We can't get enough of our Queens
David Hallam MA FRSA
Communications specialist and writer. Former Member of the European Parliament. Contributes a weekly TV and radio column to the Methodist Recorder.
Perhaps just a few months ago, with the Coronation of King Charles III, we thought we wouldn’t hear as much about the monarchy as we had in the previous year with the Jubilee and then passing of our late Queen.
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Surprisingly, recent TV schedules, show there is still a lot of interest in monarchy, and especially the lives of Queens. It is as if the death of Queen Elizabeth has sparked an interest in how a woman assumed the mantle of head of state, normally worn by a man.
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We know that there is worldwide interest in our own royal family, but as modern drama rather than history, politics or even feminism. One streaming service has spent millions making a serial out of the late Queen’s life and the portrayal of living people must be hard for those portrayed. The Crown (Netflix) is due to be released for a sixth series in the autumn, as if fifty? one-hour episodes hasn’t been enough. Sadly, it will almost certainly dramatise the various feuds in the Windsor family against the failing health but wholehearted commitment of our late Queen.
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On free-to-view TV there is ample choice: Saturday evening viewing during August sees no less than three programmes about queens. The most impressive is The Queens that Changed the World (Channel 4). It looks at how queens have wielded power in a “man’s world”. Over six weeks, episodes feature Elizabeth I, Anne, Victoria, Hatshepsut of Egypt, Eleanor of Acquitaine and Boudica. The first two, on Elizabeth and Anne, throw considerable light on the creation of the Protestant succession, England’s emergence as a world power and, for me, the welcome union with Scotland.
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Last week I remarked that the strength of a recent programme about the mid-twentieth century film star, Marilyn Monroe, was that the story was retold for women, by women. Those telling the story of Elizabeth and Anne were, with one exception, all women, and once again were able to provide insights that have eluded generations of male historians. Queens could only successfully rule kingdoms and create empires if they could project themselves in a different way from being a substitute for a man. Hence they became mothers, commanders and goddesses to their people, especially the military.
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Elizabeth emerged as Queen under the shadow of her father’s execution of her mother, Anne Boleyn, possible abuse by a male guardian, and the constant threat to her life while ?two half-siblings preceded her on the throne. Her defining moment came in England’s darkest moment when she spent the night with her troops before the expected landing of the Spanish Armada. This is a well written series which captures the challenges that these queens faced.
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Becoming Elizabeth (Channel 4)? imagines ?the life of Elizabeth Tudor before her accession. Alicia von Rittberg captures the vulnerability of Elizabeth, but also the underlying steel which would see her through her turbulent years reign. Tom Cullen is appropriately creepy and scheming as Thomas Seymour.
Our own Queen Elizabeth is still not forgotten. Go into any bookshop and there are whole shelves with books about her life. Elizabeth II: Making a Monarch (Channel 4) explores the vast Getty photographic archive of her life, many of the pictures in black and white. It was particularly interesting to hear how the renowned “royal” photographer for The Sun, Arthur Edwards, saw them, especially his envy at some splendid shots taken with equipment very different from that available today.?
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I Belong to Glazgoy (Radio 4) tells the remarkable story of Isaac Hirshow, a synagogue ?cantor and composer from Russia and Poland who arrived in Glasgow in 1922 and made an indelible impression on all those who heard his music. We hear much which would be familiar to British Methodist churches where we have welcomed waves of newcomers from different cultures into our congregations. Hirshow was “lost” as a composer, but this programme is a welcome reminder of a growing interest in his work. It is on BBC Sounds until early September.
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My favourite farm shop isn’t down a country lane somewhere out in the sticks but in a service area on the M5 between Birmingham and Bristol. If ever you are passing, make a point of catching up with A Cotswold Farm Shop (Channel 4). It was set up by the Dunning family who started the hugely successful farm shop on the M6 at Tebay in the Lake District. Both shops focus on providing local produce and work for local people. Community charities get ?a share of the turnover and a special “bridging the gap” scheme enables people who would otherwise struggle to find work get training and a first job. Viewers ?meet the suppliers and there was a particularly interesting piece about a farmer hoping to introduce motorists to perry, the cider made from pears. However, I wasn’t excited by one farmer’s idea of infusing his cheese with wild garlic.
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Meanwhile peace prevails in the Hallam household. Regular readers will know that Claire and I have had sharply differing views of Not Going Out (BBC 1). It features Lee Mack as a fairly useless husband and? Sally Bretton as his long suffering wife. After the ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ it is Britain’s longest running comedy series. In the past, Claire has resolutely refused to watch it, but the latest series, especially the episode set in a coffin, even got a laugh from her!