Edward the Seventh explained

Edward the Seventh is a 1975 British historical drama series, made by ATV in 13 episodes.

Based on the biography of King Edward VII by Philip Magnus, it stars Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria, Timothy West as the elder Edward VII, with Simon Gipps-Kent and Charles Sturridge as Edward during his youth. Helen Ryan and Deborah Grant featured as the elder and younger Queen Alexandra respectively. It was directed by John Gorrie, who wrote episodes 7–10 with David Butler writing the remainder of the series.

Only the final three episodes dramatised Edward as King (in line with his short, nine-year reign, which did not begin until he was nearly sixty years old). Annette Crosbie, who won a BAFTA for her performance, was given top billing in the series (appearing in ten out of the thirteen episodes).

It was first broadcast on TV between April and July 1975. In the United States it was shown under the title Edward the King, with episode introductions by Canadian-American broadcaster Robert MacNeil. In the UK, it is available as a four-disc DVD set, encoded for Region 0, by Network Video. It is also available for the North American market as a no-extras six-disc set.

Series cast

Royalty

• Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria (episodes 1–10)
• Timothy West as Albert Edward ("Bertie"), Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII (episodes 5–13)
• Helen Ryan as Princess Alexandra, later Queen Alexandra (episodes 6–13)
• Robert Hardy as Prince Albert (episodes 1–4)
• Felicity Kendal as Bertie's older sister Princess Vicky, later Empress Frederick of Germany (episodes 2–5, 8, 10 and 11)
• Michael Byrne as Fritz, later Frederick III, German Emperor (episodes 2–5, 8)
• Charles Sturridge as Young Bertie (episodes 2–4)
• Simon Gipps-Kent as Younger Bertie (episode 2)
• Deborah Grant as Young Alexandra (episodes 4–5)
• Christopher Neame as Bertie's nephew Kaiser Wilhelm II (episodes 8 and 10–13)
• Gwyneth Strong as Minny (young Dagmar) (episodes 4–5)
• Jane Lapotaire as Empress Marie of Russia (older Dagmar; Dagmar was the sister of Bertie's wife Alexandra and later wife of Tsar Alexander III) (episodes 6–8, 10, 12–13)
• Alison Leggatt as the Duchess of Kent (episodes 1–3)
• Charles Dance as Bertie's eldest son Prince Eddy (episodes 8–9)
• Michael Osborne as Bertie's second son Prince George, Duke of York, later King George V (episodes 8–13)
• Ian Gelder as Bertie's brother Prince Alfred (episodes 2–6)
• Julian Sherrier as Napoleon III, Emperor of the French (episode 2)
• Chloe Ashcroft as Eugénie, Empress of the French (episode 2)
• Patricia O'Brian as Bertie's younger sister Princess Helena (episode 2)
• Deborah Makepeace as older Princess Helena (episodes 3–6)
• Shirley Steedman as Bertie's younger sister Princess Alice (episodes 3–6)
• Judy Loe as Princess Mary of Teck, later Queen Mary (episodes 9–13)
• Cheryl Campbell as Bertie's youngest sister Princess Beatrice (episodes 8 and 10)
• Anthony Douse as Christian IX of Denmark (episodes 4, 5 and 12)
• Kathleen Byron as Princess Christian, later Queen Louise of Denmark (episodes 4–6)
• Vanessa Miles as Bertie's eldest daughter Princess Louise (episode 10)
• Madeleine Cannon as Bertie's middle daughter Princess Toria (episode 10)
• Rosalyn Elvin as Bertie's youngest daughter Princess Maud, Queen Maude of Norway (episode 10)
• Bruce Purchase as Alexander III of Russia (episodes 6–8)
• Michael Billington as Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (episodes 10, 12 and 13)
• Meriel Brooke as Tsarina Alexandra (episodes 10 and 13)
• Paul Greenhalgh as King George I of Greece (episodes 5, 8, 10)
• Geoffrey Wincott as King William I of Prussia (episode 6)
• Mel Churcher as Princess Hélène of Orléans (episode 9)

Prime ministers and politicians

• Joseph O'Conor as Lord Melbourne (episode 1)
• Michael Barrington as Sir Robert Peel (episode 1)
• John Welsh as the Duke of Wellington (episode 1)
• Arthur Hewlett as the Earl of Aberdeen (episode 2)
• André Morell as Lord Palmerston (episodes 2–5)
• Peter Collingwood as Lord John Russell (episode 4–5)
• Michael Hordern as William Ewart Gladstone (episodes 5–6 and 8–10)
• Bryan Coleman as the Earl of Derby (episode 6)
• John Gielgud as Benjamin Disraeli (episodes 6–7)
• Derek Fowlds as Lord Randolph Churchill (episode 7)
• Richard Vernon as Lord Salisbury (episodes 9–11)
• Edward Hardwicke as Lord Rosebery (episodes 9–10)
• Lyndon Brook as A. J. Balfour (episode 10–12)
• Geoffrey Bayldon as Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (episode 12–13)
• Angus MacKay as Lord Lansdowne (episodes 11 and 12)
• Basil Dignam as H. H. Asquith (episode 13)
• Geoffrey Beevers as David Lloyd George (episode 13)
• Christopher Strauli as Winston Churchill (episode 13)

British Army and Royal Navy

• Harry Andrews as Colonel Bruce (episodes 2–4)
• Gareth Thomas as Admiral Lord Charles Beresford (episodes 7 and 9)
• John Normington as Colonel Hon. Oliver Montagu (episodes 7–9)
• Clive Morton as Lieut. Gen. Owen Williams (episode 9)
• James Berwick as Admiral Sir John Fisher (episodes 12–13)

Edward's mistresses

• Francesca Annis as Lillie Langtry (episodes 7–8)
• Carolyn Seymour as Lady Brooke (episodes 9–10)
• Sally Home as Agnes Keyser (episodes 10 and 13)
• Moira Redmond as Alice Keppel (episodes 10–13)

Others

• Edward de Souza as Luis de Soveral, Portuguese ambassador (episodes 11–13)
• Patience Collier as Baroness Lehzen (episode 1)
• Noel Willman as Baron Stockmar (episodes 1–2)
• Peter Carlisle as James Buchanan (episode 3)
• Kathryn Leigh Scott as Harriet Lane (episode 3)
• Guy Slater as Lord Carrington (episodes 3–4, 6–8 and 11–12)
• Martin Skinner as Sipido (episode 10)
• Peter Howell as Francis Knollys (episodes 8–10 and 12–13)
• Brewster Mason as Otto von Bismarck (episode 8) (Mason later reprised his role as Bismarck in Disraeli)
• Denis Lill as Frederick Ponsonby (episodes 11–13)
• Barbara Laurenson as Charlotte Knollys (episodes 9–13)
• Basil Hoskins as Lord Esher (episodes 11–13)
• William Dysart as John Brown (episodes 6–8)
• Robert Robinson as Ernest Cassel (episodes 10, 12, 13)

Soundtrack

• "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze"
• "Champagne Charlie"
• "The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery" (Episode 10)
• "A Wand'ring Minstrel I" (Episode 12)