“Marie Antoinette" Encore Sunday, Aug. 20 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV + "The Romanovs & The Russian Revolution" Encore Sunday, Aug. 27 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV / Stream the entire series now with KPBS Passport!
Rediscover the true stories behind three of history’s most remarkable queens and their roles in historical events on the three-part series LUCY WORSLEY’S ROYAL MYTHS & SECRETS. Lucy Worsley, chief curator of the Historic Royal Palaces, travels across Britain and Europe visiting the incredible locations — beautiful palaces, castles and dramatic battlefields — where royal history was made. Throughout, Worsley investigates how royal history is a mixture of facts, exaggeration, manipulation and mythology.
Notable women and their roles in historical events are featured: Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada, Queen Anne and the Formation of Great Britain, and Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution.
These three women helped forge the Europe we know today, but Worsley explains how their stories are riddled with inaccuracies.
- Was Elizabeth I’s defeat of the Spanish Armada really a David and Goliath triumph, or is that one of England’s greatest myths?
- How did rumors about Queen Anne’s love life and physical weaknesses overshadow her role in forging Great Britain?
- Did Marie Antoinette actually say “Let them eat cake!” and ignite the French Revolution?
Worsley reveals how history is thought of as a definitive truth about the past, but is often misrepresented through rumor, speculation and sometimes outright lies.
“History is a chorus of voices, each of them shouting out its own version of the story,” Worsley observes in the series. “Very often, it’s the loudest voices that get heard most clearly.”
EPISODE GUIDE:
“Elizabeth I: The Warrior Queen” Stream now with KPBS Passport! - Join Lucy Worsley for an exploration of how Elizabeth I's image as a warrior queen, created by a series of myths and secrets about her victory over the Spanish Armada, shaped British national identity for centuries.
“Marie Antoinette" Encore Sunday, Aug. 20 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV - Find out why Marie Antoinette is often blamed for causing the French Revolution by saying "let them eat cake" to her starving subjects. Lucy Worsley uncovers the myths and secrets that led the doomed queen to the guillotine.
“Queen Anne: The Mother of Great Britain” Stream now with KPBS Passport! - Investigate why Queen Anne's powerful role in the forging of Great Britain has often been forgotten. Lucy Worsley shares the inside story of the salacious gossip about Anne's love life that helped destroy her image and legacy.
"Henry VIII's Reformation" - Stream now with KPBS Passport! - Lucy Worsley investigates the inside story of the English Reformation. Was Henry VIII's desire to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn the real reason for England's split from Catholic Europe? Or was a secret political agenda at work behind the scenes?
"Kings George III & IV and the Napoleonic War" - Stream now with KPBS Passport! - Lucy Worsley reveals how mental health problems forced King George III to relinquish power to his debauched and extravagant son. Was this really an era of elegance and regal splendor or an age of radicalism and revolution? How were myths and secrets used to save the British monarchy?
"The Romanovs & The Russian Revolution" Encore Sunday, Aug. 27 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV - The October Revolution of 1917 has gone down in history as the only Russian Revolution that really mattered. But Lucy Worsley reveals that the earlier revolution in February that year was downplayed in Bolshevik history books and films despite the fact that it was the truly spontaneous popular uprising that swept the Czar from power.
Watch On Your Schedule:
The series is available to stream on demand with KPBS Passport, a benefit for members supporting KPBS at $60 or more yearly, using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn how to activate your benefit now.
Credits:
Produced by the BBC, with funding for the PBS presentation provided by public television viewers. The executive producer is Chris Granlund. Episode 1 produced and directed by Laura Blount. Episode 2 produced and directed by Tom Cholmondeley. Episode 3 produced and directed by Andrew Thompson.
