Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV / On demand with KPBS Passport!
In "Tales From The Royal Bedchamber," Dr. Lucy Worsley, chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces, snuggles up with Britain’s monarchs to uncover the fascinating secrets of the royal bedchamber. From Hampton Court to Hever Castle to the great English country manors, Worsley shows the opulence of Royal State bedrooms and explains how these private spaces were once very public hubs of English politics and policy.
It was in these rooms that royal marriage ceremonies were held, royal births were observed by crowds eager to verify the baby’s sex. Even the process of creating royal babies took place in a semi-public context, Worsley says, because everyone had a stake in its outcome. The eventual creation of private chambers evolved as a reaction to the overwhelmingly public nature of royal bedrooms, and affairs of state eventually were relegated to offices and the Houses of Parliament.
But the program gives viewers access to the regal pomp and detailed work of these inner chambers – detailing the lavish designs of royal state beds and “pulling back the covers” on the political intrigue that occurred behind closed doors.
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Credits:
Producer and director: Nick Gillam-Smith. Executive producer: Lionel Mill. Host: Dr. Lucy Worsley. Tiger Aspect Productions, an Endemol company, for BBC.
