Private Lives of the Monarchs episode guide

A trip back through time to examine the lives of some of the grandest and most notorious figures in British history.

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Ep1: Queen Victoria And Her Wayward Son

If ever the image of a monarch was fixed in the public imagination, it's that of Queen Victoria. She gave her name to an age not readily associated with fun and laughter, and with some justification. In this episode, Tracy explores two of the most important relationships in her private life: those with her husband Prince Albert (with whom things may not have been quite as they seemed) and her eldest son Edward, who she came to utterly despise.
Ep2: George III And The Prince Regent

Tracy reveals the story behind not one, but two of history's most infamous private lives, which are forever intertwined - the tragic 'mad' King George III and his son, the Prince Regent. They could hardly have been more different as men and the two hated each other. Here, Tracy explores their fractious relationship, which was made worse by the King's 'madness' - a condition that has attracted recent fascinating theories.
Ep3: Louis XIV

It's off to Paris where Tracy gets to hear about the private life of the 'Sun King' - the man who believed that the rest of France revolved around him. She hears the truth about the Palace of Versailles - outwardly sumptuous and glorious, actually filthy and stinking. What were the real reasons for the King's love of clothes, perfumes and wigs? Tracy discovers the truth about King Louis' tangled love life, extravagant lifestyle and extraordinary vanity.
Ep4: Charles II

In this episode, Tracy is transported back to Reformation England and the decadent, licentious court of Charles II. The 'Merrie Monarch' let nothing get in the way of a good time and so Tracy is introduced to a world of mistresses, pimp-masters, secret tunnels, sumptuous feasts... and merkins. She also hears more about the King's favourite mistress Nell Gwynn - perhaps a little more than the simple orange seller-turned-actress of popular image.
Ep5: Henry VIII

And so, finally, Tracy explores the private life of England's most famous monarch - the handsome, athletic prince who eventually became the archetypal tyrant king. But why and how did it happen? Tracy explains as she tells of Henry's turbulent romances and marriages, the less than glamorous but highly sought after job as Groom of the Stool and the king's journey into obese and foul-smelling old age.

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Ep1: Queen Victoria And Her Wayward Son

Ep2: George III And The Prince Regent

Ep3: Louis XIV

Ep4: Charles II

Ep5: Henry VIII