A Royal Scandal
Encyclopedia
A Royal Scandal is a 1996 British
television
docudrama
produced and directed by Sheree Folkson. The teleplay
by Stanley Price focuses on the ill-fated marriage of George IV
and Duchess Caroline of Brunswick
. Dialogue from actual historical records reveals how each party tries to humiliate the other, causing the monarchy
to suffer great embarrassment. Narrated by Ian Richardson
, the drama was broadcast by the BBC
.
The programme was released on videotape
in 1998 and is included in its entirety as a bonus feature on the DVD
of The Queen's Sister
, released by BBC Video in 2007.
, only if he marries his coarse and vulgar cousin, Caroline of Brunswick, despite her many faults. The marriage is a disaster from the very start; her efforts to achieve a semblance of grace and majesty fail miserably, and George has no qualms about flaunting his ongoing relationship with Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey
in front of his wife. The two formally separate after the birth of their daughter Charlotte
, and George reunites with Maria Fitzherbert, whom he had wed years before meeting Caroline. The union was considered invalid because it had not been approved by the king and the Privy Council
.
Caroline is banished to a private residence in Blackheath
and her contact with her daughter is restricted. She acts as foster mother to several children, and it is rumored one of them is her biological son. An investigation fails to prove the allegation, but Caroline is accused of improper conduct. She leaves the country to travel abroad, and reports of her scandalous behavior reach her husband on a regular basis. While she's away, nineteen-year-old Charlotte dies after giving birth to a stillborn son.
George IV's accession to the throne brings Caroline back to Britain, and she is embraced by the public, much to her husband's distress. He orders his Prime Minister
to destroy her reputation. Efforts to strip Caroline of the title of queen consort and dissolve her marriage by accusing her of committing adultery with commoner Bartolomeo Pergami fail, despite a long parade of witnesses. She arrives at Westminster Abbey
to attend her husband's coronation
on the arm of her loyal supporter, Lord Hood, but is turned away at the door.
That night Caroline falls ill with what is diagnosed as an intestinal obstruction and, certain death is imminent, requests she be buried in Brunswick
. When she dies shortly after, her final wish is honored by her friends. A plaque reading "Caroline of Brunswick The Injured Queen of England" is affixed to her casket.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
produced and directed by Sheree Folkson. The teleplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Stanley Price focuses on the ill-fated marriage of George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
and Duchess Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was the Queen consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom from 29 January 1820 until her death...
. Dialogue from actual historical records reveals how each party tries to humiliate the other, causing the monarchy
British monarchy
The monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...
to suffer great embarrassment. Narrated by Ian Richardson
Ian Richardson
Ian William Richardson CBE was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's House of Cards trilogy. He was also a leading Shakespearean stage actor....
, the drama was broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
The programme was released on videotape
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
in 1998 and is included in its entirety as a bonus feature on the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
of The Queen's Sister
The Queen's Sister
The Queen's Sister is a 2005 British television movie directed by Simon Cellan Jones. The teleplay by Craig Warner is a semi-fictionalized account of the life of Princess Margaret, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, from 1952 until the mid-1970s. It was produced by Touchpaper Television,...
, released by BBC Video in 2007.
Plot synopsis
Saddled with debt, the Prince of Wales is promised financial support from his father, the reigning King GeorgeGeorge III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, only if he marries his coarse and vulgar cousin, Caroline of Brunswick, despite her many faults. The marriage is a disaster from the very start; her efforts to achieve a semblance of grace and majesty fail miserably, and George has no qualms about flaunting his ongoing relationship with Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey
Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey
Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey was one of the more notorious of the many mistresses of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales, "a scintillating society woman, a heady mix of charm, beauty, and sarcasm".-Early life:She was born Frances Twysden, second and posthumous daughter of the Rev...
in front of his wife. The two formally separate after the birth of their daughter Charlotte
Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales
Princess Charlotte of Wales was the only child of George, Prince of Wales and Caroline of Brunswick...
, and George reunites with Maria Fitzherbert, whom he had wed years before meeting Caroline. The union was considered invalid because it had not been approved by the king and the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
.
Caroline is banished to a private residence in Blackheath
Blackheath, London
Blackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west...
and her contact with her daughter is restricted. She acts as foster mother to several children, and it is rumored one of them is her biological son. An investigation fails to prove the allegation, but Caroline is accused of improper conduct. She leaves the country to travel abroad, and reports of her scandalous behavior reach her husband on a regular basis. While she's away, nineteen-year-old Charlotte dies after giving birth to a stillborn son.
George IV's accession to the throne brings Caroline back to Britain, and she is embraced by the public, much to her husband's distress. He orders his Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
to destroy her reputation. Efforts to strip Caroline of the title of queen consort and dissolve her marriage by accusing her of committing adultery with commoner Bartolomeo Pergami fail, despite a long parade of witnesses. She arrives at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
to attend her husband's coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
on the arm of her loyal supporter, Lord Hood, but is turned away at the door.
That night Caroline falls ill with what is diagnosed as an intestinal obstruction and, certain death is imminent, requests she be buried in Brunswick
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
. When she dies shortly after, her final wish is honored by her friends. A plaque reading "Caroline of Brunswick The Injured Queen of England" is affixed to her casket.
Principal cast
- Richard E. GrantRichard E. GrantRichard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
..... George IV - Susan LynchSusan LynchSusan Lynch is an actor from Northern Ireland.-Early life:Lynch was born in Corrinshego, Newry, County Armagh, Northern Ireland to an Italian mother and Irish father. Her brother is actor John Lynch, she has a sister, Pauline, who is a drama teacher at St...
..... Caroline of Brunswick - Michael KitchenMichael KitchenMichael Kitchen is an English actor and television producer, best known for his starring role as DCS Foyle in the British TV series Foyle's War.-Early life:...
..... Lord MalmesburyJames Harris, 1st Earl of MalmesburyJames Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury GCB was an English diplomatist.-Early life :... - Denis LawsonDenis LawsonDenis Stamper Lawson is a Scottish actor and director. He is known for his roles as John Jarndyce in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House and as Gordon Urquhart in the film Local Hero, but is best known for playing the part of Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy.-Early life:Lawson was...
..... Henry BroughamHenry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and VauxHenry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux was a British statesman who became Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.As a young lawyer in Scotland Brougham helped to found the Edinburgh Review in 1802 and contributed many articles to it. He went to London, and was called to the English bar in... - Frances BarberFrances BarberFrances Barber is an Olivier Award-nominated English actress with a long and distinguished stage career. She has also appeared in numerous television productions...
..... Frances Villiers - Irene Richard ..... Maria Fitzherbert
- Oliver Ford DaviesOliver Ford Davies-Biography:From the King's School, Canterbury, he won a scholarship to Merton College, Oxford, where he read History and became President of the Oxford University Dramatic Society . He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award in 1990 for Best Actor in a New Play for Racing Demon...
..... Lord Liverpool - Stephen BoxerStephen BoxerStephen Boxer is an English actor who has appeared in films, on television and on stage and is best known for appearing in the BBC One daytime soap opera Doctors...
..... Lord Hood