287 Edward the Seventh

First  watched  : Uncertain

I'm  not  sure  whether  I  caught  some  of  this  when  it  was  first  broadcast  in  the  spring  of  1975  or  when  it  was  repeated  on  Sunday  teatimes  early  in  1977. I  suspect  the  latter.  Whichever  it  was  I  didn't  watch  it  religiously  but  dipped  into  it   towards  the  end  of  the  series  as  the  rest  of  the  family  were  glued.

Although  its  production  was  almost  certainly  facilitated  by  the  success  of  Upstairs  Downstairs , Edward  the  Seventh   started  its  own  trend  (  as  we  shall  see  )  of  lengthy  period  dramas  based  on  historical  personages. This  one  was  based  on  Philip  Magnus's  biography  of  the  early  twentieth  century  monarch  and  was  produced  by  ATV..

The  title  is  slightly  misleading  because  of  course  Edward  was  restricted  to  a  relatively  short  reign  by  the  longevity  of  his  mother  Queen  Victoria  and  so  for  nine  of  the  thirteen  episodes  he's  just  Prince  Bertie. Across  the  series  the  main  character  is  actually  Queen  Victoria  as  played  by  Annette  Crosbie.

Although  the  costumes  were  lavish,  the  budget  for  the  series  was  not  unlimited   and  the  series  was  largely  studio-bound  with  limited  outdoor  scenes.  Many  of  the  sets  are  clearly  painted  backdrops.  Major  historical  events  are  largely  conveyed  by  the  likes  of  Palmerston  popping  by  the  Palace  to  tell  Victoria  and  Albert  about  them. Although  Edward  is  played  by  three  different  actors  ( four  if  you  count the  baby ),  many  of  the  other  characters  had  to  be  portrayed  by  the  same  person  and  look  wrong  at  times. Felicity  Kendal  for  instance  is  clearly  too  old  to  be  playing  Princess  Victoria  as  a  fifteen-year-old. Robert  Hardy's  too  old  for  Prince  Albert  at  the  start  but  grows  into  the  part  despite  a  dodgy  German  accent.

The  series  took  pride  in  being  as  historically  accurate  as  possible  although  there  were  limits  to  this.  Edward's  sexual  adventures  had  to  be  largely  skated  over  to  make  it  suitable  for  family  viewing  and  there's  perhaps  a  bit  too  much  foreshadowing  of  World  War  One  in  the later  episodes  with  Christopher  Neame  playing  the  Kaiser  as  a  pantomime  villain.

Despite  these  limitations  the  series  was  a  big  success  which  spawned  a  number  of  imitations.
Playing  the  mature  Edward  was  a  career-making  role  for  Timothy  West  whose  father  Lockwood  had  played   King  Edward  in  Upstairs  Downstairs   and  both  Crosbie  and  Hardy  benefited  from  the  increased  exposure  the  series  gave  them.