King George and Queen Mary
| King George and Queen Mary | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC |
| Original release | 3 January – 4 January 2012 |
| External links | |
| [{{#property:P856}} Website] | |
King George and Queen Mary: The Royals who Rescued the Monarchy is a 2012 British documentary series produced by the BBC.[1] The programme premiered on BBC Two and consists of two episodes, each an hour long.[2] The first episode, King George V, premiered on 3 January 2012, and the second, devoted to Queen Mary, premiered on 4 January 2012.[2] Rob Coldstream produced both episodes, and Denys Blakeway served as the executive producer of the series.[3]
The programme explores the lives of King George V and Queen Mary, and their attempts at modernising the British Monarchy in response to the massive social changes during and following World War I.[3] The first episode recalls how, fearing anti-German sentiment, the royal house name was changed by King George from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the House of Windsor.[4] The series also examines the personal lives of the couple, delving into their relationships with their children, and with each other.[3] The marriage between George and Mary was an arranged marriage, occurring only because Prince Albert Victor, George's brother and Mary's original fiancé, died from influenza.[5] George V is presented in the series as a disciplinarian, who strictly punished his children, but was known to be much more loving to his granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.[3]
Reception
John Crace of The Guardian criticised the documentary, remarking that it "repeated familiar mantras about how the royal family cared a great deal more for the country than they did for each other" without ever "asking if we might not have been better off as a republic." Crace notes that the series was one of many programmes about royalty released in 2012, taking advantage of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.[6] Patrick Smith of The Daily Telegraph was more positive, praising the first episode for its "eye-opening, and at times amusing anecdotes about George’s private persona, which were in sharp contrast to the warm description of his public one."[4]
References
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