The Virgin Queen

2006

The Virgin Queen

7.4 | en | Drama

The Virgin Queen explores the full sweep of Elizabeth's life: from her days of fear as a potential victim of her sister's terror; through her great love affair with Robert Dudley; into her years of triumph over the Armada; and finally her old age and her last, enigmatic relationship with her young protégé, the Earl of Essex.

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Seasons & Episodes

EP4 Part 4

Feb. 12,2006

The Queen refuses to pay him when the Earl of Essex, the new national hero, returns with less riches than expected. He then travels to Ireland in order to put down a rebellion. He is not doing as well there as hoped. Elizabeth, however, doesn't allow him to come back home. To her dismay, he gives up and agrees on a ceasefire. Back in England, the Earl of Essex leads a rebellion against Queen Elizabeth. He and the other rebellion members are put in the tower after he they were unable to mobilize enough support. Eventually, Essex is executed.

EP3 Part 3

Feb. 05,2006

In order to neutralize the threat from the Catholics, Elizabeth pursues a match with the Duke of Anjou. Walsingham discovers proof of a planed murder of Elizabeth. Elizabeth sends the Duke of Anjou away when she finds a knife in her bed and brings Mary Queen of Scots to trial. She is forced to execute her when Mary Queen of Scots is found guilty. This execution angers the Spanish and they send their Armada to fight the English as a consequence. However, the English can defeat the Armada. The news of Dudley's death leaves Elizabeth heartbroken, but when she meets the step-son of Dudley, the Earl of Essex, she allows herself to be charmed by him.

EP2 Part 2

Jan. 29,2006

The pressure on Elizabeth grows as there is still no marriage and consequently no heir to the throne. Elizabeth fears that her cousin Mary Queen of Scots, recently widowed, might claim her right to the throne of England. However she is resolute in thinking that she can rule alone. Meanwhile she continues to meet Robert Dudley. When his wife dies, rumors spread that Elizabeth might be behind her death. Details of a plot to replace Elizabeth with Mary are uncovered by Walsingham. Even the Duke of Norfolk seems to be involved and is subsequently sent to the tower.

EP1 Part 1

Jan. 22,2006

Elizabeth remains a threat in her childless Catholic sister's eyes. Queen Mary is still on the throne and with her harsh politics, she excessively pursues the persecution of Protestants, even of her sister. Queen Mary knows that her sister has a large number of supporters in England, and therefore, she imprisons Elizabeth in the tower and later puts her under house arrest. When Queen Mary surprisingly dies from a tumor, Elizabeth becomes Queen of England. William Cecil, her advisor, warns Elizabeth of the dangers that the married Robert Dudley may, due to their inappropriate relation, cause as a member of the Privy Council.

7.4 | en | Drama | More Info

Released: 2006-01-22 | Released Producted By: BBC , Country: United Kingdom Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/virginqueen/

Synopsis

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Cast

Anne-Marie Duff , Tom Hardy , Ian Hart

Director

Charmian Adams

Producted By

BBC ,

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Cast

Anne-Marie Duff

as Queen Elizabeth I

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Tom Hardy

as Robert Dudley

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Ian Hart

as William Cecil - Lord Burghley

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Reviews

parsifalssister Another version of a Tudor, Elizabeth I, the Gloriana, done up quite splendidly by the BBC. The strongest aspect, as I viewed it, was neither the story, the costumes or the scenes, but the bold performance of Anne Marie Duff. She glows as a young Elizabeth, and displays strength and vanity as her aging self. Yes, the make-up could have been better, or as one suggested an alternate older actress, but the pace of Duff's performance was incrementally finer, than finer still, as she reached deeper into her character. And if one seeks out a miniature of the Queen, one sees a remarkable resemblance between the Queen and the actress. Dudley, portrayed by Hardy, was a good foil; his perhaps son, but certainly step son, Essex portrayed by Hans Matheson, were interestingly cast, not so much by the actors but rather for the dramatic interpretation brought to each character. It is only bested by the old Bette Davis version of Elizabeth and Essex in spotlighting how the Virgin Queen sought male affection, but rebuffed any control but her own.What burden the Queen, a bastard, a princess, and then a monarch must have endured in her private life, a life often dismissed for her political reign, or exaggerated for her fancy of her childhood friend, Robbie.A most worthy addition to the pantheon of Tudor drama.

kayaker36 This is well plowed ground. For years the role of England's Elizabeth I was owned by Glenda Jackson. Australian Cate Blanchett, Helen Mirren and now Anne-Marie Duff have essayed in the last ten years to portray Gloriana on the screen.This version is more watchable, more accessible, more **alive** than any before. Glenda Jackson was too sour and too butch--attended by a fawning and effeminate Dudley. Jeremy Irons looked like he had risen from the grave playing Robert Dudley to Helen Mirren's Elizabeth in that BBC production focusing on her middle years. Horrid is the only word to describe Ms. Mirren's appearance. The Cate Blanchett movie version tries to portray Elizabeth as a kind of early feminist--a concept that would not exist for many centuries. Dudley is squeezed into a tiny corner and hardly is a presence at all.This production adopts as its center the long relationship between Elizabeth and Dudley. As "Robbie" Dudley, handsome, boyish Tom Hardy has swagger and sex appeal. He is not the least bit intimidated by his childhood playmate "Bess" now being the Queen. In one of this production's many telling moments, he is seen stroking the royal neck discreetly but not furtively even as Elizabeth receives the ambassador of the King of Spain. Agreed, Dudley seems to age little compared to Elizabeth, who gets older in appearance if not in demeanor. The relationship is accordingly more credible in the early parts of the series when both are in their twenties.A few nitpicking pedants have pointed up some historical inaccuracies of a very minor nature. They in no way detract from the impact of this splendid version of history with its colorful sets, fine costumes, excellent acting and unforgettable musical score.

KateCTU Having read the previous comments I would concur with what has been said, but here in the UK this was shown as 4 90 minute episodes, not 60 minutes as inferred in the previous post.I loved everything about this production even down to the usage of the group the 'Medieval Baebes' (who perform mainly medieval AND Tudor/Renaissance popular music) which gave one goosebumps when you think that this music was probably well loved and performed by the real Queen and her courtiers.If you check out the BBC Drama website it gives the background as to how the costumes were made to look in period and yet so modern and also the locations used. It was quite refreshing to see a British produced history series actually filmed in the UK and not in one of the old Eastern bloc countries as with the Channel 4 'Elizabeth I' and that other history series with Ann Marie Duff playing a character 'Charles II: The Power and the Passion' Well done BBC...it will not surprise me if another BAFTA is not forthcoming for this production. Keep up the good work!

mama-sylvia The authors disagree with most conventional histories of Elizabeth in small but significant elements. The most important was their portrayal of Amy Dudley's death as a suicide, since the cloud her death left over Robert Dudley affected his relationship with Elizabeth for the rest of his life. They portray Lettice Devereaux as a scheming vixen, Mary of Scotland as being framed for conspiracy against Elizabeth, the Earl of Essex as a manic-depressive, and portray Elizabeth as seriously intending marriage when most evidence shows she was shrewdly playing suitors against each other to benefit England. On the other hand, many of the intriguing and baffling elements of her reign are accurately presented, including her intelligence, her scheming to survive her sister Bloody Mary's reign, her vanity, her tendency to blind partiality towards her favorites, and the astonishingly poor military ability of those favorites. Rather engaging story and will hold the interest of those not familiar with Tudor England, but seriously disappointing to those of us who think the story supported by historical documentation is enthralling enough.