The Devil's Crown

The Devil's Crown is a BBC television series which dramatised the reigns of three medieval 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.

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, although a French dubbed version, called "La couronne du Diable", 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 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.

Cast

Brian Cox as Henry II of England

Michael Byrne as Richard I of England

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

Paul Spurrier as young John

Jane Lapotaire as Eleanor of Aquitaine

Christopher Gable as Philip II of France

Ralph Arliss as Geoffrey, Count of Nantes

Charles Kay as Louis VII of France

Jack Shepherd as Thomas Becket

Kevin McNally as Henry the Young King

Dominic Savage as young Henry

Martin Neil as Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany

Austin Somervell as young Geoffrey

Zoë Wanamaker as Berengaria of Navarre

Lynsey Baxter as Isabella of Angoulême

Freddie Jones as Bertran de Born

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

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

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

Frederick Treves as Stephen, King of England

Thorley Walters as Gilbert Foliot

Norman Etlinger as the Archbishop of York

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

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

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

Henry the Young King

English-language television shows

1970s British television miniseries