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Devil's Crown: A History of Henry II and His Sons by Richard Barber

The Devil's Crown: A History of Henry II and His Sons - Richard Barber

 



Description: The story of Henry II's turbulent relationship with Thomas a Beckett, Queen Eleanor, and his sons Richard and John. A tie-in with the BBC2 mini-series, the book includes extensive genealogical charts and an Index of Main Characters.
-- Detailed but fast-moving narrative of some of the best-known figures in English medieval history.
-- Complete coverage of the Crusades and other major military campaigns of the period.
-- Intrigues of the royal family placed in the context of religious and political conflicts of the time.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwb7E...



Brian Cox is just superb as Henry II, and we lose him at the end of episode five. The action is a gallop through - it has to be, there were so many events that need to be relayed.

Although not as fine a script as A Lion in Winter, there are pithy one-liners galore here, and Jane Lapotaire was so effective as Eleanor that it was tough holding back the tears when the Queen died. Fully recommended.



Brian Cox as Henry II of England
Michael Byrne as Richard I of England
John Duttine as John, King of England
Jane Lapotaire as Eleanor of Aquitaine
Christopher Gable as Philip II of France
Ralph Arliss as Geoffrey, Archbishop of York
Charles Kay as Louis VII of France
Jack Shepherd as Thomas Becket
Kevin McNally as Henry the Young King
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
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
Simon Gipps-Kent as Arthur I, Duke of Brittany
Bob Goody as Guide
Zoë Wanamaker as Berengaria of Navarre
Lorna Yabsley as Alys, Countess of the Vexin
Susannah Fellows as Rosamund de Clifford



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