Editing Elizabeth R

{{Short description|TV miniseries}}
{{about|the 1971 TV drama|the 1992 film about Elizabeth II|Elizabeth R: A Year in the Life of the Queen|the 20th-century person with this signature|Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth Regina|Queen Elizabeth (disambiguation){{!}}Queen Elizabeth}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = ElizabethR3.jpg
| caption              = Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I
| genre                = [[Drama]]
| creator              =
| developer            =
| writer               =
| director             =
| creative_director    =
| presenter            =
| starring             = [[Glenda Jackson]]<br>[[Ronald Hines]]<br>[[Stephen Murray (actor)|Stephen Murray]]<br>[[Robert Hardy]]
| theme_music_composer =
| opentheme            =
| endtheme             =
| composer             =
| country              = United Kingdom
| language             = English
| num_series           = 1
| num_episodes         = 6
| list_episodes        =
| executive_producer   =
| producer             =
| editor               =
| location             =
| cinematography       =
| camera               =
| runtime              = 6 × 90 minutes
| company              =
| channel              = [[BBC2]]
| first_aired          = {{start date|1971|2|17|df=y}}
| last_aired           = {{end date|1971|3|24|df=y}}
| related              = {{Plainlist|
* ''[[The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970 TV series)|The Six Wives of Henry VIII]]''
}}
}}

'''''Elizabeth R''''' is a [[BBC television drama]] [[Serial (radio and television)|serial]] of six 90-minute plays starring [[Glenda Jackson]] as Queen [[Elizabeth I]] of England. It was first [[Broadcasting|broadcast]] on [[BBC2]] from February to March 1971, through the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] in [[Australia]] and broadcast in the United States on [[PBS]]'s ''[[Masterpiece Theatre]]''. The series has been repeated several times, most recently from 15 March 2023, by [[BBC Four]].<ref name=guardian>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/19/glenda-jackson-elizabeth-i-royal-duty-desire-tv|title=Glenda Jackson's Elizabeth I embodies a timeless royal quandary: duty or desire?|date=19 March 2021|access-date=20 March 2021|first=Alex|last=von Tunzelmann|work=[[The Guardian]]|author-link=Alex von Tunzelmann}}</ref>

==Production==
''Elizabeth R'' was filmed at a variety of locations including [[Penshurst Place]] which doubled as the queen's castle grounds and [[Chiddingstone]] in [[Kent]], though all the interiors were recorded at the [[BBC Television Centre]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Kent Film Office|url=http://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/1971/08/elizabeth-r-1971/|title=Elizabeth R (1971)|date=1971-08-12}}</ref>

The first episode was broadcast on 17 February 1971, beginning on screen with the year [[1549]] as the setting, with [[Princess]] Elizabeth's difficult ascent to the throne of England nine years later.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/february/elizabeth-r History of the BBC at BBC.com]</ref> The final episode was shown on 24 March 1971, the 368th anniversary of the Queen's death on March 24, 1603. It was repeated almost immediately in response to audience demand.<ref name=guardian/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/february/elizabeth-r|title=Elizabeth R|website=BBC|access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref>

The series followed the successful ''[[The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970 TV series)|Six Wives of Henry VIII]]'' (1970), with several performers reprising their roles in ''Elizabeth R'' (all in the first episode) from the earlier series, notably [[John Ronane]] as [[Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley]], [[Bernard Hepton]] as [[Thomas Cranmer|Cranmer]], [[Basil Dignam]] as [[Stephen Gardiner|Bishop Gardiner]] and [[Rosalie Crutchley]] as [[Catherine Parr]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=1974-01-04|title=A repeat series of Elizabeth R'|pages=2|work=Beverley Times (WA: 1905–1977) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article202741050|access-date=2020-11-04}}</ref>

In February 1972, ''Elizabeth R'' first aired in the United States on ''[[Masterpiece Theatre]]'', then hosted by [[Alistair Cooke]] on [[PBS]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_middlebrow/2005/10/masterpiece_theatre.html |title=Masterpiece Theatre: Thirty-five years of unflinching refinement |author= Curtis, Bryan |website=slate.com |date=2005-10-20 |access-date=2018-12-07 }}</ref> In the summer of 1972, it was rebroadcast with commercials on the [[New York City]] independent station [[WWOR-TV|WOR-TV]] Channel 9.

