Edward the Seventh
S01E04: Alix
Prince Bertie continues his military training but he is taken to deceiving his superiors and sneaking off with his friends to the music halls. His parents continue their search to find Bertie a suitable wife. Their preference is for a German bride but eventually they settle on Princess Alexandra of Denmark, known to her family as Alix. A brief meeting is arranged for the two at the cathedral in Speyer, but no final decision is made. Relations with his father deteriorate even further when the Prince Consort receives a confidential letter from a friend telling of Bertie's dalliance with a music hall singer. Bertie is clearly a disappointment to his father, but the elder Prince Albert falls ill and dies of typhoid toward the end of 1861. Albert is concerned as trouble between Denmark and Prussia grows. Albert endeavours to avoid war with the United States. President Lincoln proposes an alliance with France to conquer Canada.
Overview
Edward the Seventh is a 1975 television drama series, made by ATV in 13 episodes.
Based on the biography of Edward VII by Philip Magnus, it starred Timothy West as the elder Edward VII and Simon Gipps-Kent and Charles Sturridge as Edward in his youth, Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria, Deborah Grant and Helen Ryan as Queen Alexandra, Robert Hardy as the Prince Consort, Alison Leggatt as the Duchess of Kent, and Felicity Kendal as Princess Vicky. It was directed by John Gorrie, who wrote episodes 7-10 with David Butler writing the remainder of the series.
The series also featured John Gielgud as Benjamin Disraeli, Michael Hordern as William Ewart Gladstone, Harry Andrews as young Edward's tutor Colonel Bruce, Jane Lapotaire as Empress Marie of Russia, Christopher Neame as Kaiser Wilhelm II and, in one of his earliest roles, Charles Dance as Edward's eldest son Eddy, who died at the age of 28. Gielgud previously played Disraeli in the 1941 film The Prime Minister.
The actresses playing Edward's mistresses include Moira Redmond as Alice Keppel and Carolyn Seymour as Daisy Greville. Francesca Annis was featured in two episodes as Lillie Langtry which led to Butler writing a full series about Mrs Langtry's life for Annis to star in, Lillie.
Episodes
S01E02 An Experiment in Education
S01E03 The New World
S01E04 Alix
S01E05 A Hundred Thousand Welcomes
S01E06 The Invisible Queen
S01E07 Dearest Prince
S01E08 The Royal Quadrille
S01E09 Scandal
S01E10 The Years of Waiting
S01E11 King at Last
S01E12 The Peacemaker
S01E13 Good Old Teddy
Cast






