Prime Minister Lord Melbourne

The smouldering Prime Minister Lord Melbourne – who seems to spend more time on country estates and dancing at balls than in parliament – is played by 48-year-old hunk, Rufus Sewell.

The pair share tender moments as they fend off plots by Victoria’s scheming relatives before the young Queen falls for the handsome older man.

In the third episode the besotted Queen secretly visited Melbourne to reveal her feelings – and even proposed to him before he nobly turned her down.

Rufus Sewell is more than a decade too young to play the prime minister and, by all descriptions, much more handsome.

Far from being a middle-aged hunk, Lord Melbourne was in his late 50s at the time of the Queen’s coronation.

He was overweight and had a tendency to fall asleep and snore loudly in public.

Experts say the marriage proposal was merely created for dramatic impact.

The relationship between them was more like a father and a daughter rather than anything amorous.