[[Glenda Jackson]]'s performance in the title role won her two [[Emmy Award]]s—for Best Actress in a Drama Series and Best Actress in a Movie/TV Special (for the episode "Shadow in the Sun").<ref name="LAT">{{cite news|last=Mills |first=Nancy |title=Queenliest Member of Parliament|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=1995-06-24|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-06-24-ca-16657-story.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.emmys.com/bios/glenda-jackson |title=Glenda Jackson |author=Television Academy |website=emmys.com |access-date=2018-12-07 }}</ref> The series itself won the Emmy for the Best Dramatic Series in 1972 (the first British TV series ever to win the American TV award, before ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)|Upstairs, Downstairs]]'' carried the award two years later). At around the same time, Jackson also played the part of Elizabeth in the film ''[[Mary, Queen of Scots (1971 film)|Mary, Queen of Scots]]'' (1971).<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067402/ IMDb entry for ''Mary, Queen of Scots'']</ref>

Costume designer [[Elizabeth Waller]] won an Emmy for her designs;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Elizabeth R Masterpiece Theatre|url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/elizabeth-r-masterpiece-theatre|access-date=2020-11-04|website=Television Academy|language=en}}</ref> she recreated many of the historical Elizabeth's actual gowns, adapting them from a number of the Queen's official portraits. They later went on display at [[Hampton Court Palace]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/BBC-Annual/BBC-Year-Book-1972.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/BBC-Annual/BBC-Year-Book-1972.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=BBC Handbook 1972|publisher=BBC|year=1972|isbn=0-563-12141-6|location=London|pages=41}}</ref> ''Elizabeth R'' featured many well-known British actors, including [[Malcolm McFee]], [[Michael Williams (actor)|Michael Williams]], [[Margaretta Scott]], [[John Woodvine]], [[James Laurenson]], [[Angela Thorne]], [[Brian Wilde]], [[Robin Ellis]], [[Robert Hardy]] and [[Peter Egan]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cushman|first=Robert|title=Queens Counsel|journal=Harpers and Queen|volume=March 1971|pages=49|via=Proquest}}</ref>

The series was parodied in ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' in an [[absurdism|absurdist]] sketch where a Japanese film director, disguised unconvincingly as [[Luchino Visconti]], forces his cast to perform as Queen Elizabeth's court while sitting on motor-scooters and speaking [[Engrish]]. Therefore, the title was changed to "Erizabeth L". ''Elizabeth R'' was first released for [[DVD region code|DVD Region 1]] during 2001 by BBC Warner and then re-released by BBC Worldwide in 2011. In DVD Region 2, it was issued by [[2 Entertain]] in 2006.

==Cast==
''Note: This list is incomplete.''
{{div col}}
* [[Glenda Jackson]] as [[Elizabeth I of England]]
* [[Robert Hardy]] as [[Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester]]
* [[Ronald Hines]] as Sir [[William Cecil, Lord Burghley]]
* [[Stephen Murray (actor)|Stephen Murray]] as Sir [[Francis Walsingham]]
* [[John Shrapnel]] as [[Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex]]
* [[Bernard Horsfall]] as Sir [[Christopher Hatton]]
* [[Robin Ellis]] as [[Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex|Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex]]
* Jason Kemp as [[Edward VI of England]]
* [[Daphne Slater]] as [[Mary I of England]]
* [[Vivian Pickles]] as [[Mary, Queen of Scots]]
* [[Hamilton Dyce]] as [[Amyas Paulet]]
* [[Rachel Kempson]] as [[Kat Ashley]]
* [[Peter Jeffrey]] as [[Philip II of Spain]]
* [[Margaretta Scott]] as [[Catherine de' Medici]]
* [[Michael Williams (actor)|Michael Williams]] as [[François, Duke of Anjou]] (and Alençon)
* [[James Laurenson]] as Jean de Simier
* [[Jill Balcon]] as Lady Cobham, Lady-in-Waiting
* [[David Collings]] as [[Anthony Babington]]
* [[Bernard Holley]] as [[Gilbert Gifford]]
* [[David Nettheim]] as [[Thomas Phelippes]]
* John Graham as [[William Davison (diplomat)|William Davison]]
* [[John Woodvine]] as Sir [[Francis Drake]]
* [[Peter Howell (actor)|Peter Howell]] as [[Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham]]
* [[John Nettleton (actor)|John Nettleton]] as Sir [[Francis Bacon]]
* [[Angela Thorne]] as [[Lettice Knollys]]
* Hugh Dickson as [[Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury]]
* [[Nicholas Selby]] as Sir [[Walter Raleigh]]
* [[Clifford Rose]] as [[Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley]]
* [[John Ronane]] as [[Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley]]
* [[Bernard Hepton]] as [[Archbishop Cranmer]]
* [[Basil Dignam]] as [[Stephen Gardiner|Bishop Gardiner]]
* [[John Ruddock]] as [[Archbishop Whitgift]]
* [[Rosalie Crutchley]] as [[Catherine Parr]]
* [[Brian Wilde]] as [[Richard Topcliffe]]
* David Garfield as [[John Ballard (Jesuit)|John Ballard]]
* [[Peter Egan]] as [[Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton]]
* Hayden Jones as [[Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy]]
* [[Patrick O'Connell (actor)|Patrick O'Connell]] as [[Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone]]
* Sonia Fraser as [[Elizabeth Wriothesley, Countess of Southampton]]
* Shirley Dixon as [[Penelope Rich, Lady Rich]]
* Judith South as [[Frances Radclyffe, Countess of Sussex]]
* [[Raf De La Torre]] as [[John Dee]]
* [[Stanley Lebor]] as Sir [[Robert Tyrwhitt (courtier)|Robert Tyrwhitt]]
* Nicolette Bernard as Lady [[Elizabeth Tyrwhitt]]
* [[Kevin Brennan (actor)|Kevin Brennan]] as Bridges
* [[Julian Holloway]] as [[Antoine de Noailles]]
* Brendan Barry as [[Simon Renard]]
* Robert Garrett as [[Thomas Wyatt the Younger]]
* Alan Foss as Sir [[Henry Bedingfeld]]
* Philip Brack as [[John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland]]
* Ian Barritt as Fowler
* [[Blake Butler]] as [[Thomas Parry (Comptroller of the Household)|Thomas Parry]]
* Richard Parry as Guard
* Sarah Frampton as [[Lady Jane Grey]]
* Robert Barry as [[Lord Guildford Dudley]]
* [[Michael Culver]] as John Tregannon
* [[Esmond Knight]] as Bishop [[Álvaro de la Quadra]]
{{div col end}}

