Episode 1 - A Nation State
Summary
The unique idea of a monarch who is answerable to the people has its roots in early Anglo-Saxon kings such as Alfred the Great, the intellectual warrior who united England.
Episode 2 - Ængla Land
SUMMARY
After decades of pounding by Danish invaders intent on “shock and awe,” England survives and thrives—but faces a true crisis after Edward the Confessor’s death.
Episode 3 - Conquest
Summary
With a mere 7,000 soldiers, William of Normandy conquers and brutally subjugates a nation of two million, changing England’s culture, social structure, and politics forever.
Episode 4 - Dynasty
Summary
Charismatic and hot-tempered, Henry II restores order to his realm by law and by the sword. Later in his line, the Magna Carta curbs and codifies royal power.
Episode 5 - A United Kingdom
SUMMARY
During “the century of Edwards,” the Hammer of the Scots boldly extends his rule over neighboring kingdoms, Edward II loses the crown as a captive of his passions, and Edward III styles himself as a new King Arthur.
Episode 6 - Death of a Dynasty
Summary
In a kingly conflict dramatized and embellished by Shakespeare, Richard II and his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, vie for the throne and begin a decades-long struggle that threatens the very basis of the English monarchy.
Episode 7 - The Crown Imperial
Summary
Although Edward IV’s coronation seems to end the War of the Roses, sibling ambitions within the House of York eventually throw the monarchy into turmoil. Henry Tudor forces a dynastic showdown at Bosworth Field and ushers in a new kind of monarchy.
Episode 8 - King and Emperor
SUMMARY
In his unquenchable thirst for celebrity and tortuous quest for a male heir, Henry VIII takes the English monarchy to new heights, asserting power over the souls of his subjects as well as their bodies.
Episode 9 - The Shadow of the King
Summary
After six marriages ending in two divorces, two executions, and one bereavement, Henry leaves three children with a clear succession plan for the throne. But Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth soon face their father’s real legacy: a volatile fusion of politics and religion.
Episode 10 - The Stuart Succession
Summary
James I takes the throne as the first “king of Great Britain,” ruling not only England, but also Scotland and Ireland. But the Stuart reign soon turns from heady triumph to failure and civil war.
Episode 11 - Cromwell - The King Killer
SUMMARY
Under the charismatic Oliver Cromwell, Parliament commits a previously unthinkable act: it executes a reigning king. Eventually, the fledgling republic discovers that it needs a monarch after all.
Episode 12 - Return of the King
Summary
In 1660, amid great pomp and celebration, Charles II returns from exile to assume the throne. With a combination of savvy and strong-arm tactics, he settles an incipient succession crisis and lays the foundation for the world’s first modern nation-state.
Episode 13 - The Glorious Revolution
Summary
Outraged by James II’s ham-handed attempts to promote tolerance for his fellow Catholics, Parliament invites his daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange, to invade England and take the throne—ushering in the Glorious Revolution.
Episode 14 - Rule Britannia
SUMMARY
Under William and Mary and their successor, Anne, the nation transforms itself into Europe’s greatest power and enjoys unprecedented financial prosperity. It also assumes a new name to match its new status: Great Britain.
Episode 15 - Empire
Summary
George I and his two namesakes forge new relationships with Parliamentary leaders, creating a dynamic that survives in British governance today. But rebellion in the American colonies and bouts of apparent madness bring George III to the brink of abdication.
Episode 16 - Survival
Summary
Weathering the antiroyalist storm breaking on the Continent, Great Britain stands strong against the military might of Napoleon. By the mid-19th century, Queen Victoria accedes to the throne, reinventing the British monarchy as a stable yet progressive institution.
