''The Devil's Crown'' is a
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
television series
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
which dramatised the reigns of three
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
Kings of England:
Henry II and his sons
Richard I and
John. It is also known as ''La couronne du Diable'' in French.
The series was written by Jack Russell and
Ken Taylor. It was shown in the United Kingdom in thirteen 55-minute episodes between 30 April and 23 July 1978.
Despite being well-regarded overall, it is nowadays considered to be a lost series since it is not easily accessible to view. A full set of tape copies exist at the British Film Institute, where they can be viewed on request.
It has never been released on
DVD and is not free to view on any official streaming platforms. The only way to legally view the show is a French dubbed version, called "La couronne du Diable", which is available as a paid download.
Summary
Henry Plantagenet (latterly Henry II), sees his opportunity to seize the crown of England and create a kingdom of law and order. He cuts a deal with cousin King Stephen in which Stephen will name him his heir, excluding his sons Eustace and William in exchange for a fragile truce. Stephen's sudden death elevates Henry to the throne. He may have been King of England, but the bulk of the
Angevin Empire was in France, and it was this that Henry regarded as the Jewel in his Crown, maintained through a series of political marriages and complex allegiances. Henry pays homage to Louis VII, King of the Franks, for these lands, but it is clear that Henry is the shrewder and more ambitious of the two kings, having married Louis' ex-wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. As the years go on, Henry's numerous political achievements come under threat by familial strife as well as the ascension of Louis's much more canny and competent son
Philip II to the French throne. After he dies during a rebellion by Eleanor and his three surviving sons, he is succeeded by his second son Richard who is more interested in crusading than governing. When Richard dies childless, there is a succession battle between his underage nephew Arthur and loathsome brother John in which John comes out on top. John is forced into signing
Magna Carta
(Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...
by his barons but soon dies, leaving the vestiges of a once great empire to his young son
Henry III.
Cast
*
Brian Cox as
Henry II of England
Henry II () was King of England
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...
*
Michael Byrne as
Richard I of England
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...
** Glen Barlow as younger Richard
** Adrian Clark as young Richard
** Paul Rose as thirteen-year-old Richard
** Lawrence Clark as seven-year-old Richard
*
John Duttine as
John, King of England
John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...
**
Paul Spurrier as young John
*
Jane Lapotaire as
Eleanor of Aquitaine
*
Christopher Gable as
Philip II of France
*
Ralph Arliss as
Geoffrey, Archbishop of York
*
Charles Kay as
Louis VII of France
*
Jack Shepherd as
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...
*
Kevin McNally as
Henry the Young King
Henry the Young King (28 February 1155 – 11 June 1183) was the eldest son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine to survive childhood. In 1170, he became titular King of England, Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Maine. Henry th ...
**
Dominic Savage as young Henry
* Martin Neil as
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany
Geoffrey II (; , ; 23 September 1158 – 19 August 1186) was Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage to Constance, Duchess of Brittany. Geoffrey was the fourth of five sons of Henry II of England and ...
** Austin Somervell as young Geoffrey
*
Zoë Wanamaker
Zoë Wanamaker (born 13 May 1949) is an American-born British actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Wanamaker was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2001 by Qu ...
as
Berengaria of Navarre
*
Lynsey Baxter as
Isabella of Angoulême
*
Freddie Jones as
Bertran de Born
Bertran de Born (; 1140s – by 1215) was a baron from the Limousin in France, and one of the major Occitan troubadours of the 12th-13th century. He composed love songs (cansos) but was better known for his political songs (sirventes). He ...
*
Peter Benson as
Blondel de Nesle
*
Roy Boyd as
Ranulf de Glanville
*
Lucy Gutteridge as
Alys, Countess of the Vexin
**
Lorna Yabsley as thirteen-year-old Alys
*
Michael Hawkins as
Richard de Luci
*
Ian Hogg as
William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber
*
Ralph Michael as
Hubert Walter
*
Patrick Troughton as
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Anglo-Norman language, Norman French: ', French language, French: '), was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman during High Med ...
* Nina Francis as
Constance, Duchess of Brittany
**
Paula Williams as young Constance
*
Simon Gipps-Kent as
Arthur I, Duke of Brittany
* Joanne Stevens as
Joan of England, Queen of Sicily
Joan of England (October 1165 – 4 September 1199) was by marriage List of Sicilian royal consorts, Queen of Sicily and Countess of Toulouse. She was the seventh child of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine. From her birt ...
*
Bob Goody as Guide
* Elizabeth Stewart as Midwife
* Susannah Fellows as
Rosamund de Clifford
*
Bruce Purchase as
Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou
*
Brenda Bruce as
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...
*
Frederick Treves as
Stephen, King of England
Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne ''jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 ...
*
Paul Greenwood as
Geoffrey, Count of Nantes
*
Thorley Walters as
Gilbert Foliot
* Norman Etlinger as the
Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...
Episode List
*Ep.1 - If All the World Were Mine
*Ep.2 - The Earth Is Not Enough
*Ep.3 - A Rose, a Thorn
*Ep.4 - The Hungry Falcons
*Ep.5 - Before the Dark
*Ep.6 - Richard Yea and Nay
*Ep.7 - Lion of Christendom
*Ep.8 - When Cage-Birds Sing
*Ep.9 - Bolt from the Blue
*Ep.10 - In Sun's Eclipse
*Ep.11 - The Flowers Are Silent
*Ep.12 - Tainted King
*Ep.13 - To the Devil They Go
See also
*
List of historical drama films
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devil's Crown
1978 British television series debuts
1978 British television series endings
1970s British drama television series
BBC television dramas
BBC television royalty dramas
Historical television series
BBC television miniseries
Cultural depictions of Henry II of England
Cultural depictions of Richard I of England
Cultural depictions of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Cultural depictions of John, King of England
Cultural depictions of Empress Matilda
Cultural depictions of Henry the Young King
British English-language television shows
1970s British television miniseries