==Episodes==
{{Episode table
|background=#749F7E
|overall=6
|title=30
|airdate=20
|episodes=

{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 1
 |Title = The Lion's Cub
 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|2|17|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary = The succession of the boy king [[Edward VI]] heralds dangerous times for the young Princess Elizabeth. Having narrowly avoided implication in Sir [[Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley|Thomas Seymour]]'s attempted abduction of Edward, she becomes an unintentional figurehead for a [[Protestant]] rebellion led by [[Thomas Wyatt the Younger]] when her half-sister Queen [[Mary I]], a devout [[Roman Catholic]], succeeds to the throne.
 |LineColor = 749F7E
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 2
 |Title = The Marriage Game
 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|2|24|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary = The new queen [[Elizabeth I]] is 25 years old—and unmarried. Her Council—particularly the man she trusts most, Sir [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley|William Cecil]]—urges her to marry quickly to ensure the succession. Only Lord [[Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester|Robert Dudley]], at first her Master of the Horse, and eventually the [[Earl of Leicester]], seems to interest the queen.
 |LineColor = 749F7E
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 3
 |Title = Shadow in the Sun
 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|3|3|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary = Elizabeth meets her most eligible suitor yet: [[Francis, Duke of Alençon]], the younger brother of the French king. A marriage will cement France's sought-for alliance with England. Despite the Puritans' rousing of opposition in the country (which her zealously anti-Catholic councillor Sir [[Francis Walsingham]] secretly approves of), Elizabeth seems taken with the witty and flower-tongued Francis. Her duties as queen clashing with her feelings as a woman, Elizabeth faces her toughest decision.
 |LineColor = 749F7E
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 4
 |Title = Horrible Conspiracies
 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|3|10|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary = As long as the imprisoned [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] lives, she is the focus of plotters and revolutionaries. Despite a clampdown against conspiring Roman Catholics, Mary (Elizabeth's prisoner for nearly twenty years), inspires an attempt to overthrow Elizabeth. Elizabeth fears Mary's death will condemn her in the eyes of God.
 |LineColor = 749F7E
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 5
 |Title = The Enterprise of England
 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|3|17|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary = The infirm King [[Philip II of Spain]] is eager to avenge the death of Mary, Queen of Scots. Philip orders an unprepared fleet, commanded by the inexperienced Duke of Medina Sidonia, to sail on England. Even as Elizabeth rebukes the hawks ([[privateer]]s) in her council (both Walsingham and Sir [[Francis Drake]]), with her hopes of peace, the [[Spanish Armada]] appears on the horizons of England. Her fate and the future of the country now lie in the hands of Drake and the Navy.
 |LineColor = 749F7E
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 6
 |Title = Sweet England's Pride
 |OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1971|3|24|df=y}}
 |ShortSummary = [[Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex]] is the people's champion. He and [[Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham|Charles Howard]] have been successful in capturing and sacking the Spanish seaport of [[Cádiz]]. Essex is given a great opportunity to rise in power by being made Lord Deputy of Ireland and quelling the uprising led by [[Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone|O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone]], but he squanders his army, makes an inglorious truce with O'Neill, and returns to England without permission. After his unsuccessful uprising against the queen in London, he is executed. The old queen shines in her final address to Parliament, but dies soon afterwards. Her last action is a nod to Robert Cecil to his query about her successor being King [[James VI of Scotland]].
 |LineColor = 749F7E
}}
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{BBC programme}}
* {{IMDb title|0066652}}

{{EmmyAward DramaSeries 1951-1975}}
{{EmmyAward NewSeries}}

[[Category:1971 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1971 British television series endings]]
[[Category:1970s British drama television series]]
[[Category:BBC television royalty dramas]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Edward VI]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Mary I of England]]
[[Category:British English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series winners]]
[[Category:Television set in Tudor England]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Lord Guildford Dudley]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Lady Jane Grey]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Philip II of Spain]]
[[Category:Films about Elizabeth I]]
[[Category:Depictions of Mary, Queen of Scots on television]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Catherine de' Medici]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Francis Drake]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Walter Raleigh]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Catherine Parr]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland]]