David Starkey: Monarchy: Series 2, combines a gripping biographical narrative of England's royal rulers (stories of power, lust, treason and murder), with a thought provoking, original and intelligent analysis of this dramatic period en the history of the Monarchy. In this DVD, Henry VII rescues England from the chaos of the Wars of the Roses, but his solution to the political and financial problems facing the country makes him deeply unpopular. There is wild rejoicing at his death, and his son, Henry VIII, promises glory and prosperity. He can deliver neither but, in attempting to rid himself of a wife who cannot bear him sons, he stumbles upon a new solution to the problems of the Monarchy. By taking on the Pope, Henry becomes both head of the church, and of the state, a supreme ruler with Imperial powers. For a time, the Protestant Reformation looks like the event that has saved the Monarchy and empowered it beyond measure – most triumphantly under Elizabeth I. Yet before long the backlash against this imperil rule will overthrow, then kill a King. But Cromwell's "experiment" with a Republic fails and the nation opts for a Monarchy once more.
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