very much recommend this series to anyone who loves historical drama.

Horrific. Utterly and completely horrific. To be sure, I'm a tad more critical than most, having spent the better part of my life studying, researching, visiting, reading and well.....thoroughly enjoying every era, reign and dynasty in the history of Great Britain.Hence the reason I was so disappointed watching Victoria and Albert portrayed-once again- as little more than one dimensional puppets. Scene's from their marriage invariably portray Victoria as high strung and prone to hysterics, while Albert is shown as little more than her lap dog, and a dull one at that.For 150 years, historians-for whatever reasons, have stuffed the vivid personalities of Bertie's parents into a tiny box- stamping the words "sleep remedy" on its side before setting it on a shelf. just because 'Vickie' requested "white meat of chicken" rather than "breast" does not a prude make. Nor a "hysteric." She shocked "society" with her extensive collection of nudes, riots of flesh vividly displayed in paintings, sculptures, et.-that adorned her many residences including both Windsor and Buckingham Palace.She could also let her hair down with the best of them. Albert WAS "the prude in the household".....in the beginning.But after a few years- he too began to loosen up. At first, only among close associates-but as he aged, Albert was often seen laughing heartily, even when he knew he was in the public eye.Which brings up a little known but fascinating fact about our misunderstood man from Gotha.... From the birth of their firstborn, Victoria-the "Princess Royal" to their last child, Princess Beatrice-Albert not only remained in the birthing room with Victoria, he actively assisted, hands on-with the ACTUAL DELIVERY of every one of their children!Rather forward thinking for the 1840's-50's, wouldn't you agree?As for "Bertie," by the time the program got to him-I was actively pinching my arms to stay awake. Slow pacing, stilted dialogue and ridiculous portrayals of Hanoverian, Scots and Danish accents started out dull, but once the actors began unintentionally slipping back to their native "Brit speak"-things picked up a bit.And as with "Mum and Dad," Bertie's life is portrayed with no imagination, just the same old regurgitated tales of womanizing and food-over and over and over again.I also found it impossible to decide which "Historical Characterization" was the bloody worst. Wellington with his prosthetic nose? Baroness Lenchen's unibrow? ( arched to great effect) Victoria's "mama,"-indignant and overwrought- all 200+ pounds of her? (in reality she kept her slender figure until death) Baron Stockmeyer's on again-off again accent? The actor playing Albert-who couldn't seem to decide if his accent too, was German or English? (maybe it was French!)My list is endless while your attention spans are not. Therefore, I'd like to caution one and all to think hard, really hard-about spending your precious pennies on a low-rent production most high school drama clubs could pull off better.

To take on this era in British history and wrap it up neatly into a movie is quite a task. Yet, this account has managed to accomplish that. The DVD is insightful and informative concerning the Royal family and all that pressures them into who they are and what they do. his is an award-winning drama about England's furst truly 20th century monarch. I found Edward's story to be quite sad. Such potential wasted for such a long time, then his life cut short because of his lifestyle. If you enjoy British history, you will probably enjoy this. Good acting.

I thoroughly enjoyed this mini-series. The story telling and acting was superb. I will watch it again at a later date. It is a mini-series that I will keep in my collection and probably watch several times.

Thoroughly enjoyed watching this series again. Well done docudrama of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and King Edward.

I like HISTORY, Especially the way Royals lived, this movie gives you a real insight,Especially what type of woman Queen Victoria was!!If you feel like what I do, this movie is for you.