The Virgin Queen (2005– )

The Virgin Queen explores the full sweep of Elizabeth's life: from her days of fear as a potential victim of her sister's terror; through her great love affair with Robert Dudley; into her ... See full summary »

Stars:

Anne-Marie Duff, Sienna Guillory, Ian Hart

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Anne-Marie Duff	...	Queen Elizabeth I (4 episodes, 2006)
Sienna Guillory	...	Lettice Knollys (4 episodes, 2006)
Ian Hart	...	William Cecil - Lord Burghley (4 episodes, 2006)
Tom Hardy	...	Robert Dudley (4 episodes, 2006)
Dexter Fletcher	...	Sir Thomas Radcliffe - Earl of Sussex (3 episodes, 2006)
Richard Syms	...	Courtier (3 episodes, 2006)
Tara Fitzgerald	...	Kat Ashley (3 episodes, 2006)
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Baron (2 episodes, 2006)
Kevin McKidd	...	Duke of Norfolk (2 episodes, 2006)
Ben Daniels	...	Francis Walsingham (2 episodes, 2006)
Jason Watkins	...	Christopher Hatton (2 episodes, 2006)

Storyline

The Virgin Queen explores the full sweep of Elizabeth's life: from her days of fear as a potential victim of her sister's terror; through her great love affair with Robert Dudley; into her years of triumph over the Armada; and finally her old age and her last, enigmatic relationship with her young protégé, the Earl of Essex.

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Plot Keywords:

tv mini series | tudor | queen elizabeth i | historical fiction | 1500s | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC [uk] PBS [us]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen

Filming Locations:

Alnwick Castle, Alnwick, Northumberland, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Power, Powercorp

Technical Specs

Runtime:

237 min 237 min (4 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[rallying her troops to fight the Spanish]
Queen Elizabeth I: I know that I have the body of a weak and feeble woman. But I have the heart and stomach of a king - and a king of England, too. And I think foul scorn that Spain or any prince of Europe should dare to invade the borders of my realm. To which, rather than face that dishonour, I will myself take up arms beside you. I will be your general and your rewarder for your virtues in the field. We know that you already deserve rewards and crowns, and we do assure...
[...]

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Soundtracks

"A Lagacy Of Comfort"
Composed by Martin Phipps
Published by BDI Music

User Reviews

Not the best of Bess

Priming up to teach Renaissance history I've looked into just about every Elizabeth I movie around--from Bette Davis to Helen Mirren. I endured the dry Glenda Jackson series for its historical perspective, enjoyed the brief comedic overacting of Dame Dench in Shakespeare in Love, totally skipped Cate Blanchett's version due to the reviews openly praising this Hollywood take on known history.

As to this newer version, I couldn't bear to finish it, and I usually don't quit movies. The editing seemed to delight in snatches, rendering this as apatched together series of Elizabeth commercials. The lighting was dark, which didn't help. Robert Dudley was portrayed as being way too young. He should have been reserved for the Earl of Essex part. There were other aspects I didn't care for, but the Robert Dudley part needed to be more nailed down seeing how important he was to Elizabeth's reign.

Helen Mirren's version to me presents the most personable, the one that really brings out the personage of the queen. The politics in that version were more defined as well. I don't understand why the BBC thought to try and trot out another version of Elizabeth I when so many exist already. Aren't there any other monarchs worth looking into?